documentary project

 The documentary I chose to watch was Finding Vivian Maier. I picked it because I enjoy history and I have some interest in photography. 

The film's main appeal is pathos since photography is about capturing emotion in an image. For example, one of Vivian's photos is of three young boys playing on a street corner. One of them is even climbing up the walls of the building. In the image, Vivian depicts the playful and perhaps mischievous nature of children. This makes the viewer reminisce upon their own childhood, perhaps remembering fond memories of when they would play with their friends.  

The scene that affected me the most was when one of the children she had nannied described the abuse inflicted upon her by Vivian. She stated that Vivian would shove food into her mouth and force her to swallow it. This changed my entire perspective on Vivian. Previously, I had thought of her as an eccentric, yet caring and playful person. I was even growing fond of her, like how she put on a French accent when she was from New York. Now, I view her from a much more critical standpoint. I can appreciate that she was a talented artist but I no longer like her as a person. 

What surprised me most about Vivian's story was the sheer amount of media she created. In addition to taking thousands of photographs, she made movies and even recorded interviews she had with strangers in Jewel. Given her devotion to making art, I would have thought that she would have done more to have that work seen besides the one letter she wrote to the studio in France. 

As for questions I have, I don't think I have any that can be answered. I would like to hear Vivian's perspective on why she took all of those pictures and how she felt about someone publishing them and digging into her personal life. But since she died before the director of the film, John Maloof, looked into finding who she was, those questions will not be answered. In terms of feelings, I feel inspired. In high school, I took a couple of photography classes which was enjoyable but also very difficult since I had to develop the film and print all of the photos myself. Seeing the beauty of Vivian's work inspires me to try to use my camera more often. However, I would send my film to Walgreens this time. 

Since we are focusing on only the film itself, it is important that we do not do any research before writing the summary. This is because other information might take away from the message of the film by providing a perspective other than that of the director.