Been There, Maybe Done That
There was a brief moment, back a few years, when it seemed like way too many members of my family had spent a night or two in the slammer. Doesn't matter why. Where. Nonetheless, nothing like that call at 2:00 a.m. Ahhh, community service!
Thankfully, I've never seen the inside of a jail cell myself. Though I have thought of trying to get arrested at a peace rally or two. But I have had some unusual experiences in my life. Met some amazing people. Seen some wacky things. Been through my share of pain and heartache. And I wonder . . . how do you convey that in writing?
You see last night, I finally saw Walk the Line. I never saw it in the theaters. And now, now I definitely get what the fuss was about. Reese Witherspoon may have won the Oscar, but Joachin Phoenix was robbed. He inhabited that role. I FELT his drug abuse. And the chemistry between him and Reese was electric. And somehow, even if you have never, ever, ever had a love affair like that, you could sense it.
And that, I decided, is what the magic is. Movies or books . . . it's taking you so deeply into an experience, that even if you have never done that, been there, seen it, you are there. I have not ever murdered anyone, but I hope in the key scene in The Roofer that you feel the thud of the claw hammer hitting brain matter.
Haven't done time, butI hope you see and feel it when I describe prison--the maggots in the oatmeal. The dysentary-like stomach conditions from the food. Thanks to a family member for enlightening me there. Never been there, DON'T want to.
But last night . . . I had this re-awakened joy at the process. At the magic. That's really how I feel about it today. It's magic what we do! Don't you think that?
What book transports you like no other to someplace, some relationship, some world you've never been, but makes you feel like you have? Even in the darkest scenes of Cash's drug abuse, as a writer myself, I marveled at how real it seemed.
Thankfully, I've never seen the inside of a jail cell myself. Though I have thought of trying to get arrested at a peace rally or two. But I have had some unusual experiences in my life. Met some amazing people. Seen some wacky things. Been through my share of pain and heartache. And I wonder . . . how do you convey that in writing?
You see last night, I finally saw Walk the Line. I never saw it in the theaters. And now, now I definitely get what the fuss was about. Reese Witherspoon may have won the Oscar, but Joachin Phoenix was robbed. He inhabited that role. I FELT his drug abuse. And the chemistry between him and Reese was electric. And somehow, even if you have never, ever, ever had a love affair like that, you could sense it.
And that, I decided, is what the magic is. Movies or books . . . it's taking you so deeply into an experience, that even if you have never done that, been there, seen it, you are there. I have not ever murdered anyone, but I hope in the key scene in The Roofer that you feel the thud of the claw hammer hitting brain matter.
Haven't done time, butI hope you see and feel it when I describe prison--the maggots in the oatmeal. The dysentary-like stomach conditions from the food. Thanks to a family member for enlightening me there. Never been there, DON'T want to.
But last night . . . I had this re-awakened joy at the process. At the magic. That's really how I feel about it today. It's magic what we do! Don't you think that?
What book transports you like no other to someplace, some relationship, some world you've never been, but makes you feel like you have? Even in the darkest scenes of Cash's drug abuse, as a writer myself, I marveled at how real it seemed.
posted by Erica Orloff at 6:39 PM
9 Comments:
It is magic.
The same way love is magic.
Not easy--maybe even impossible--to define.
At least my tired brain can't define it right now. :)
Hey . . .
When I think back to my favorite books as a child even . . . it was the ability to be IN the book, not removed from it.
As for defining love. I don't think there'll every be a perfect definition for it.
E
Must confess, I wasn't sure I wanted to see Walk the Line. I feared it would celebrate adultery and drug abuse, but you're right, Phoenix was so compelling in that role I have a whole new understanding of how easily you could be led astray by the lifestyle.
Books, hmm, I like reads that transport me to a different time. Little Woman leaps to mind. Diana Gabladon's Highlander series, Loved the Culodon descriptions and felt she nailed the dialogue quite well, could hear me wee scotch granny...
Also been fortunate to read a few things about roofers and invisible girls penned by a clever author that made me 'see and feel' New York, despite the fact that I've never been. Yet. ;-)
Erica, yes, magic! It's the reason I attempted writing too. The emotions that reading and watching movies pulled from me.
What's tough is when I feel I have to force the magic. haha!
Walk the Line is the top of my favorite movie list. Joachin Phoenix brought history to life. What talent!
To step into the writer's world, to feel and experience it, then to take the experience of that world away with you after you close the book...it doesn't happen often but when it does, it's magic.
Blood Son contained some of that very magic!
Great post, Erica!
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lainey:
Thanks.
And yes, there was this whole experience where you understood that world in the movie.
E
kelly:
Me, too.
And I HATE when it seems forced--those are the toughest writing days.
E
kathy:
Thanks so much. I loved writing that book.
And yes, Walk the Line . . . a new fave. I was really impressed. One of those performances that fill you with awe. I felt that way about heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, too.
E
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