Monday, May 14, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
SHAY SPANIOLA/Daily
Steps leading up to Wazoo Records display the work of Richard Ahern who lived in
a loft above the store and paid his rent by painting this wural until his death in 2004.
film he felt that he could make
MOORE "Roger & Me" without worrying
From page 1 that it would be criticized for not
beinga traditional documentary.
Moore said he became acquainted "Who gives anyone the right to
with Hara's work while editing his say this is not a documentary? It's
first documentary, "Roger & Me." the same as the one in third grade
While taking a break from editing who said this is not a poem," said
the documentary about General Moore. "They're the same people
Motors and its CEO Roger Smith, who have been on you since you
Moore attended a screening of were nine or 10 and told you this is
Hara's, "The Emperor's Naked Army how you construct a poem or this is
Marches On" at the American Film how you construct a story or this is
Institute at the Kennedy Center. how you paint the sky blue."
"I was just riveted," Moore said. Hara's style of documentary is
"It was like I had this soul brother "the kind of film that makes activ-
in Japan." ists act," said Nornes.
Moore said after watching Hara's He referred to Hara's film "Good-
bye CP," which put a spotlight on
the victims of cerebral palsy and
other physical handicaps, people
who are generally kept hidden in
Japan.
Hara, who used a translator
throughout the event, said he does
not follow predetermined steps in
making a film because documen-
taries take shape during the actual
filming and the experiences he has
duringthe process.
Moore said his filmmaking pro-
cess often takes a similar course
because the question he focuses on
at the beginning of filming often
changes duringthe production.
He said when he started filming
"Bowling for Columbine," a 2002
documentary about the 1999 Col-
DISTURBING
From page 3
ingwas excessive and senseless.
He said he did have an experi-
ence with a student whose long
history of psychological instabil-
ity came through in writing.
"It was not my job to be their
therapist," Taylor said. "It was my
E EN Tjob to point out what was working
particularly well in their poems
and to encourage that expression
W RATES of their genius."
Taylor said some of his stu-
with dents who wrote dark pieces later
turned out to be among the more
& r eachugifted writers in their classes.
Violent themes shouldn't be
s center discouraged in student writing
because they are often used in lit-
erature "to make a comment on
the commodities that govern our
lives and our culture," he said.
Taylor said the most disturb-
ing content he encounters in his
classes comes from younger writ-
ers who are new to college life and
experimenting with their self-
er Dr. 74.4 .9 9 expression for the first time.
He said topics like self-mutila-
tion, eating disorders and depres-
sion most often raise concerns,
umbine High School shootings and
their place within, America's gun
culture, he felt that there needed to
be stronger gun control laws in the
United States.
During a visit to Canada Moore
said he learned that Canadians own
more guns per capita than Ameri-
cans, but have lower gun violence
rates. He then changed his focus in
order to investigate the reasons for
this discrepancy, he said.
Hara said when he makes a docu-
mentary, he does it to find answers
to questions he has about his iden-
tity more than for social justice.
Moore's documentaries have
been seen as appealing only to the
political left, but his new film might
not engage the same audience.
"If you put politics first in a film,
youwillendupwithacrappymovie,"
Moore said. Me said "Sicko" would
not just be a movie about health
care because the American public is
already aware thatctheir health-care
system can be improved.
Although Moore was reluctant
to give away too many details about
"Sicko," he said he has taken a new
approach to filmmaking this time.
He said he wants to present the
film's subject separate from the
political dispute already surround-
ing the issue of healthcare.
"It would be great if this movie
would ignite something through its
art and not its politics," he said.
but he thinks instances where a
student's work in an English class
would move the professor to inter-
vene are rare.
In the case of disturbing student
writing, Taylor said he believes
most problems can be resolved
through a conversation between
the writer and professor.
LSA junior Jacob Elkon, who
is enrolled in a creative writing
class during spring term, said a
student's presentation-of a violent
piece to the class often indicates
his or her intention in writing it.
"It depends on how they say it,"
Elkon said. "You can tell the dif-
ference between a normal story
and if they are saying it with a
vengeance."
Elkon said if a classmate's work
alarmed him he would call atten-
tion to the work's disturbing
themes during classroom discus-
sion.
But Taylor maintained that it
is important to have freedom of
expression in creative writing
courses.
"You don't want to get so fear-
ful that you in any way suppress
students from self-expression
or finding their voice in creative
writing," he said.
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