I occasionally talk about figures from the past, how it used to be, the way things were done or what the job was like back in the day…
Well, let me be crystal clear: I am radically living in the present moment! Some wiseass once observed that exchanges starting with “remember when” are the lowest form of conversation – and he was right. When I address the past, it’s because there’s something to be learned from it. Considering the state of the world at this moment, you’ll know this perspective is sorely missing from common discourse.
And while I’m at it, here’s something else to chew over, especially if you’re a younger person. Whatever gets me commenting on those seemingly weathered issues or people, I guarantee this much: if you have any sense, you will one day experience the exact same feelings about the moment and culture we’re inhabiting now. With AI advancing faster than I noted here a few weeks ago, the difference between how we currently perceive things versus a few months ahead will be of a greater magnitude than any shift we’ve witnessed to date.
I’m also a perpetual optimist. This doesn’t mean I see things unrealistically. It means I look for the positive in every situation. So, to end on an up note, I offer words from the great director, Walter Hill. If you don’t know who he is, look him up. He may not be the flavor of the month, but any of us would be blessed to have a career half as memorable…
“Motion pictures are a hundred or so years old. They’ve evolved enormously. There’s been good work done in every era. But the world always wants stories. If you go to the smallest village in Tibet, the hut at the end of town will have an aerial, and inside they’ll be watching I Love Lucy. That’s the nature of the human beast. Nobody can tell you how the future is going to play out, but one thing I do know is that stories will be demanded and stories will be told.”
It’s inevitable as we get older that the present year, for example, represents a smaller percentage of our overall years. It’s why a year seemed so long when we were teenagers and now the years fly by. It’s also why current trends and techniques are seen within the broader perspective of our careers and if we study history, an even broader period of the century of cinema.
But I do worry about my own tastes in cinematography, forged by the work of others in the 70s and 80s, becoming too reflective of that period. On the other hand, I don’t feel as inclined to copy what everyone is doing today… Is it possible to be original by being old-fashioned? Can one find a fresh perspective by looking at a 1940’s movie instead of what’s on screen today? I don’t have an answer to that!
Agreed. Wisdom comes from experience. Successes people acquire wisdom through experience both through success and failure. Studying the work of successful people allows you then to apply the lessons they have learned to your own work. Then you can innovate.
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist ” Pablo Picasso
There’s nothing wrong about talking about the past, the good old days.
Those were good times and there are many good days ahead. I want
to think the best days are still to be lived. For most young people today,
today will eventually become the gold old days. I was told to live each
day like it’s your last because someday it will be. I was visiting Canada
recently in Banff National Park from the town of Banff north to Jasper,
Alberta. A vast area of spectacular wilderness, water, and wildlife.
Except for the tourists taking photos with their cellphones, there was
no sense of time, it could have been the 1940’s. Spending time in powerful
natural settings makes you feel how fleeting life really is. However no matter
what our circumstances, enjoy today!