Approximately Adam: Creation, Communication, and Interaction

October 29, 2005
Creation, Communication, and Interaction

I was just posting on a few message boards about Thursday's episodes of "Smallville" and "Everwood". I found things that were really good; indeed I thought the "Everwood" episode was downright great in a season where each episode has bested the previous one. But the thing that fascinated me was the variety of opinions, the passion of feeling involved. It's been a while since I've experienced that with either show because it's been a while since they've accomplished anything particularly rousing. And when entertainment connects with an audience, it creates a community. That's the thing that draws me to being a film critic. That conversation between me and the film — the reader too.
I'd only gotten to my shows now because on Thursday, almost immediately after learning that I'd been diagnosed with Hepatitis, I went with a close childhood friend to a packed free screening of The Exorcist. The film is decades old, but the surround sound was perfect, the scares dead on. It's the only time I've ever seen a horror movie make a sizable portion of the audience visibly jump. That's the true power of cinema, the interaction between the audience and what's on the screen. That's where the magic comes from.
And that's why I create. Because in a life where my friends are virtually limited to the ones I've had for years and I spend vast stretches alone, it's one of my last most dependable avenues to connect in new and exciting ways.
And that, John, is why I'm here at college instead of rooming with you and having a much better go of things. Because this environment is expanding my ability to create and communicate. Each thing I write refines my craft and the closer I get to competent, the closer I get to feeling complete. People always come first in the long term and I never forget or stop missing those I love when I'm not with them. But if there's any hope for me finding a full and happy life, I need to learn how to not only do this stuff, but do it well. It provides such low-key moments of such extraordinary joy.

^{posted by Adam at 04:31 |}

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