I’m someone who very rarely goes to the movies. I don’t even own a television set, and I’ll tell you why. The majority of movies and television series insult my intelligence even before they bore me or make me angry. That’s because their primary purpose is to distract and entertain us so we don’t think too much. Sometimes their purpose is to subtly sway our political opinions or even whip us into a patriotic frenzy. I don’t like not thinking or being emotionally manipulated by propaganda, so I mostly just don’t watch anything.
Not being a part of the culture makes you feel lonely sometimes. Like when everyone is talking about Game of Thrones and you’ve never seen it because to you it seems like another boring version of Downton Abbey, only with more violence. It’s all about teaching people to accept the social hierarchy and their birthplace within it. Over the years, I’ve found that it’s usually not a good idea to start talking about how TV series are used to dumb down the populace to individual members of a populace that’s already been dumbed down.
The lack of good movies, along with Jeff Bezos owning almost the entire planet, were reasons I’d planned to cancel Amazon Prime this year. I have to confess, though, that I forgot until it was too late and it had been automatically renewed. Now I’m almost glad I forgot. I know—even talking about how boring most movies are is boring. That’s why I was so excited to discover writer and director Jamin Winans today. I watched INK and was so moved that I immediately went searching for more of his work.
The next Jamin Winans film I watched was The Frame. Jamin Winans is a writer clearly capable of independent thought. These two films achieve much more than distraction and entertainment— they surprise us as well as make us think and feel deeply. I loved the wide scope of his lens and the degree of unpredictability it afforded. Immediately after watching the two films, I went in search of more information about him. I was gratified to discover that he is a film school dropout! I believe this man is destined to create the classic films of the future. It is only by thinking outside the box that we might even HAVE a future. These films show us that what’s outside the box is genuine human connection and compassion.
Other great original thinkers/movie makers, like Terry Gilliam, came to mind as I watched these two films. It’s not often that I see a movie so good that I feel compelled to write a formal thank you letter to it’s creator, but these two definitely qualify. Thank you, Mr. Winans, for these fine works and sharing your gifts with the world! May their success provide you the resources to make many more.
The Big Picture 