Windows, not mirrors
I am a filmmaker. This is the place I most feel like a fraud. I love what film can do, and I am so grateful for the ways I have had the opportunity to engage with it. In the past, I have had people compare film to being the mirror of society. In Nigeria, you would hear many people exclaim that the fictional film they were watching reminded them of something or someone they knew. I went into media studies, and when I saw the production side of fictional films, I started to feel like film does more to redirect society than it does to reflect it. Without the succinct label of a mirror, I struggled to come up with another object that personified what film can do to society. Today, September 19, 2023, I think I have it.
A lot of things and thoughts have cascaded into this moment of making this first draft, but the final straw came while I was watching Kirk Franklin’s documentary, Father’s Day, on YouTube, sitting at my work table conveniently placed beside the large window in my room. As I watched it, I remembered ‘Nonso John’s words that stories are important because we have that evolutionary instinct to want to know how we can prevent death. This is why the best stories are always about some kind of death. We are glued to the screen because we are instinctively learning how to stay safe if we were ever to be in a similar situation. Films allow us to live many lives and make subconscious “escape plans” in the event of any kind of unpleasantness. Hence, it either reinforces our beliefs or debunks them. A good film has that kind of power because it allows us to walk a mile in another’s shoes and gain lessons without having to actually live through the pain. In my opinion, a good film feels, in essence, like a window.
Through my window, I am able to see a substantial distance from me (if not for this one house blocking my view, I could have had the best view). This means I am able to observe people walking through the streets without physically going there. If there ever was going to be some kind of danger coming from that direction, I could have the advantage of seeing it from a distance and getting a headstart on my escape. Film has the power to give you a heads-up in a similar way. I would argue that doing this right in fictional storytelling or filmmaking is an impressive feat, but in documentary form, it is so evident. In their ideal form, documentaries ought to give a privileged window into an experience that another human is going through. When it is done right, it allows others to see the proverbial dangers early and get a headstart on their escape.
I am a documentary filmmaker. That is still a hard pill to swallow, but it is my pill, and I will get it down somehow. I am writing this to document this revelation because that is what I hope to do with my time. I want to make windows. I want us to see each other and learn from each other. In the wake of modernisation, life has taken on the strange shape of individualisation. Communities are quickly becoming mazes with walls that prevent us from learning from each other's journeys. This makes the mass majority largely susceptible to power structures of various forms. If I can make one or two windows in these walls in my lifetime so that we can learn from each other, I would be glad.
I am grateful that Glory suggested I watch this film, and I am grateful I saw it at this point in time because so many things, so many conversations, and so many people have played a part in this very moment. I am currently working on a documentary film project for my doctoral studies, and this revelation has fueled what was already a very passionate project. In any case, I am glad that I see it this way, here and now. I just hope I make really great windows.
