Currently reading
Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred
Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One
When in French: Love in a Second Language
Beyond the Job Description: How Managers and Employees Can Navigate the True Demands of the Job
Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing
Achieving Your Potential As A Photographer: A Creative Companion and Workbook
Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs (Voices That Matter)
Man's Search for Meaning
Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection
The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son By David Gilmour (Canadian Edition)
David Gilmour's son is failing high school. Gilmour sizes up the situation and decides to let Jesse drop out if he wants to -- which he does. The catch is that he has to stay away from drugs and watches 3 movies a week which his father picks with his father.It's a risky strategy. Gilmour is unconventional. Maybe not the ideal role model either -- probably drinks too much, has been involved with a lot of women over the years (his son and daughter are from different mothers, and he is married to someone else now, and mentions other significant lovers along the way), and Gilmour is definitely underemployed at this time. Which he cites as a blessing, retroactively, because it gave him time to be with Jesse at this crucial time.I was interested in his approach to the movies. Mostly about actors, acting styles, some director's input. The approach seems somewhat random. The kid learns about the movies, schools of movie making, etc, but it's low-key and stuff that he kind of absorbs.Jesse doesn't pull himself together for a long time. He's mostly obsessed with a series of girlfriends and the breakup of these relationships. At heart, he seems like a good kid. But there's a lot of drinking and sex, and no work and little education for years. Eventually Jesse seeks a dishwashing job on his own, which leads to a chef prep job. He does some rapping and music-making with buddies. Eventually he gets over his girlfriends. And in the end, he decides to go to college, and is admitted. It makes some sense -- the traditional approach would have involved lots of fights, loss of self-esteem, more rebellion, etc. But it's still hard to imagine doing it with a teenager, without requiring volunteer work, some kind of job, some kind of structure. So it was intriguing. And it inspired me to start watching some classic films.
