The value of mumblecore
I literally have no idea what’s going on here.
Last week, author Tao Lin and his wife Megan Boyle released an extremely low budget independent film called Mumblecore. A quick survey of the Interwebs suggest that this film is not actually scheduled to screen anywhere as of yet, but the DVD is available for purchase. A couple months ago, I wrote about how I don’t understand what Lin is aiming for in his writing, or any other projects he’s associated with, really. Still, when I first heard about this little flick, I was actually pretty excited because the mumblecore genre of film, from which Lin’s takes its name, is a big time favorite of mine. But then I watched the trailer and went back to not understanding Tao Lin in the slightest.
Mumblecore, for those who don’t know, is a style of filmmaking concerned, first and foremost, with failures of communication. Or, the description I once offered to a friend I was trying to convince to watch such a film with me: “movies where amateur actors sit around having awkward conversations with each other and there’s no discernible plot.”
This genre is, for understandable reasons, not terribly popular. Doubly so because the first mumblecore films, many of which debuted at South by Southwest between 2002-2006, focused almost exclusively on the lives of white, recent college grads living in major cities who spend their time playing music, going to house parties, and trying to have sex with one another (Mutual Appreciation (2005) directed by mumblecore godfather Andrew Bujalski is probably the best example of this…which I totally love, regardless). And when I first watched the trailer for Lin’s film, I actually thought it might be a parody – that he and Boyle had intentionally created a piece that was unwatchable as a comment on the obnoxiousness of films that aggrandize the awkward whining of urban hipsters. However, what limited press Mumblecore has gotten suggests this is not the case. So basically, it’s just Lin and Boyle wandering around yammering at each other while trying to look cool. Which leads me to believe that Mumblecore (and likely the two previous films the couple have made together) is not worth any more of our attention.
But other films from the mumblecore canon most certainly are.
I’m aware that the description I provided above is not a super appealing one for more moviegoers. But if you are interested in dialogue – which is to say, if you are interested in writing – you should be interested in mumblecore. It seems to me that the best scenes of written dialogue are those where characters fail outright to express whatever it is they are trying to say to one another. Think of Raymond Carver’s stories where everyone is always talking around each other, talking over each other, never quite hitting the nail on the head, so to speak. These sorts of interactions are at the heart of mumblecore and the best of the genre are films that are strikingly earnest and totally engrossing. They are quiet films and you have to be patient with them, but they’re worth the effort.
Also, as mumblecore directors, who were mostly in their 20’s when they made their first films, have come of age, so too has their work. The last few years have seem a number of mumblecore releases that move beyond the troubles of aimless, sexually frustrated young adults. One of my favorites, Medicine for Melancholy (2008), picks gently at issues of race and gentrification in San Francisco. Others like Beeswax (2009) and Tiny Furniture (2010) concern themselves with financial troubles and complex family dynamics.
Trailers for all the films mentioned in the post can be found below. Add ‘em to your Netflix que and give them a chance. And take notes. Because this is how people talk to each other when they are doing the worst possible job of talking to each other. And as writers, isn’t that what we all want for our own characters?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_R28QREQPY
Tiny Furniture:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxWxgrwI8uI
Mutual Appreciation:
Beeswax:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ctayM6XaU
I see now, where how you’ve been able to hone your “years of awkwardness” talent.
Ps it’s fun to say/read mumblecore. I’m glad you used that word at least 5,000 times in this post.
It’s true; for great awkwardness, one needs great role models.
so rich white kids living in major cities who are pretending to be rich white kids living in major cities whining is worth our attention.
rich white kids living in major cities whining is not worth our attention.
this article has great value. thank you for your contribution to humanity.
You’re welcome for my contribution to humanity.