Oh Lord, Please Don't Let Me be Misunderstood

Responses to "Tell, Don't Show"

For some reason, whenever I cast one of my short films, there’s inevitably some word or phrase in the script that many, many actors get wrong. One in particular that always sticks with me, probably because it was one of my first short films, was “gauche.” In the casting room, we heard people say “gowtch,” “goosh,” “goushay,” and I don’t know what else.

It was a nice little negative filter. Anyone who can’t take the time to Google the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word before an audition, probably isn’t going to do a lot of homework before the actual shoot, either.

The thing is, I’ve never been able to predict which word or phrase was going to be the one that confused actors. It always comes out of left field to me. “Wait, people don’t know how to say [whatever]?” And while it can be helpful, like I said, I also always kind of dread finding out, too.

Now, I’m finding I have the same feeling when I make these video essays.

I try to be as clear about my point as possible, while still being entertaining. I even test the videos out with friends, to see if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense or needs fleshing out.

And still, it seems that no matter what I say, some people are going to take from the video the completely different than what I intended. Even when I explicitly state something, people for some reason assume I meant the opposite.

With The Best Picture Winner the Academy Doesn’t Want You to Know About, many, many people objected to the idea of creating a “popular film” category, despite me clearly saying “Best Production” should not be a “popular” category.

And now I’m seeing the same thing in the replies to “Show, Don’t Tell” is Terribl(y Misunderstood) Advice. So, so many of the comments on Reddit excoriate me for taking the phrase too literally, even though in the video I say, “‘Show, don’t tell’ can be good advice when not taken literally.” Like, I don’t know what else I can do.

The only time this hasn’t happened is with How Aladdin Tricks You with Clever Transition. I really thought people were going to misunderstand the video as a criticism of Aladdin, but no one did, really. So again, I cannot predict where it’s going to go wrong.

A long time ago, James Taranto wrote something that has always stuck with me. He made what he later described as “ill-considered tweet” about the victims of the Aurora, CO, theater shooting, and many people took it in a way he hadn’t intended. In his column in the Wall Street Journal, he replied to the replies—

[I] intended this to be thought-provoking, but to judge by the response, very few people received it that way. The vast majority found it offensive and insulting. This column has often argued that a failure of public communication is the fault of the public communicator.

Not the public, I would add.

I’m still pretty new at this video essay thing. So as I continue to make Too Much Film School, I’m going to work very, very hard at avoiding these confusions. If people don’t like the videos, fine; if they disagree with my arguments, that’s fine, too. But I want to make sure they’re responding to what I actually say and not some notion they picked up from my vibe or whatever.

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A few weeks ago, I saw 2001 at the Hollywood Bowl, with a live orchestra and choir. It was amazing.¹

I love going to the Bowl, because it reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, Dixieland Droopy.

And one of Amelia’s, The Great Wakkorotti:

What does this have to do with Too Much Film School? Well, seeing Sunrise, a Song of Two Humans at the Million Dollar Theatre is what inspired me to eventually get around to making The Best Picture Winner the Academy Doesn't Want You to Know About.

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Matt Price on Instagram: “Tonight, I’m going to see the first movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, at the oldest, still-running movie theater in Los Angeles. #dtla #academyawards #Oscars #sunrise #murnau #silentfilm #losangeles #movies”

August 21, 2023

Seeing Space Odyssey for the bajillionth time encouraged me to finally buckle down and do research on a video I’ve been considering for a long time: Stanley Kubrick: Credit Thief.

So you can look forward to that!²

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Making these videos costs very little in the way of money; I already own most of the equipment. (Although, I did invest in a pop shield.)

If the audio sounded better, know that it cost ten whole dollars.

There is, however, a cost in time. And being the father of a very sick child, I don’t have a ton of that. Earning a little money on these video essays would go a long way towards making that time feel worth it.

The TMFS channel is monetized, but as I learned with “Show, Don’t Tell” is Terribl(y Misunderstood) Advice, that doesn’t mean every video will earn ad revenue.³ Others facing this issue use Patreon or similar services.

I decided to go with Substack, to which I’m now going to add a paid option.

For now, the only thing I can think of offering is an early preview of the videos, before they go on YouTube.⁴ Certain videos, like the one coming later this week, will also have extra footage that YouTube will ding me for.

So, if you can, sign up for a paid subscription. And if there’s anything you’d like me to add the paid subscriber perks, let me know in the comments!

1. A few of my friends declined to come, stating that it was “boring.” The guy I did end up going with, after the movie told me, “You know, this is the first time I’ve sat through the whole thing without falling asleep.” Philistines, I tell you!

2. It’s not going to be the very next video, but it’ll be here soon.

3. There’s a copyright claim, which I challenged, but the copyright holder has 30 days to respond to my challenge. It’s unlikely I’ll be getting many views (and therefore ad revenue) at that point.

4. It was definitely a mistake to post the Superheroes and Slashers video here early and free, as it cut into the early viewership on YouTube. Making it part of a paid subscription, however, would’ve been worth it.