Found Objects in the woods...

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2014)

Divine Intervention has been known to visit me every now and once in awhile. Spiritual epiphanies have come about from running away to the local Theater Troupe known as Concept East on what used to be Adams Street. There I realized through reading their books that Black People could represent all the Gods there are just as well as the Greeks and the Romans. I was at home sketching Debra Jo Fondren off the cover of Playboy magazine onto a sheet of Newsprint and found I could draw much better thereafter and with more satisfaction and enjoyment. This was a kind of deliverance to me. Idly dropping off the Livernois bus to visit Doctor Curtis' Museum of Black History while unemployed and having time on my hands, I discovered, much to my astonishment, and contrary to what was to be seen on The Science Channel and 'Through The Wormhole', that Black Folks invented as much new technology and made things better for the future as much as anyone else. Besides that, you could trace their accomplishments back through time thousands upon thousands of years.
On top of that, a voice came out of nowhere one day and asked me what my Top Ten Favorite movies of all time were and to list them. I did what the voice bid me to do. At that time the voice asked me what was the common denominator to all these films that I liked so much. This took me a considerable amount of thought before I could formulate a reasonable answer.
When the answer dawned upon me, I marveled at my discovery. The films that I treasured the most in my hearts of hearts despite their subject matter all contained the least amount or no Sex and Violence at all in them! I went over the list again and again, thinking this couldn't possibly be the case for such a random selection of films.
But, for me, it was true.
It was from this that I was able to formulate my hard and fast rule about storytelling.
Sex and Violence are substitutes for Character and Plot development.
That brings us to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. There is no romantic relationship or love triangle between the female lead Heather Donahue or the other male characters. There are no scenes of physical conflict between any of the leads. Therefore, a very interesting question comes to mind.
How could a film made for twentynine thousand dollars plus thirty thousand dollars for promotion costs with no apparent Sex and Violence to embroider its narrative yet go on to gross over a hundred and forty million dollars worldwide? Could it be the focus of the film is on storytelling? This is a great film for Independent Filmmakers to study and treasure. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, according to my lights, is the film that truly and substantially changed the landscape of Cinema. The simplicity of the idea, the method acting techniques used to prepare the actors to improvise their lines and reactions with sophomoric verisimilitude and sincerity in carefully crafted and yet somewhat open ended situations suggests anyone could have made this film.
Even you.
Sure why not? Anyone could pack their gear and cameras for two or three days of hiking to some place nearby like Seneca Creek State Park to investigate the local Bogeyman legend that's supposed to have happened in the woods somewhere out there. Just take a map and mark your destination so that you don't end up off the beaten track or right back where you started and make a careful record of any suspicious items or objects found on your journey. Hopefully, curiosity won't lead you screaming and running through the woods in the dark fleeing from mysterious sounds in the night. God forbid that all the footage you shoot should end up among the found objects involved with The Blair Witch Legend; that you should end up missing and never heard from again.What a bummer, huh? But it really could happen to anyone.
Even you.
Sure, why not?