R Bloyd: The scene reveals

WORKSHOP

The Scene Reveals: a film scene linked to the deceased 

workshop format: I’ll show a clip from “Oklahoma!” (1955, dir. Zinnemann, with Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Gordon MacRae), the film my brother chose to watch on his last night on Earth. I’ll share what in that scene is connected to my brother’s life-while-dying from Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis. In turn, each participant will be invited to show a film clip of their choice (up to 5 minutes), then share the connection between the scene and the deceased—A film the deceased loved? A scene that reveals tensions or decisions for a vulnerable person? A moment of hilarity or absurdity, during a fraught time? We’ll take time for closing observations, as well. Note: Each participant should be prepared to share screen with their film clip.

background: My brother would watch a film every day of the final year of his life at 5 ‘o clock sharp. Unwilling to die without having re-read favorite novels and without having viewed again favorite or classic films, i.e. The Maltese Falcon (noir), West Side Story (musical), or It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (comedy), he wanted others to watch with him. His rules: No talking, no breaks. Complete immersion in the film.

As I continue to feel, grieve, think, write, publish, teach, and to live during our Earth’s climate change and the pandemic linked to it, I understand Carroll’s dying and death increasingly through the film genre, especially the scene unit. Scenes from his death months often flash into mind, unbidden visitations —scenes from films we viewed together as well as scenes from his actual life as compromised by the disease.