Two Photography Films
Plus, a plea to save public media
Just a short note as we head into a long weekend…
I love movies, so whenever I hear about a photography film, I add it to my watchlist. Last year, we screened three documentaries in Madison, and we hope to show more this year. In the meantime, I wanted to send some tips your way — both of these films premiered on PBS this week, and I know many of you will want to see them.
Who Is Michael Jang? isn’t new, but it recently aired on PBS Independent Lens, and I only learned about it today. Michael and I have corresponded for years, and it’s exciting to see him get the motion picture treatment. This looks like a fun one.
Mr. Polaroid, the story of Edwin Land, the man behind the Polaroid camera, premiered on PBS's American Experience on Monday. I’m a sucker for stories like this and can’t wait to see it. I’ve been meaning to dust off my Polaroid camera, and this might be the boost I’ve been looking for.
One more thing…
I am a big public media fan, so seeing it under attack has been distressing.
The Trump Administration has proposed eliminating federal funding in its annual budget request, issued an Executive Order to block support for PBS and NPR, cancelled grants that support the creation of children's educational programming, and plans to claw back funding approved by Congress.
This is awful news and would have terrible ramifications for all Americans. When you have a moment, please tell your lawmakers why public media funding matters. You can learn more at Protect My Public Media.
That’s all for this week. Happy Memorial Day, friends. Take care!
I watched Mr. Polaroid the other night. While it was interesting, I found it lacking in many ways. I know it was mostly about Mr. Land - a genius, if a lousy businessman and not necessarily Mr. Good Guy. And while he was progressive in many ways, he was also a man of his time - meaning rather regressive when it came to his employees. One aspect of the business that wasn't touched on at all was the relationship Polaroid had with artists. There have been books and exhibitions about how artists have employed the Polaroid - from sx-70's to the 20 x 24. Here's a piece from Medium that talks about it. https://medium.com/about-artlist/the-art-of-the-polaroid-7a600d0c5ccd
Love cameras and photography! Marked these to watch later and sent emails to urge Congress to save public media. Adding it to my daily outreach to Congress.