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For five hours this past Thursday, I was interviewed on camera for a documentary about the beginnings of Rotary’s commitment to eradicate polio. It’s comforting to know that most of that footage will end up on the cutting room floor.
Documentary film makers, historians, and journalists must always pick and choose. The late Professor Geoff Blodgett taught us Oberlin history seminar students, “The facts never speak for themselves.” No matter how objective you try to be, you have to decide what to include and how to arrange it. In everyday life, too, there isn’t room for everything. I like the precept “Take what you like and leave the rest.” Without advocating denial, I’d rather give my time and attention to what brings joy, growth, connection, or meaning. The rest can go on the cutting room floor.
4 Comments
Patty
2/13/2017 08:18:53 am
I love this, Sarah, and it comes at an appropriate time for me. Thanks!
Rhonda Peterson
2/13/2017 06:21:50 pm
I'm impressed that the documentarians found and interviewed you as an important source of this history. Good for them!
Rhonda, I sometimes think a photographic memory would be nice. But imagine trying to sort through it all to find the memory you're looking for! When I was learning to do historical research, an important skill was using reference tools to locate obscure facts and sources. Now, with so much on the Internet, a larger part of the training must be how to cull out credible nuggets among a super-abundance of facts and pseudo-facts. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin.
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