Errol Morris, the famous and highly regarded documentary filmmaker (The Thin Blue Line, Standard Operating Procedure, The Fog of War, and A Brief History of Time), has been writing Zoom, a blog about images, particularly photographic ones, and their manipulation for the New York Times for the last few years. (That description probably doesn't do the often-fascinating blog justice--its theme seems sort of similar to Susan Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others and its cerebral, equally precise and digressive focus is pure Morris.)
This week he started a long series of posts called "The Case of the Inappropriate Alarm Clock," the title of which is a reference to controversy over James Agee and Walker Evans' book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. There's apparently some discrespancy between--and maybe some academic controversy brewing about--Agee's written description of George Gudger's house and Evans' photos inside the house.
The series is long, heavily footnoted, and, as of now, five-sevenths complete. But it seems like an essential read, especially if, like me, you've considered Agee's introduction to Let Us Now Praise Famous Men one of the best things he ever wrote, and an important contribution to journalism. (Or if you've wondered just exactly what the phrase "quasi-documentary," used to describe a movie Agee wrote in the 1940s that's playing tomorrow as part of the James Agee Film Festival, means.)
This week he started a long series of posts called "The Case of the Inappropriate Alarm Clock," the title of which is a reference to controversy over James Agee and Walker Evans' book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. There's apparently some discrespancy between--and maybe some academic controversy brewing about--Agee's written description of George Gudger's house and Evans' photos inside the house.
The series is long, heavily footnoted, and, as of now, five-sevenths complete. But it seems like an essential read, especially if, like me, you've considered Agee's introduction to Let Us Now Praise Famous Men one of the best things he ever wrote, and an important contribution to journalism. (Or if you've wondered just exactly what the phrase "quasi-documentary," used to describe a movie Agee wrote in the 1940s that's playing tomorrow as part of the James Agee Film Festival, means.)
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