I really enjoyed the movie - it was well told and the acting and story line were great.
At one point in the movie, one of the characters says something that gave me an aha moment, and I rewound it a few times to write down exactly what I heard (instead of my interpretation), as I truly loved what he said. And I want to share it and also capture it here in my blog for reference. It was pretty profound for me for some reason, and also a great reminder.
There are two main characters. I well-polished black man (Dr. Don Shirley) who is a musician being driven across the South to play at certain venues by a rugged New Yorker (Tony Lip).
Tony's wife begs him to write letters to her while he is traveling, and so he tries. Sitting at the table above, they have this convo (shortened by me):
Dr. Don Shirley reads out loud part of the letter Tony is writing for his wife:
Dr. Don Shirley: “As I’m writing this letter, I’m eating potato chips, and I’m starting to get thirsty. I washed my socks and dried them on the TV. I should have brung the iron.”
[to Tony]
Dr. Don Shirley: You know this is pathetic, right?
Dr. Don Shirley: Tell me what you’re trying to say.
Tony Lip: I don’t know. You know, how I miss her and shit.
Dr. Don Shirley says in a very poignant and sincere voice: Then say that, but do it in a manner that no one else has ever done it before (and without the profanity).
I can't begin to express how those words in bold impacted me. I shared it immediately with a friend who is a writer and I told her the quote on the way home from the airport.
It has already helped me a little bit to carefully choose better words when I write, or maybe explain something more (or less), or maybe take more time with what exactly I'm trying to say.
Do it in a manner that no one else has ever done before.
WOW!
And of course this advice can be applied to many aspects of life, not just writing.
