A.K.A.
- Episode aired Sep 28, 2012
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1.9 A.K.A. by Melanie Marnich: A nicely personal piece that celebrates the immigrant roots of the US but also the fresh start
Like many other writers in this series, as far as I know I have never seen any other work from this writer, Marnich, so I have no way of knowing for sure if the story she tells here is a true one as suggested, but it does appear to be. Similar in style to the first film in that the writer addresses the camera directly through the actress. In this case we find that Marnich is initially reluctant to be part of the project but is also too cowardly to say no. Being so American, she poses, it is perhaps too hard to understand how good it is to be an American, to imagine a different life from which this one was a great improvement – although for her grandparents this is what it was.
She tells the story of how change did not come easily to her family, with her grandfather clinging to old language and ways despite being in a new place. From here she explores her father's name, which in a way represents his break from the past and decision to begin again in this new land. Perhaps there is a naivety to him in how he pushes away from older memories, but the simplicity of his change (the handwritten correction) speaks to me of the mindset of those who came to the US, that they were looking forward with optimism as they left other things behind them and started anew. In this film we get that recognized but at the same time it is clear that it is not something that happened to everyone simply because they turned up at the door. It is a nice piece in this way because it does capture the sense of hope and betterment but does so in a way that avoids just being flag-waving and generalist.
Filmed in one take, actress Preston (best known for True Blood) is natural and convincing in her delivery, selling her character throughout. It is a personal piece that is engaging and well told, linking the immigrant roots of the US, and the positive mindset that I find so many settled Americans tend to have.
She tells the story of how change did not come easily to her family, with her grandfather clinging to old language and ways despite being in a new place. From here she explores her father's name, which in a way represents his break from the past and decision to begin again in this new land. Perhaps there is a naivety to him in how he pushes away from older memories, but the simplicity of his change (the handwritten correction) speaks to me of the mindset of those who came to the US, that they were looking forward with optimism as they left other things behind them and started anew. In this film we get that recognized but at the same time it is clear that it is not something that happened to everyone simply because they turned up at the door. It is a nice piece in this way because it does capture the sense of hope and betterment but does so in a way that avoids just being flag-waving and generalist.
Filmed in one take, actress Preston (best known for True Blood) is natural and convincing in her delivery, selling her character throughout. It is a personal piece that is engaging and well told, linking the immigrant roots of the US, and the positive mindset that I find so many settled Americans tend to have.
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- bob the moo
- Oct 5, 2014
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