thislife.org

The work I selected was entitled, "24 Hours at the Golden Apple." The center of the story is based on the two waiters who happen to work the graveyard shift. For the past two decades, the two ladies discuss their adventures, from couples arguing over a late night meal (I would not be surprised they were probably a little tipsy from drinking at the bars) to cops making frequent stops to eat the fine dining menu. Based off Nancy Updike's work, the semi-documentary piece offers a slice of life. The stories are mini narratives: people drag their drama into the restuarant in order to find resolutions or just ramble. In relation the narrative and experimental film, it shows that nothing is linear. Experimental film goes out of its way to make sure it does not follow any stereotypical guidlines, making things abstract and incoherent at times. In a way, it becomes empowering to not follow the rules. The thislife.org and NPR invite people to listen to stories that are everyday life: places people usually take for granted during their waking hours. And yet, does everything have a story? Is this a story right now as I type or when the viewer reads, engaging in the question? I personally find reading this blog not a story, but in the grand scheme of things, it becomes a part of the "story of your life" (made, edited, and updated by you). Sometimes people do not resolve their resoultions. For instance, these ladies working at the diner, do they have any resolutions to their lives or do they live vicariously through the patrons? Are their lives not compelling enough to write about? Their narratives, obviously different from the patrons, seem hum-drum, boring, and not exciting. Maybe that is why they are working the night shift for the past decades.....