And the Winner Is…
Oscar season is a busy time at our house. Ever since my husband Nate and I met in 1999, we’ve done our best to watch every major award nominee. This is a task we have not managed to complete since 2011 (when, not coincidentally, our eldest son William was born). However, we do watch a lot of the nominees, and whether we adore a film or find ourselves bewildered by its nomination, this practice is one of my most cherished rituals. My favorites rarely win, but I don’t see that as a reflection of their quality. Selecting winners can be such a subjective and labyrinthine process that getting the trophy isn’t always a sign of superiority, but rather of luck and fitting the judges’ tastes. Still, it’s fun to win, and whenever I’m in charge of selecting winners, I try my best to be fair and systematic in my decision making.
When selecting between options, I turn to what I learned about qualitative research while getting my PhD at Purdue. And so I donned my researcher hat while designing the poster for my feature documentary A Family of Stories. We’ve been immensely fortunate to work with Argentinian graphic designer Martín Lehmann, a brilliant artist who’s gifted at creating posters that capture the essence of a film while convincing audiences to spend their valuable (and limited) time watching it. After meeting with producer Natalia Machado and me to reach an agreed-upon understanding of the film, Martín presented us with four options. From those, he developed three, which we sent out to 38 people, along with a survey asking what they thought the film was about based on each poster, what feelings the options elicited, and whether they made them want to watch A Family of Stories.
Based on the original posters, some of our respondents thought it was a horror film (not in a million years) or a story about violence and crime (not that either). So we went back to the drawing board, using what we’d learned from our respondents to draft two new posters that we shared with 22 people, including the unsuspecting attendees at one of my recent presentations, who generously took out their phones and laptops to answer the survey and tell us which poster they preferred and why. This time, respondents thought the film was about a father and child who have a mystery at the heart of their relationship (bingo!). So, with gratitude to everyone who voted, you fabulous readers are the first to see the “winning” poster:
Unearthed Photo
Although it beautifully captures the story’s essence and mood, the winning poster wasn’t without its detractors (then again, what is?). The main request from unconvinced survey respondents was for the father’s head to be visible. We chose not to show my dad’s head because we want the poster to evoke a sense that the film deals with secrets and loss within this very loving relationship. However, here is the image in full—just for you. I have no recollection of this day since I was not yet two when the photo was taken. But I’ve seen the original photograph so often that I can feel the sand under my feet and hear the waves. I love how part of my father’s combover is caught in mid-flight, whatever he used to keep his hair attached to his skin no match for the coastal wind. I like his smile and that traditional posture of parenthood, where you lean down to gaze at your child as you help steady their tentative steps.
Oh, Wow. Here Comes Odyssey of the Mind!
I had no idea what Odyssey of the Mind was until a few months ago. Then one afternoon I replied to an email about open spots in an Odyssey of the Mind team at our youngest son’s school. Within days, Santiago had joined six other kids in using science, teamwork, creativity, and performance to find solutions to problems. The more I get to know this OM universe, the more awed I am by everyone who keeps this volunteer-run global organization going. Starting with Ann, the exquisitely laid-back and patient woman who coaches our team and hosts biweekly meetings with the children as they work, play, and create.
Last Saturday we spent ten (!) hours in a Pittsburgh high school surrounded by hundreds of kids and their parents and guardians. At the end of the day, we sat in the gym and waited for the winners to be announced. When the Hampton team won first prize in their category, it felt like the kids were starring in an unapologetically happy 80s film. Here’s the 60-second short we made about it:
Santiago was flying in a delicious victory cloud all the way home. One of these days, his OM experience—or some other competitive endeavor he pours his whole being into—will go the opposite way. And losing will hurt (it always does), and we’ll work with him to learn to deal with that pain. But I’m glad he’s learning to win too. Winners aren’t always chosen fairly. Some contests are rigged. Some people are allowed to win way more than others. But I still want my kids to learn that even in an unequal world, it can help to work very hard, have lots of fun, and give it all you’ve got, as these seven kids (and Ann!) have done.
“Breastfeeding in Public” Takes the Prize
On February 13, we launched our YouTube channel through our inaugural post for Love in Many Genres. As I explained then, the channel is a way to share content (old and new) that, like this Substack, revolves around love. We started with 12 videos, and so far the video with the most views is “Breastfeeding in the Workplace.” It seems that nursing parents are still looking for answers on how to make that particular conundrum work. Here’s our answer to it:
Stories that Transfixed Me (and May Transfix You)
American Fiction by Cord Jefferson
One of the crown jewels of our Oscar watching marathon, this comedy-with-social-a-justice-bite features Monk (Jeffrey Wright), a Black fiction writer tired of being told his thoughtful and complex literary novels aren’t Black enough. As a joke, he writes the most awfully stereotypical Black novel he can conjure. Then… you’ll just have to watch. But it’s a hilarious and deeply moving look at what happens when a pigeonholed artist decides to fight back.
Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
Winner of the 2023 Palme d’Or at Cannes, this French film is indeed long, but I was at the edge of my seat during every one of its 2 hours and 31 minutes, as writer Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) is suspected of murder after her husband is found dead outside their home in the French Alps. Hüller’s multilingual performance is a marvel as Sandra tries to prove her innocence while keeping her dignity as more and more pieces of her infinitely complicated relationship with her husband are revealed to the ravenous public, and (much worse) her beloved young son.