Lead and Eraserhead
I was a teenager when the iPod and subsequently the iPhone came out. I remember when my classmates would flock around one of our friends who owned the first iPhone in our class. While my family couldn’t afford an Apple device at the time, I always carried a few pencils in my backpack. Over a decade and a half later, with smartphones everywhere, it turns out that a carefully sharpened stub of pencil dubbed a “mini” has become the most valued possession of some school-aged children these days. According to a recent Wall Street Journal Article: “They’re a status symbol.”
In a couple of weeks, we will mark one year since unseen made its debut. For better and for worse, so much has changed in the world since then. Whenever I travel with Pedro as we continue to share our film with audiences, I am reminded of how much we too have been transformed by this process. For one, I have come to place more value on the things I once overlooked – and question the worth of what I have been conditioned to aspire for. I’m even considering what it would be like to nix my smartphone, and kick it old school once again. Perhaps there’s a thing or two to learn from the kids at the schoolyard and even from our younger selves. (SH)
