One of my favorite filmmakers is Jeff Nichols. His first film, Shotgun Stories, is about a violent feud between half-brothers. Three from a father's first marriage... which was miserable and left behind. And three from a father's second marriage, which was prosperous and made the father seem like an upstanding person.
The feud starts when the brothers from the first marriage show up at the father's funeral and spit on his casket. The film implicates men in the atrocities they perpetuate against each other. But implicates their women enablers just as much. Which is why I love the film. It does not judge. It simply presents the world as the filmmaker sees it. At the height of the Ottoman Empire, the first born son would order the execution of his younger brothers to prevent any challenge to the throne. I don't think it's a stretch to say that most killings in history have in fact been brother against brother. What is it about men that makes us feel like we must destroy each other? Who are we honoring? Who are we protecting? Why can't we just stop? Comments are closed.
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February 2021
Photo by Hillary Goidell taken for Anniversary! Stories By Tobias Wolff and George Saunders for Word for Word at Z Space
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