With that in mind, please listen to the first two chapters of Shit Town, a new podcast which according to a recent article in the New York Times has already achieved blockbuster status in its first week of release.
Please give me your critique of the first two episodes of this podcast, making sure to address what you see as being either the benefits and/or the detriments of telling a documentary story in this format.
If you can address other concepts we've been studying this semester in your response - especially Ethics and Responsibility and how it applies to this particular story - all the better.
Write whatever you like, have fun listening, and please remember to have your comments posted here by no later than 5pm next Tuesday May 2!
The only thing I hate about this podcast is that I wasn't prepared to be sucked into watching 5 chapters in one sitting while neglecting all my other school assignments. SHIT TOWN is one of the most enthralling audio stories I've ever listened to, let alone one that is non-fictional. Characters are unique and complex, conflict awaits at every turn, and you're always wanting to know what happens next-- everything a narrative story strives to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteBefore TV, movies and even the written word, word of mouth is one of the very first ways mankind was able to share stories with others, so I believe the medium itself is authentic and timeless. Of course, combining the voice of a storyteller with actual audio recordings of events taking place adds a whole new layer, and Brian Reed has no doubt edited and manipulated these recordings to work within a cohesive and efficient narrative to tell the story that he wants to tell. By choosing what to include, what to leave out, who to record and how to interact with these people, the point of view of this story is clearly Brian and his perspective.
Although there's no way of getting around this bias, Brian seems to do a great job of trying to recount the events with facts, his observations, and letting the audio speak for itself. For example, even though we can tell that Brian has a more trusting and understanding relationship with Tyler, he makes it a point to refrain from adapting Tyler's opinions of the cousins until he himself has had the chance to interview them and get their side of the story. This approach pays off when he learns that the cousins are much more innocent and genuine than perhaps Tyler thinks, and he leaves it to the audience to make judgements about these two parties without a predetermined position or judgement.
Comparing an exclusively audio documentary to one that has audio and video, there are much more similarities than there are differences. It feels like SHIT TOWN is structured just like it would be if it had video, but instead the audience is encouraged to come up with this "video" in their heads as they listen rather than being shown. There are instrumental breaks between big dramatic beats to let us collect our thoughts, just like a regular documentary would do but perhaps show images of the environment or have some creative visual transitions. Instead of establishing shots, we get Brian's descriptions and interpretations of an area. Instead of talking head interviews, we get to hear genuine conversations with people that are probably more authentic when lights and a camera aren't stuck in their face. Would the cousins (especially the man) really agree to be interviewed if there was a camera instead of just an audio recorder. Definitely not!
Both sound and visuals have the ability to create meaning, evoke emotion, and emphasize the themes of a story, and so they can very well live on their own. Having this doc be solely audio causes me to use more of my imagination and creativity to pull people, events, and memories from my own life to put faces to these characters and visuals to the environments being described. I believe it gets you much more involved in the story than having the visuals catered to you where you can just sit there and soak everything in without much brainpower. I do have to wonder what this doc would be like if there was video, and I do wonder what someone like John and Tyler really look like, but I have the feeling that what you imagine ends up being more entertaining and true to the themes of the story than if you are shown reality through a camera.
S-Town (1/2)
ReplyDeleteI’m obsessed with this story now! I never listen to podcasts, and this one is making me want to listen to so many more. I listened to two episodes of S-Town, and I felt that the storytelling worked very well, and urged me to know more about John, Brian, and the story of Woodstock, AL, aka “Shittown”.
The radio show as documentary really, (and legitimately), allows the listener to create images in their own mind, based on information given. What I love so much about the freedom of the medium is that you’re driving the story just as you would in a normal documentary, but your viewers are curating their own images of the events. That, to me, is awesome, and one of the most delightful things about off-screen storytelling. As Evan said, the story is quite precisely calculated. But, isn’t every documentary calculated and formed? You see, when listening to this podcast in relation to every documentary i’ve watched before, and with the new knowledge i’ve gained from being in a doc storytelling class, it’s apparent how much more thought needs to go into creating a story without visuals. In relation to general documentary storytelling, the way this podcast differs is through the extensive amount of interaction between the interviewer and subject. It’s one thing to watch a 90 min participatory documentary, but absolutely different to spend hours listening to someone have true interactions with people. You don’t need to physically see the “storyteller” and subject in this case. For me, I felt more emotionally connected to John and Reed, just by hearing their conversations.
With audio, you literally have to find a way to create suspense within multiple chapters like this. Think about it, an average full length feature documentary runs about 90 mins. ONE EPISODE of S-Town runs 50-60. You reallllllllly have to be creative in making the moments intriguing when working with events in real time. Brian Reed does an impeccable job of creating Shittown as the central character, with enough evidence from someone like John, who has been there for 48 years. I loved that Reed focuses on the murder case with John, however, the way he structures the journey from the moment he receives the phone call, to the moment they meet, to learning more and more about the case, you really start to care about the relationship between the two, more so than the murder case itself. Yeah, I care whether or not this Kabren Burt dude killed someone, but I wouldn’t care as much if I wasn’t so heavily immersed in all the eccentric qualities of the John and Shittown.
S-Town (2/2)
ReplyDeleteThe sound design is great, and probably what makes listening so tolerable. Giving listeners beats throughout the story allows enough time to think and process what you hear, and how you feel about it.
What I liked the most about this storytelling is the fact that there’s these larger issues beyond the murder case; how people are so immersed with the media that something so crazy can seem so much like the “norm”, and the fact that people are still denying climate change, and the Earth is fucked. I truly connect with John and his intense views and fears for the world. I thank Reed for introducing me to such a character, and it makes it even better knowing that he enjoys him as well. (At least, two episodes in.)
I’m not sure I can think of anything in the storytelling that I didn’t like...I might have to listen to more episodes to be able to answer that. Maybe the fact that I took three pages worth of notes in one episode says something about the amount of information given in just one episode...I guess that’s one thing that I thought could have been approached differently. There were many names, places, plant names, scientific research, dates, and voices to keep track of, and without visuals it’s kind of hard to keep everything in line.
The takeaway of the first episode, “If you keep your mouth shut, you’ll be surprised what you can learn,” really resonated with me. I do this all the time, because i’m an observer rather than a speaker. It also reminded me of what Kirsten Johnson said in her interview on the Pure Nonfiction Podcast, that she learned so much more about a person by merely observing them, and not saying a word.
Overall, I look forward to hearing more of S-Town, and what y’all thought of it!
S-Town was a really interesting podcast. I only got through 2 episodes so far because I've been extremely busy, but I really liked the story so far. I plan on finishing the series within the next week or so. I was really on the fence about the whole thing until the end of episode 2 because I was not exactly sure where things were going. Even after episode 2 I’m not sure where this is going, but I love how unpredictable things are.
ReplyDeleteAs far as pod casts go I am not sure how I feel about them. I have always wanted to get into listening to some because I know people who swear by them. However I am an extremely visual person, and I get distracted while listening to them. I end up scrolling though my phone or checking my emails. I cant focus on them very long. They are extremely fun to listen to if you can just have a drink and lay in bed.
As far as documentary in audio form, I think that it’s a great way for people who commute to get a great story. The way S-town bounces between characters and uses music for transitions really made it feel compelling and that it flowed. I loved that he recorded phone calls, and explained how things were happening. I was able to understand information without being lost. I think the one reason I don't like the pod cast format it because I cant put faces to voices, and I end up getting lost. I am really bad with names, and I tend to use my imagination to piece together things that are left out. I think that this can either be good to the listeners or maybe people see the story in a different light.
Other than that I really was compelled to listen and learn more about this story. I think the end of episode 2 was really what made me want to keep going.
Wow. Podcasts have a special way of getting your interest. By only being audio, your imagination can run wild with what people look like and their mannerisms and you can create a cast of characters in your mind unlike what a standard doc allowed you to do. Podcasts are excellent to listens to while you're busy with other things, and that's how I initially started listening to this, while I was cleaning my room. After twenty minutes I had stopped cleaning and was laying on my bed looking at the ceiling listening so intently to every word. The use of the music paces the story and the talking perfectly, giving your brain a few moments to catch up to the twists and turns of the story unfolding to you. One thing I really appreciate is the sound of Brian Reed's (the narrator) voice. His voice is soothing, and not annoying like some podcast narrators I've heard. One thing that I really like about this podcast is how normal Brian is, and how through that you can relate to the awkward situations he was in, such as the incident at the tattoo parlor. I will definitely finish this podcast!
ReplyDeleteI feel that podcasts offer much more than written media because they put a voice with words. You may have a favorite author or blogger that you love to read, but hearing their voice and hearing them express their thoughts literally adds a new dimension to their content. The audio component promotes a deeper connection between the speaker and listener and builds a greater affinity to the author’s work. Shit town is definitely a great podcast, conflict at every turn, I loved it. On a broader scale, Shit Town is about the insurmountable challenge of living that any of us might seem to face at one point or another. It’s this harsh truth that underscores the podcast’s many difficult, brutal, and inevitably controversial topics. These topics come to include isolation and sexual repression, which are shadowed by the looming and overarching threat of societal collapse due to socioeconomic problems and climate change. Yet in spite of their complexity and range, Shit Town’s coverage of these topics ultimately amounts to a deep dive into one man’s mental health, a journey I don’t believe he ever explicitly invited us to take.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit worried about having to listen to a podcast for class. I listen to them sometimes, but almost always on YouTube. Even when it’s just two people sitting in front of microphones, I like to have that visual. S-Town is such a complex story and it proved to be a struggle for me to comprehend. I had to close my eyes and sit in darkness to pay attention to it. Not because it’s not interesting, it is, I just suck. I’m probably going to listen to the rest though because it’s a wild story and I should practice my listening skills.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as for the podcast itself, oh boy. The creator of this really had to put so much time and effort to sift through all the bullshit and tell a coherent story. It’s also set up pretty similarly to a conventional documentary by the way it’s constructed. S-Town definitely needed to be audio only to get the kind of access he got. It’s pretty incredible… and also ethically questionable. I read some of the article, but stopped when I started getting from spoilers. I can tell it definitely gets more fucked up and ethics come into question. Here’s the thing- from what I can tell, everyone knows when they’re being recorded. People just open up more when there isn’t a camera in their face.
In some ways, it’s also probably better as a podcast because holy shit there is so much going on. It might have been too overwhelming visually. It’s as focused as possible for a podcast about people that are all over the place and don’t tell the full truth. Plus, the music and effects that accompany the words are meaningful and help carry the story along and pace it nicely.
I just wish there was some kind of key I could look at to see who is who. Like a list of the names, events, places, etc. Kinda like how in the beginning of books like The Hobbit they show a map of their fictional world. Or maybe I just need that because I am too much of a visual person for my own good. I felt so lost at some points, some may say I was lost in the sauce.
I feel like I can’t say much on it since I haven’t experienced the full story yet but I just didn’t have the time. Ugh!
I have to admit, this is my first podcast I have ever listened to. I was not sure how I would like it but lo and behold I became swept up in the story from the very first episode. When the character John was first introduced, I was very interested to know if this covered up murder was legit. Throughout episode one and two, I kept asking myself “Is this real?” “IS THIS REAL????”. I was hanging off of every word and was heartbroken when I came to the end of episode two. These episodes gave off a mysterious tone which made me want to know more about the story and characters included, especially John. I continued to listen to the rest of the episodes and found that there were many twist and turns throughout. I liked this podcast because I could never guess what was going to happen next.
ReplyDeleteI think the benefits of telling a story in this form is that the listener is able to imagine their own images in their minds depending on how they interpret the story. At times, I found myself looking at the screen because I'm not used to listening to audio documentary, which I feel can be a downfall of the audio technique. I did enjoy hearing the actual voices of the characters, it made them more authentic and gave me the feeling that I was present when these conversations occurred.
I question this podcast’s ethics because John was not able to give consent of the personal information revealed about his life. If the story is interesting enough, it can be hard to make the decision whether or not to pursue it. I think as a director, you would have to put yourself in the character’s shoes. If you would be okay with someone else revealing personal secrets to the world, I would continue with the documentary.
S-Town
ReplyDeleteWow, is all I can say about this American Life podcast by producer Brian Reed. I listened to a few podcast in the past but this one has left me speechless. S -Town is about a man named John B McLemore, from Alabama who kills himself. As the story progresses more and more corruption unfolds and the story becomes more and more intense! It's so good! S- Town is completely mind blowing. I completely lost track of time and forgot about my other classes and homework. I ended up listening to three episodes but I am looking forward to listening to the rest. The ending of each chapter continues to suck you in , the cliffhangers keep you wanting more. I couldn't believe that John killed himself. It's interesting all of the subjects this podcast touched on , issues of race, law, nature ,the ocean , population control, I mean this podcast touches on so many different subjects. I kept thinking what gave Brian Reed the idea to do this ! It's so heart felt , it's like you're there in Shit Town. You feel like you have met these people and seen the things that are described in the podcast. Reed’s choice of music acts as transitions that keep the story organized . Music also invokes emotions, for instance when the Tyler talks about the last time he had seen John. There is soft music playing in some portions of the segment. It's not overwhelming and doesn't take attention away from the words. S-town is very easy to follow and extremely descriptive.It's so easy to get sucked in, you would think that the lack of images would affect the story but it doesn't. I read in an articles that some questioned rather or not it was ethical for producer Brian Reed to share this story with the world, because John died and was unable to give consent. Would John have wanted me to hear his final note or about his depression? I feel that John would have wanted the world to hear his story. However I can definitely see why someone would question the ethics , especially in chapter 3 where we are hearing people mourn over John’s death . Is it right for us to partake in this special moment? As compelling as this podcast is, I do feel that maybe there are some ethical concerns here.
I’ve never been one to really enjoy podcasts too much, and it’s not because they aren’t fascinating, it’s just because I don’t have the patience to just listen to one for too terribly long. With this one, I found it to be unique, but I feel neutral about. While I did enjoy the constant uncanny feeling of “what’s going to happen next,” I found myself feeling in the middle of a prolonged audio book. What I did enjoy was how many details I could get from just listening, especially in the first chapter where they talk about the landscape of the area or how he felt like he’s been in his shit town his entire life with no real escape. I enjoy being able to visualize everything when I hear it. It’s like reading a book and making your own visual representation of the main character in your head. The common thought that ran through my head while listening to each chapter was that these people seemed to have become so adapted to a life of debauchery and vice so much that having a phone call about what they did almost seems normal…Deeply affected by the vice of this world (especially with climate change) John McLemore was a hilarious and compelling subject all on his own, and I would have gladly just listened to him talk about the town, but then, the series moved again to the issue of death, and it got so intense. I feel like this was the part that completely threw people off when they listened to it. A balance between good humor and deceit. It’s rather intriguing overall.
ReplyDeleteZoey Danielson
ReplyDeleteS-Town was something I knew nothing about before this class. I also never listen to podcasts so, I didn’t have much expectations for this. But, like so many other documentaries you have shown us, I was sucked in. Well, I wasn’t expecting John to have killed himself… Which I’m sure there is more to when you continue on in the story, but… holy hell. That was so good. I don’t know how to feel right now because John was what really made it for me. The way he would seamlessly drive right into another topic was pure magic. He was so weird in the best possible way… I’m definitely going to continue listening to it.
There is something so weirdly magical about this podcast that I really love. I think it has a lot to do with the sound design, because it is absolutely perfect. This podcast actually reminds me a lot of The Thin Blue Line with the things about the police and the people of this small town all having a say in what happened. I loved all the actors, I think every one of them really suited this podcast. I love the phone calls in between. Other than it being a little slow at parts, I thought it was pretty perfect. I think some of my struggle was the fact that it was a podcast, I really had to listen, and without something visual for me it was a bit hard at times. I wish I would’ve had a written version or something with me, I think it would have been easier to follow.
I was shocked at how clearly I saw everything in this story, particularly when we first are in john’s garden and when were at the tattoo parlor. I think the sound design plays a huge part in all of it. The way everything is described, the voices, the background voices, it so fantastic. I think that ethically Brian does a really great job of hearing everyone’s opinions, but not agreeing with them. Especially when he is in the tattoo parlor and people are throwing around racist comments. I think Brain comes at everything with a very fact based standpoint, he doesn’t make any assumptions until the facts are gathered. Overall I really loved the first two episodes and I will be continuing on.
Podcasts had always missed me due to the lack of a visual element, but it felt to me like reading a book where I made the image. Listening to this on the train in the cloudy and rainy mornings I created the image of the town as depressing and green. My surroundings really did influence how I felt about what I was listening to, it made me feel as depressed as John is, or was rather. The reveal at the end has pulled me into this so much more. After submitting this I will continue this series on the train each day. I never thought I could be so interested in the subject and the characters but I found it all relatable. Each time I go to visit my dad every month, I am surrounded by those with what I consider to be wrong minded people, so I felt empathy towards John and how he feels towards Tyler, for I want to try and take my own brother from a similar situation. That aspect really resonated with me and the last 20 minutes of the 2nd chapter is what truly pulled me in and is what is going to make me continue with it. The only thing that I would like from this visually would be to see these people. They can describe them with great detail, but without seeing them I don't feel that I truly know them. The audio element does work very well to create that emotion and the music works for those dramatic moments. I was very impressed and glad I got the chance to not only hear but experience a podcast like this with the same level of focus I have to watching a documentary.
ReplyDeleteI've never been much of a fan of podcasts, and I'll admit I almost gave up about 10 minutes into Shit-town, but I soon found myself completely lost in the story. I ended up listening to the whole series, I was so engaged in it. John was a fascinating character, and many times I found the story hard to believe. This story really worked in a purely audio format because it felt almost fictional. I was able to focus on the details and draw up the town in my own mind. However, one detriment was that there were so many characters, and no visual way to distinctly between characters, such as during the journalist’s time at the tattoo parlor. Then again, the podcast format made it easier to access the story. With podcasts, you can download the story and listen anywhere- I would listen on my way to class or on the train. With film documentaries, you need to sit down-probably at home- and watch for two hours. I was able to pick up the podcast and put it down whenever. There wasn’t much of an argument, but the story was more character driven and I became interested in the town because of them. Since John died before it was released, the ethics of releasing his story and details of his life are a bit blurry, however he seemed to approve of everything beforehand. Brian Reed tried to get a look at John from all angles, by hanging out with the outsiders and asking about their views on John to spending long amounts of time with him. Perhaps it was unethical to become so involved in his life, seeing as he was depressive and seemed to attach to Brian, so he toed the line between a professional and personal relationship. It’s important to connect to your subject, but there are also boundaries that need to be set. Otherwise, it was well done, and I didn’t feel cheated because there was no visual aspect of the story.
ReplyDeleteCompletely unrelated to the actual content, but my first thought when Brian Reed started talking, before he said his name, was "wait, is that Greg Sestero?" Then I pulled up the audio book for The Disaster Artist and compared the two voices, which are insanely similar.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I love podcasts in general, because it allows me to not have to worry about any kind of visual, while I'm doing something else. Because of this, it feels like I can be invested in what's being said without having to stare at a screen, or read subtitles, or whatever the fuck else you might have to do with a visual form of media. So while I've listened to podcasts, I've never listened to one like this, and I really enjoyed it. I found it interesting how pulled in I was by just audio, especially as someone who always has to do multiple things at a time, because I find that it's rare for a non visual piece to grab you in the same way as a film or television show. Here's my problem though. While the audio dragged me in, I constantly found myself looking over at my computer screen hoping to see an image of John. I almost wish there were visuals, but I feel like it would just ruin everything.
The first two episodes of Shit Town are funny, intriguing, very well crafted and I’ll say mildly suspenseful. Brian Reed does a pretty good job of describing the town we come to know as shit town as well as give outlines to the characters like John, as well as my favorite part, all the people we meet in the tattoo parlor/bar. Despite his yankee status, I admire the way he tries to relate to and understand all the people he comes across, which I admit, is probably a difficult task to do. The promise of delving into a possible murder mystery is very tantalizing all the way through the episodes when confronted with new information that is odd and does not make sense. I can feel the stylistic influence of Serial’s Sarah Koenig in the episodes. Season 1 of Serial is a personal favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteNow my criticisms of this podcast, for the most part, come from the fact that this story is presented in a podcast. I have sort of a love hate relationship with the medium because it is an audio form of documentary but I don’t want to muddy this review with what I think is unnecessary. My issues with Shit Town are about how the on location interviews are constantly interrupted with Reed’s commentary. When he first arrives at John’s home, I can hear them walking around in the background, but Reed’s voice over is the prominent sound in the mix. I wanted to hear as much of John’s own voice as possible but instead I get the outsiders perspective. It probably is necessary as a storytelling device to approach this place from an outsider's view, but I still would have liked to hear John that wasn't through a phone call.
I also didn’t appreciate the poetic interludes about time and clocks provided by Reed in the beginning and endings of the episodes. I really just wanted to get to the story and the characters we meet in the Shit Town. The second episode is a little bothersome to me because it sort of destroys the shittiness of the town at the revelation there was no murder and the incident in question was handled properly. Also, the entire sexual assault committed by police officers is dropped at this point. However, I am still interested in the aftermath of John’s suicide and what else there is to discover about this small shitty town in the middle of nowhere Alabama and I will continue to listen.
Over the past few years I've started to enjoy podcasts more. I listen to them while cooking or on a long train/plane ride, and while working out. But for Shit Town, especially hearing so much about it, I curled up on my couch and just listened.
ReplyDeleteQuite honestly, it didn't hook me right away. It started a bit slow, but I was so intrigued and curious as to what was going to happen next that it never lost my attention. There were a few moments that I caught myself smiling at and they came with the editing. This was produced and edited so well with the narrator telling us this story and then cutting to our subject finishing off the sentence. I wasn't annoyed but would have liked this podcast more Brian didn't interrupt the phone calls or the convos with his own narration, similar to what Sean pointed out.
I'm thankful this was in the form of a podcast, as it was told so fantastically, mysteriously and magically. I found myself drifting off into this world and my own imagination. I think the soundtrack played a big part in the mood. It made it seem like a Nancy Drew or Sherlock Holmes case. Shit Town made me think about the possibilities of doing a podcast for my final project on the question about death. How big of a difference a artistic platform could make.
ReplyDeleteOkay. So I listened to Shit Town in two sittings about a month ago. I skipped a class so I could stay home and listen to my first chunk. It was the end of episode 2 that encouraged my truancy. Needless to say, after episode 2, I found myself lighting candles and getting situated in the bathtub with snacks and a slurpee for sustenance, hunkering down in the dark to listen to what the hell was going to become of this story that I thought was going to be that of the True Crime genre. Nothing intrigues me more than being led down one path and then discovering you’re actually on another.
And that is exactly what Shit Town did. While fictional/theatrical podcasts have never been my forte, I gave this a shot when you, Dan, mentioned it briefly in class. I wasn’t aware there was a realm of audio/radio documentary. I did some research and found that it is not only a niche but a wide spanning genre seemingly dominated by the team that executed Shit Town.
The most obvious detriment of the general audio doc is the fact we don’t get to see the subjects. What I have experienced (after having listened to all 7 episodes, mind you) is that Brian Reed and the team behind the podcast has done a brilliant job of descriptive storytelling. I found myself sitting completely still, almost completely zonked out imagining what I was hearing. Once the story got rolling I found myself vividly imagining Bib County and its inhabitants, John’s tattoos, Tyler smoking on a dim porch discussing his companionship with John. Somehow what Shit Town’s team managed to do was leave nothing to the imagination while leaving, well, everything to the imagination.
Shit Town was MEANT to be an audio documentary. While it would have been fascinating as a regular documentary, I think never being able to see John ramble or wander about his property, only being able to hear, left us with the most fascinating and intriguing sense of mystery. John is such an open book with his thoughts, spouting theories of government collusion and climate change chaos. If I was watching John talk, walk around, work on clocks, I might not be as compelled. I never would have thought I could feel that way, but I guess I have never experienced a character quite like John B. McLemore. There was something charming in his voice and in the way he addressed Brian Reed. Only having a perception of the auditory happenings of Bib forced us to pay attention more- we were only given so much stimulation. For that I am grateful.
As somebody who doesn’t listen to podcasts all too often, I was slightly confused as to why our very last “Intro to Documentary” class blog post was on one. Though I’ve seen countless documentaries in my lifetime, I somehow didn’t spot a connection to (essentially) radio journalism and (essentially) video journalism.
ReplyDeleteShit Town jogged my memory on how stories are told through audio only. And this was an incredibly cinematic piece of non-cinema. Dramatic reveals through narration (wait, this has nothing to really do with clocks?) (wait, he might have been shitting you this whole time?) were timed so gracefully, and that’s part of what sells Shit Town as cinematic to me. Chic musical transitions and descriptive imagery throughout definitely help, too.
I couldn’t help but still try and dissect this as if it were any other film documentary- meaning that I tried to guess Shit Town’s “mode” as I listened. I first assumed it would be more expository, with a dry summary of what Shit Town is and why it’s Shitty. But I later felt it was more participatory- after all, we’re following Brian Reed as he participates and travels in this Shitty Town. And then I changed my mind once more, because I had been going through the beginning of this podcast believing that the main “character” was this Shitty town in Alabama. I was right about this being character-driven, but I hadn’t realized that the character in question would be John.
The way that all of Brian’s encounters are described is phenomenal, from being told what a person is wearing to the aesthetics of their current surroundings. This does something that regular film documentary can’t- it forces you to know what the director wants you to know. If the director wants you to know how a man’s tattoo looks because they believe it’s important to his character establishment, it’ll be spoon-fed to you. Any glimmering detail that could possibly go unnoticed in a 2-second b-roll clip of film footage will be forced into your ears in a podcast, and I appreciate it.
That being said, I do still crave to see all of these encounters and interviews on film. Imagining the way things look on my own is fun and all, but I’d kill to see that beautiful maze garden and the gorgeous farm estate for myself.
Anyways, I’m going to keep listening.
Sean McGann
ReplyDeleteShit Town's first two episodes were interesting and well-performed, though I wasn't immediately hooked. The whole thing felt almost like a really interesting slide show of a vacation. The host introduces each clip of the townspeople like it's his next photo from Cancun, but somehow It works with telling the story.
It's a Southern murder mystery with an examination of the psychological disorder of a smart Alabama man. It has so much to offer. The use of audio recordings make the documentary a much more appealing and immersive experience, so that is another plus.
Overall, from what I heard, Shit Town is shaping up to be a legendary podcast.
Ian Roozrokh
ReplyDeletePodcast’s are usually very hard for me to sit down and take the time to listen to. Besides radio news such as NPR or local radio hosts, I never have really taken the time to listen to a Podcast. I’m more of a visual learner. I appreciate how appropriate this goes with last week's discussion about sound in that this validates what I said in my previous blog.
As I sent myself down to listen to this, I needed something to look to keep me focused at or nothing at all so thank god I found the transcript so I could follow along. It wasn’t until the 5 minutes into the first episode where I felt comfortable about what the story was going to be and what it looked like. The narrator discussed in detail what he saw and who he met and stated these facts a couple times to reinforce their significance. Even so, I had to google pictures of these people just to get face references to help me follow the story. I kept wondering if this would play good as a documentary which led me into how ethical this seemed to be.
Brian seemed to be pointing fingers and looking down at this middle-of-nowhere shittown throughout the podcast and only sometimes made me feel as though he was actually sympathizing with the characters rather than using them as tropes to paint the picture of how shitty this town really is.
Overall, I loved how this podcast opened up my perspective on how sound in documentary plays essentially the biggest role. Makes me wonder if there’s any silent short documentaries. Now I’m just going crazy.
Gonna miss these blog posts, I enjoy reading what everyone had to say throughout this class.
Sorry for the late post Dan, but as per tradition, I feel the obligation to do this at the last minute possible.
ReplyDeleteI was suspicious of Shit Town when you first recommended it. "A podcast?" I thought, "This is a documentary class, do we really have to cap it off with a podcast?". After listening to it, however, I found it to be near the top in the favorite things I've watched (or listened to) in this class. I think to an extent its the accents, but what really made the first two episodes of the podcast intriguing was John's character, and Brian's slow quest in uncovering things about him. John reminded me of a good friend I have back in Casper, WY who is constantly researching Roman History, World War II History, watching Akira Kurosawa films, and keeping up on the Kurdish Army's twitter page in their fight against ISIS. I guess the reason John reminds me of him so much is that he hasn't left conservative, shit-town Casper for college, despite being brilliant and from a well-off family, and that I worry about him toiling his life away on the internet for the rest of his life if he doesn't get out of there.
So John is the heart of this audio documentary's appeal, at least to me; I was devastated when I learned that he killed himself when I finished the last episode last night. He is (was) such a unique, and obviously intelligent man, and I truly believe kind-hearted as well. The way his character is fleshed out, revealed, and his layers peeled away made me felt connected to him in a way that very few stories, fiction and non-fiction, can do for me.
I am excited to finish the rest of this audio doc and truly hope I can discover more about John and get a fuller picture of the ethnography that Brian is exploring. Maybe he didn't kill himself? Maybe that's just another small-town rumor?
I really hope so.