Elsewhere: Talkin’ About Being Wrong on A Frame Apart

Talking about film as often as I do can make for some interesting experiences.

Some people have become closer personal friends because of the places movie conversations have taken us. Some people have found ways to give me a natural high strictly through shared passion of the art form. Other people have found ways to both frustrate and amuse me by disagreeing with me in a way that both confounds me and keeps me coming back for more.

…or in the case of Ariel Fisher, all of the above.

Ariel and her life partner Bob Barrow are the whip-smart hosts of A Frame Apart, a podcast that looks at film from the perspective of the writer and the critic. If you aren’t listening to their show, you should be. For real…they make my most thought-provoking work look like the finger-painting of a kindergartener.

As the dynamic duo found themselves hitting the century mark, Ariel decided that the time was right to dedicate an entire episode to what made her and I friends in the first place (which, by extension, introduced me to the tube of awesome that is Bob Barrow). So it went, that I was brought on to A Frame Apart to argue..at length…which I did…at great length.

At first blush, I will admit that this show might be a tough listen. There are times where Ariel and I are holding back precious little, delivering a pretty intense dogfight straight into your headphone cable. If you listen closely though, you’ll hear a few things which I am truly intrigued by.

You’ll hear one of us realize we’ve hit a nerve, and politely find a way to back away from the point. You’ll hear one of us come to a realization we didn’t want to face, and concede to a larger truth. You’ll hear arguments that have long-simmered, and you’ll hear entirely new disagreements. But what is most important in these divided times is that you will hear two people who consider themselves on the same side violently disagree…and never turn it into a personal attack.

I believe it’s important to have conversations with people who disagree with you – sometimes even hard conversations that turn into arguments. We should force ourselves to think about what someone on the other side thinks, and what’s more – we should consider the fact that someone we love might disagree with us.

Ariel and Bob have done an amazing job of that over the years for me…so hopefully what you hear in this very lengthy discussion is more than an argument; hopefully you hear passion, empathy, perspective, and illumination.

So as I make apologies for this plug being quite overdue, I point you all towards Modern Superior where the episode can be found here. Any comments about how wrong I am – and how often – can be left below