The Visiting Privilege (Written by Joy Williams)/2015
I never really saw the point of short stories nor could I see the difference between short stories and novels. I thought short-stories were just short novels. However I have recently been enlightened by reading American author Joy Williams’ work The Visiting Privilege.
The Visiting Privilege is a collection of Joy Williams' new and old short stories set mostly among people living in rural America. Joy Williams stories are generally set in a humble background with simple people leading quiet lives. However they also capture the deeper and darker aspects of human mind that is drastically contrasted by peaceful and natural setting; voyeurism, domination, manipulation, abandonment – some intentionally, some driven by unconscious desires.
There is often unsettling and disturbing feeling to her stories that you can’t quite comprehend; they have the eeriness of a holiday house out in the middle of nowhere. I think she achieves this partly by exposing human behaviour in a way that is outside the normal social comfort zone. She portrays stalking school girls, an abusive and controlling dying person or an elegant alcoholic mother that you cannot help but admire for her tragic beauty.
Since reading Joy Williams’ work, I’ve come to realise that beauty of short stories are what could be suggested without having to have them written out fully. The artful subtlety in a good short story is like a titillation of a burlesque show. I would highly recommend Joy Williams especially if you’re a fan of short stories or want to explore the genre.
What Happened, Miss Simone? (Directed by Liz Garbus)/2015
What Happened Miss Simone covers the life and work of the queen of the Blues and Soul, Nina Simone. Nina Simone got into music from an early age firstly to train as a classical pianist and later to provide income for her family. Due to her intense piano training, she had a relatively isolated life from children her age. This perhaps had a lasting impact in her figuring out her identity. Also it seemed that many of the people closest to her were white (her piano teacher and later her guitarist) and Nina came into the civil rights debate quite late in her time and did not fully grasp the concept as she was growing up.
For her, engaging with the discussions on racial discrimination helped her to understand how she felt about herself and the world she was in. While she supported civil rights movement wholeheartedly she did not particularly play a leading role in it which was surprising considering her stature in the music scene. She also felt that she could only have influence while she was on the stage and lacked the influence to drive the movement off-stage. Perhaps this was due to a lack of other peers that supported her cause in her crew (including her husband/manager). After the death of Martin Luther King Jr Nina Simone’s support for the movement curbed and she lamented the fact that that the movement was over.
Few amazing artists seemed to have had an easy life, however many find joy and solace through their work and they are able to express themselves and how they see the world around them. For Nina Simone, despite her brilliant talent and abilities she seemed to have been unable to find satisfaction. She aspired to be a classical pianist from a young age but this desire went unsatisfied and became a tragedy for her. What Happened also covers her struggle with her identity, depression and bi-polar as well as spousal violence. These issues caused many problems in her later life with herself and her daughter.
The film does not delve into these elements to provide understanding or justification for who or how Nina was. Rather it includes these components into the story as a by the way. In that respect I thought the documentary lacked the heart and sympathetic eye on Nina Simone as a human being. Nina Simone spend her later years alone and on medication for her bi-polar which affected her musical abilities. It was a sad ending to see the queen fade away like that.
What Happened had great music and it certainly has broadened my understanding of Nina Simone’s work, the breadth of style and the calibre of her talent. Music documentaries work best when they have a lot of performance footage and link performances to the different stages of the artist's life. What Happened did this really well and now I can listen to Nina Simone understanding the context behind what she went through around that time in her life when she she made that particular music. She also had amazing style and all her outfits and costumes were a joy to watch!
I never really saw the point of short stories nor could I see the difference between short stories and novels. I thought short-stories were just short novels. However I have recently been enlightened by reading American author Joy Williams’ work The Visiting Privilege.