unknown white male

I'm writing to tell you all to rush out and see a documentary that will be released shortly called Unknown White Male. I dragged my butt all the way to Santa Monica to see a free preview screening of it this evening and it was damn worth it.

It is about Doug Bruce who inexplicably lost his experiential memory overnight. He woke up on a subway train in Coney Island and had no clue who he was. The film follows him as he reconstructs his life and his identity.

It's such a powerful film for me because at the core are so many themes relating to memory and identity. That is essentially what I study. I can't explain my intense interest and attachment to dissecting memory, how it's constructed, used, and to what ends. The film is an excellent teaching tool and clearly illustrates the profound importance memory plays to individuals, which feed to a larger whole. I'm failing to articulate the grandness I see in the film, but I think I need some time to digest it (plus, I've got one killer headache). I want to see it again. I want you to see it. I want to discuss it.


P.S. Allie has started a new blog that seeks to do that last bit.