#128 The Craftsman

I wanted to spend time this show talking about why I want to be a filmmaker, really, why I feel compelled to make things. I know I've covered this ground before, but I'm talking specifically about my experience as a film maker producing Handmade in America, and what it's taught me.

Unfortunately I got lost talking about the ideas behind the movie and had to stop in the middle. And I didn't intend to give a review of a The Craftsman, by Richard Sennett, but that's what I ended up doing. It's a great book for anyone who struggles with the reasons why we like to making things with our hands and served as a rudder for my vision while I worked on the film.

Most of the show is leading to a showdown between the concepts of Craft and Art.. There's a recorded conversation online with Richard Sennett and Eva Hoffman discussing how the romanticization of Art, and Craft blunts the impact of these things in our lives. It's a great discussion, but I bring it up  because it refers to John Carey's book, What Good are the Arts. Although I mention it only in passing, I promise to elaborate further in the next episode and where I will in fact bring the dynamic of Craft and Art into harmony.