A Video Memoir
Recently I was interviewed twice by Kelly Gulbrandson for a class project in her clinical psychology graduate program. The assignment was to describe my life story as if I were a patient coming for treatment in a clinic. We had two sessions totaling about five hours. I videotaped each session. Childhood. Parents. School. Work.
Coincidentally, I’ve been thinking about doing something I’m calling a “Video Memoir.” My “target audience” for this would be my grandson when he is old enough to be curious about his lineage. “Where did I come from? Who am I? Who came before me?”
I would love to know more about my grandparents. Who were they? What shaped them? Their struggles and successes. After all I (and we) come from survivors. I would love to know more about their journies. Today we have the magic of video. So I hope to answer some of these questions for Reid Kelly Munger.
So this blog is a “Proof of Concept.” It is an edited sample of my “Kelly Interviews.” Four chapters: Problem Child, ’36 Fords, Psychology, Tell Me Your Story. My longer Video Memoir would cover the major events of my life: childhood, parents, therapy, academics, music, sex, religion, PhD, PowerSpeaking, struggles, disappointments, successes, life lessons… the list goes on and on. Final project would be 25 to 30 hours of video. In a word, A Big Fucking Deal.
As you watch this, think what a video memoir of your life might encompass. Also, note the skill of my interviewer, Kelly Gulbrandson. She is so encouraging as she reinforces my stories and draws me out. For you to do such a project, you’d need an excellent interviewer. Anyway, love to hear what you think of this proof of concept, “Rick’s Story.”
“The major challenge after 50 is to answer the question: What is my story?’” Carl Jung.
The only story I haven’t heard before was the one about the interviews of car owners in parking lots to connect vehicle choice with personal values. Your ability to get strangers to open up is a real talent that I think most folks simply do not have. Maybe it’s fear of getting punched in the nose.
Happy Birthday-week-ish, Rick!! Your stories and enthusiasm set a high bar. That grandson is gonna’ have a lot to “live up to” (god forbid!) once he hears your history. I say, “more, more!” – so many questions I have for my own grandfather(s), so many untold, transformative stories. Thanks for sharing your naked truth with all of us… now put on a pair of pants!