“Hearts of Darkness” is a 1991 documentary (available on Netflix) about the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film, “Apocalypse Now.” I think I saw this documentary when I was in college. Perhaps when I was living with Kruiser. At the time I remember thinking that it was pretty awesome how insane everyone went while making “Apocalypse Now.” I recently re-watched this documentary and my reaction was pretty different this time around. What really stuck out this time was Coppola’s crushing self-doubt, something I find easy to relate to, and his resolve and persistence. The message that I took from it was that you have to finish. When working on a creative project (and I don’t just mean “creative” in that typical sense, I mean creative in that you are trying to solve a problem) you have to push on and finish. Even if it feels like your work is utter shit and the whole world is going to laugh at you. You have to finish.

I think that one of the things that get in the way of this is our inherent uneasiness with the unknown. As soon as we become fearful about what may or may not happen, the doubt creeps in and diverts us from our goals. Sometimes I guess you just have to  take a closer look at that fear and find peace with being unsure. Or maybe you just need to get wasted in a hotel room, punch a mirror and howl at the moon? (The scene above is of Martin Sheen filming a pivotal scene that sets up his character at the outset of the film).

Anyway, “Hearts of Darkness” is a great documentary and definitely worth checking out, regardless of how much you like or dislike “Apocalypse Now.”

life on the virtual frontier

From PBS FRONTLINE, a report on the digital revolution and how it’s changing our lives.

Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we’ve gained?

Living Faster, Relationships, Waging War, Virtual Worlds and Learning Web Exclusives go further, from iPods to drone attacks to how Google saved a school. 

From this lover of FRONTLINE, consider me really looking forward to my (digital) weekend.

The e2 series, by PBS, is “a critically acclaimed, multipart PBS series about the innovators and pioneers who envision a better quality of life on earth: socially, culturally, economically and ecologically.” (taken from the e2 – About page). So far I have only seen their e2- “Design” series (seasons 1 & 2) but I really enjoyed them. I am always on the search for decent shows to watch instantly on Netflix and they currently have Season 1 available to watch instantly for Netflix subscribers. If you don’t have Netflix, PBS’ video site also has a number of episodes available to watch online. The video above, “The Green Apple” – Season 1, Episode 1, is the only full episode that I could find on YouTube.

While I have only watched their design-focused portion they also have (or are making) episodes focused on energy, water, food, transport and cities. These shows are an inspiring and welcome addition to the ongoing discussion about climate change and the role design can play both in causing and fixing these problems.

Oh, and they’re narrated by the soothing, familiar, comfortaing voice of Tyler Durden… er, Brad Pitt.