The title of the piece is "Black Bear: Aubrey Plaza, One-Piece Bathing Suits and Acts of Creation," it can be read here, and it raises the following question: Can you truly understand an individual's creative process? You tell me. And please do enjoy some excerpt below.
"I can definitely tell you what I saw as I watched Black Bear.
"Which I have and this is a review and I owe you that.
"Full-disclosure though, I don't know if I can make sense of it for you.
"Which may mean something to you, or the writer/director of Black Bear, or even me. What's my responsibility here?
"I don't know, but I also don't know how to answer this question in the same way I can't explain someone else's creative process to you.
"Who can do that?
"That said, I can definitely say a lot about the creative process and what Black Bear has to say about all of that.
"At one point in Part One, Allison says, "It's not like I have any big ideas." She also says, "With my scripts, I start with a simple premise."
"Which may be all we need to know about what Black Bear wants us to know.
"As artists we have a simple idea, a premise, something that may come from life, ours or someone else's. We ruminate on that idea, we see where it might go, we craft a story, adding layers and details, dialogue, and conflict. We look to ground our characters in something real, backstory, actual lives lived. We strain for emotional impact and authenticity, and we keep telling ourselves that story from every possible side, approaching it one way, then another. We shave down rough edges, add others, maybe a hook. We build-in callbacks to the story itself and we keep molding it, adding more layers, pain, humor, history, tightening it until it looks like a story we want to tell. In our voice. Personal and alive."