Who is paying more attention?
Spring evening in a small old house. Two of us not knowing what to do.
A pile of videos.
“Do we want to watch something we have to pay attention to? Or something we don’t have to pay attention to?”
“Um.”
“Something we don’t have to pay attention to.”
I singled out D. A. Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan documentary, “Don’t Look Back.” A Dylan fan since high school, I had never seen this movie or any video footage of him.
The film drew me in, especially scenes in which Bob was being a jerk. I noted his icy behavior toward Joan Baez and Donovan.
Then I looked up and Bob was quarreling with a Time reporter. He called the reporter’s work irrelevant. He said Time magazine meant nothing to him. He said he didn’t care what the reporter wrote about him.
He said he didn’t read Time magazine!
I felt sorry for the reporter. I reprimanded Bob.
“B-AAAAH-b!” I whined.
“Bob is such an asshole,” said my host.
He smiled. I smiled. We ate popcorn. I was in love at some point. The movie ended at some point.
I went home wondering what was so bad about Time magazine. Wasn’t it well-written? Didn’t it tell the news? Wasn’t it a good source of interpretation and commentary? Richard Corliss wrote for Time. Wasn’t he a pretty good movie critic?
A few years later, everybody got the Internet.
I watched the Dylan movie again once (I think), but with even less attention. It’s not like watching “A Hard Day’s Night.” “Don’t Look Back” is more like an experience to absorb. It’s a good choice for a movie you don’t have to pay attention to.
