“The American Experience: Walt Whitman”
Nov 23rd, 2009 by Elma Lena Porobic
The documentary „The American Experience: Walt Whitman“ by Mark Zwonitzer
A documentary very stimulating and suggestive, with capacity to illuminate all the central problems in Walt Whitman’s life, skillfully combining autobiographical, sociological, historical and religious themes. A story told in a lively and engaging way inviting numerous impressions, conclusions and above all feelings about Whitman and his work but also about ourselves and our lives in the modern society. Just as Martin Espada says at one point that „I see his Brooklyn. And strangely enough, I think he saw my Brooklyn“, throughout the documentary one feels very close to the world and life of Walt Whitman and very often while Whitman is speaking of his time we feel he is actually speaking of our time. Is not that „urban affection“ something that concerns us also- us brushing against strangers in the streets, forcing our way through the crowd, preoccupied with everyday worries and enormous to-do lists, not noticing the myriad of faces disappearing in front of us as fast and mechanically as a underground passes by leaving no trace behind? Is not that particular feeling of alienation, awareness of isolation woven into us, making us emotionally paralysed and numb? However, the documentary successfully displays Whitman as overly sensitive finding his inspiration in „the daily human drama of the city streets“. That is something that dazzles, his opening of a window to the smells, sounds and impressions of a „simple life“, his ability to see beauty in the „heavy, dense, uninterrupted street-bass“. The documentary brings one nearer to Whitman the poet and Whitman the man, communicating in a appealing and understandable way the idea that Whitman is trying to speak for everybody and to everybody, as he writes in the opening lines of Leaves of Grass:
„ I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the soul. I go with the slaves of the earth equally with the masters. And I will stand between the master and the slaves, entering into both so that both will understand me alike.“
A collage of various characters like scholars, writers, poets, historians and biographers combined with tremendously good choice of music, photography and voices (Chris Cooper did a wonderful job as a voice of Walt Whitman) contributes to stripping the documentary of any dull moments all along and captivating our attention in a sort of a little spasm of excitement what we will hear next.
This is a true glimpse into Whitman’s life and work, provoking us to think and consider all the difficulties, sufferings, aspirations, regrets but also joys and happiness of our lives now and then.
The documentary stresses out that Whitman left Leaves of Grass to anyone who would have it after his death, no wife or children to inherit such a treasure chest of human emotions and thoughts, rather to everybody, the same way he completed it, saying:
“If you want me again look for me under your boot soles…failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged. Missing me one place search another. I stop somewhere waiting for you.“
This is a significant and exposing „slice of life“ and no doubt you will enjoy it!
I agree that it’s a great documentary–everybody should have a look.
You also make me think of something I hadn’t put together before, that Whitman may have loved the city partly because that rush of what you call “faces disappearing in front of us as fast and mechanically as a underground passes by” is, after all, just an intense and immediate version of being a member of the human race.
Whitman returns over and over again to the awareness of being part of a crowd–one leaf of grass in a grassy field, one fleck of compost in the pile, one voice among many. No wonder Manhattan meant the world to him.
I simply adore this image of us being, as you said, “one leaf of grass in a grassy field, one fleck of compost in the pile, one voice among many”. That is us belonging to everybody, being everybody. That is us belonging to an agitated crowd with its eyes fixed devouringly upon us, yet being all alone, individuals for ourselves, striving to be creative and different, realised and fulfilled.
Thanks, Elma! The other thing I wanted to say is that living in a city reminds us how transient life is. People really do come and go in a flash–true to Whitman’s picture of death jumbled up with life in section 6 of “Song of Myself.” Maybe spending time in New York made it easier for Whitman to see the interconnectedness of our arrivals and departures on the planet.
Yes, that’s very true! Something we all very often forget overwhelmed with numerous faces of our lives. The life span of a dragonfly…