At our last meeting, we discussed "The Film Club," a memoir by David Gilmour. One the surface, the book can be seen as just a story about a father's unusual tactics to get his son to go back to school. But there is so much more going on here. The book is as much about the son as it is about the father. Gilmour's struggle to steer his son in a more positive direction forces him to recognize his own short-comings and ultimately, I think he grows and learns as much as, if not more than, his son. One of the things that we discussed and all thought was a unique and admirable thing was Gilmour's relationship with his wife and ex-wife. He's able to do what most people only wish they could which is to put aside any grievances they may have after a relationship is over and work to build a new kind of relationship. This is especially crucial when dealing with relationships that involve children. Even Gilmour's new wife is able to join in the fold and not feel intimidated by the obvious strong bond that Gilmour continues to have with his ex-wife.
Another topic that came up was whether or not we believed that Gilmour allowing his son to quit high school was a good thing. There were view points on both sides of the spectrum.
For the purposes of the blog, here are a few questions:
How did Gilmour's plan to get his son to go back to school ultimately work?
How did Gilmour's plan affect his relationship with his son?
3 comments:
To answer Tiffany's first question, I think the film club did work. Ultimately, Jesse--a kid who was not succeeding in school--found a way to succeed at the end of the book. Though, I think Jesse's situation is unique to Jesse. Jesse is clearly a bright and talented individual for whom school just didn't work. His father's creation of the film club not only allowed Jesse to learn about film as a subject and those themes relevant to their film "syllabus" but also provided an element missing in so many family relationships (and I hate this term): quality time. The film part of the club could have been books, it could have been writing, maybe it even could have been computer or video games. It was the club element of David and Jesse spending time together that enabled Jesse's true schooling.
I’ll add a little to the second question. I think David Gilmour’s plan brought him and Jessie closer and was probably the most rewarding part of the experiment. He was able to develop a deeper relationship with his son over a couple of years that would have taken some fathers a lifetime to accomplish. And he was able to gain such good info. He got to learn a lot (too much at times!) about what was going on in Jessie’s life – his relationships, hopes and fears. Maybe, as they both grow older, they’ll look back fondly at those days where they had all that time to spend together.
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