Kirsten Johnson Guest Lecture Reflection:

From the moment she started speaking, I knew this would be a dynamic lecture . The first thing she acknowledged was her excitement about the size of the room - which she immediately began to circle.  At first her questions seemed to be silly and unobtrusive, but you could see as people continued to dig deeper and deeper in their responses, that she was intentional in the questions she asked and was listening closely - just like we had been taught to in our interview project. It was the conversational and comfortable way she prodded at us, like a friend would, that got so much out of us - and it was the constant stream of humor that made even the hesitant participants (who she seemed to favor) stay involved. Her documentary "The Above" for Field of Vision, showcased the exact thing I'm talking about, where she takes heavy subject matter and complex ideas, and contrasts it with the lightness, children are often our viewer, we see the balloons, and even in the interview portion where the old man is speaking about god's endless reach, you see an excited young person consuming the moment and exuding a lightness, that is needed to counterbalance (and somewhat underscore) the gravity of the film's subject. There is no doubt in my mind that I am scared of Kirsten Johnson, but I am very excited to now go home and watch her movie, and I do hope to muster the bravery to meet her again.