I find comfort in studying film history where at first I felt anxiety. When I started watching films critically, I was constantly inspired to improve, innovate, and inspire. But for every naive idea I had, I soon discovered a film that had executed the idea better than I had envisioned myself. And I would inevitably later discover that that movie was also not the first. If there is anything to discover about film that has not been explored, it will pale in comparison to the revelations from the original innovators, who perhaps benefited as much from their fortunate timing as they did their innovative genius. People love a good story, even one they’ve hear a thousand times. Maybe especially one they’ve heard a thousand times.
