“This is ‘And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind’ by Elvis Presley. I didn’t really love Elvis. Elvis wasn’t my person. But a friend of mine said ‘Wait, you gotta listen to it’, and I remember this song was like, when it clicked for me what people were hearing in it…
I don’t know if anything beats a friend, or someone you respect, saying like: try it again. You’ve missed it. Try it again.”
– Greta Gerwig, Desert Island Discs
“I feel like movies are presents, and credits and fonts are bows and wrapping paper.”
— Greta Gerwig, in conversation with Noreen Malone
I love the above quote. I love it partly because I’ve spent years trying to explain why I think title sequences and fonts and all that shit are important, and Greta manages to explain why in fifteen words. And not just with films. No more will I be at a loss to explain why that sitcom should have a proper title sequence, thank you very much. The channel shouldn’t rip off the wrapping paper for you, just because it saves a bit of time.
For that matter, it’s also why radio shows should start with a lovely sung jingle.
But I love it for more than that. The idea that what you make as a creative person is a present to your audience is such a simple, obvious idea, but it’s one which is so easy to forget. We can get lost in a spiral of grumpiness, annoyed that things don’t work, annoyed that the process is such a damn pain.
But the above makes it all worthwhile. You’re making a present. For millions of people, for just a few, perhaps even only for yourself, it doesn’t matter. In the fog of pain, it’s something to grab onto.
A present. The simplest, nicest gesture in the world.