Watch and Learn: Paterson
With an outing to the theaters temporarily unavailable, we’d like to share some ideas for bringing the fun of film into your living room.
While movie theaters are unfortunately closed across the country, cinephiles have never had more options for streaming great films at home. I’ve been using this time to expand my knowledge of film and to revisit some favorites. This week, I thought of a recent feature from Jim Jarmusch that always gives me comfort: Paterson. Paterson is a story of a bus driver named Paterson, who happens to live in Paterson, New Jersey. He is also a poet who is able to find beauty in the mundane, and is drawn toward the works of William Carlos Williams and Frank O’Hara. Below you will find an activity and list of questions for viewers to discuss after the film.
Paterson is currently streaming for free on Amazon Prime. It is available to rent on Itunes and Vudu .
Activity:
Write a poem inspired by Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson.
Directions:
- After watching Paterson, take a moment to read these three poems his character recites in the film: https://poetryschool.com/poems/poems-film-paterson/
- Then read the young girl’s poem, “Water Falls”:
Water Falls
Water falls from the bright air.
It falls like hair.
Falling across a young girl’s shoulders.
Water falls.
Making pools in the asphalt.
Dirty mirrors with clouds and buildings inside.
It falls on the roof of my house,
It falls on my mother, and on my hair.
Most people call it rain.
3. Think about a simple or mundane image.
4. Use that image to work your way into your own poem.
5. Try to roughly follow the format of the poems provided from the film.
6. Post it on social media and tag us! Or send your poems to jmahony@renewtheaters.org.
Conversation Questions
1. Paterson, like his hero, William Carlos Williams (a practicing doctor), is a working man who is also a poet. What effect does the choice of having his protagonist be a blue-collar worker have on the film?
2. This movie is populated with a rich variety of background characters who have colorful conversations. Which ones drew you in and why?
3. What part do you see Laura playing in the film? Do you find her to be frustrating, fun, or somewhere in between?
4. Why do you think twins are emphasized in the film? Who is the closest to being Paterson’s twin and why?
5. What is the effect of having the film take place over the course of a week? What commentary does it make about routine?
6. What is the relationship between the man Paterson and the city Paterson?
