The Butler

          You know what’s odd about transcription? When sit in my corner I am not attentive to anything around me: my eyes on my screen, my mind on their words, and my headphones in my ears. For all intents and purposes it is solitary work. Unfortunately, I am a social person. I draw energy from people interactions and conversations. I thrive in movement and discussion–Which is probably why I think the interview process is so much fun. The surprising think about transcription to me is that I don’t feel alone while I do it. Even if I am not adding to the conversation, I get to listen to a conversation. While I type out their voices I assume almost the same silent-listening role as when I conduct the interviews.

As I predicted last time, the hardest part about transcribing my most recent interview (about the Butler movie with seven participants) at first was discerning one speaker from another. Some of the voices are very distinct, others less so.  Since I anticipated this problem, during the interview I noted which speaker discussed each topic so that, if I had trouble, I could just reference the notes. As I get farther along in the transcription, it gets easier to tell each of the ladies apart.

Also, many of the women from that interview were happy to give a follow-up interview based on the topics we discussed – which is super exciting. Therefore, while I transcribe this interview I am also noting several topics and discussions that they showed an interest in. Those topics can then be used as a springboard for their next interview.

Dinner and a Show

My fourth interview took place this Monday night at the Sanford History center in downtown Sanford. I led the interview, once again, but it was different from all of our previous interviews because we used a movie, The Butler (2013) to help us set the tone for the questions. For those who have not seen this film, it is the about a butler at the Whitehouse who served for seven presidencies and during the civil rights movement. As we watched the movie we strategically paused and asked questions of the ladies present. Unfortunately, the male interviewees were unable to attend this viewing. The responses we received were intriguing and sometimes startling. To me, the most interesting part was their consensus on so many things although their origins and backgrounds were often very different.

For those who have not seen the film, here is a link to the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUA7rr0bOcc

Because it began around dinnertime we served sandwiches and fruit and drinks so that everyone felt comfortable. The questions I asked were prepared beforehand, although I occasionally pursued side trails based upon their answers. I focused on the topics of family and race relations and sought the themes of community, helping one another, and relationship. Here are a few examples of my questions.

1. Louis couldn’t understand why his father would serve as a butler. In fact, he was ashamed of his father’s position. When Louis went off to college, he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Cecil strongly disagreed with Louis’ choice. He was ashamed of his son’s decision. Cecil was so upset, he didn’t speak to his Louis for years. And the central image of fortitude that stands between them is Gloria who holds the family together. How did the age difference between you and your parents cause you to have different perspectives on things?

2. In your family, did you discuss desegregation? How did you feel about the issue? Did your family agree with you? What divisions did it cause among you? How did your friends discuss desegregation? How has your parents’ view of racism changed who you are?

3. In an interview Oprah stated that “Gloria is every woman. She represents every mother, wife, sister, friend and daughter who grew up when women were the silent backbone for everything and everybody. Women who sacrificed their dreams and desires for the greater good of family and children.” - Oprah Winfrey Describe the backbone of your family growing up. Who held everyone together?

All of the interviewees seemed keen to continue this discussion. The length of the actually interview was limited due to the length of the movie, but it stirred up thoughts which will be wonderful to readdress in a follow-up interview.

Another way this sort of interview could be conducted (for time’s sake) is by showing short 5-10 minute clips (perhaps from YouTube) to engage emotions and inspire interesting conversation.

One Down, One to Go

I am so excited because I finally finished editing the instruction manual for Celery Soup! It took a lot more time and effort than I thought it would–organizing all of that information and formatting it neatly and correcting errors–and a lot of the information was already vaguely assembled by a previous intern. I have a new respect for the time it takes to organize people and information in a professional way.

         My next interview will be on Monday, March 16^th based on the movie The Butler. This interview will be particularly interesting because it will incorporate a lot more interviewees (at least seven people will be attending) who are unrelated.  This means there will be new challenges. It may be difficult to maintain control over the conversation when we discuss a topic which interests several of the interviewees at a time. It will be difficult to keep the interviewees from overlapping. It may be more intimidating to question a group. Since there will be more challenges, there will be several things I must keep in mind (and since I just finished my instruction manual to help the next intern along, I know what I must be careful for). It will be important to ask questions directly to a person and not vaguely at a group. I should use the names of the interviewees I am talking to for ease of transcription later. Perhaps the most difficult thing to remember will be to keep track of time.

     

The End... In the Middle

          The highlight of my week was my presentation to the board of Creative Sanford. It was a very cozy affair. They were all together for their monthly meeting, so we pulled eight fold out chairs into the lobby of the Sanford Welcome Center and projected my power point onto a large computer screen. They usually meet in a room in the back of the same building, but we did not think there would be enough room for the presentation.

         Having the chance to present to them was a joy! Although I had met almost all of them previously (by attending the play and interviewing the actor) this was the first time that I got to tell all of them about my internship. It made me wish that I made this presentation earlier so that when they saw me behind the scenes we would have understood each other better. I understand that telling someone what I’ve done before I’ve started is somewhat odd. At first it felt odd to give the presentation in the middle of my internship (although logistics required it). By the end of the presentation I realized that the timing was perfect. As it is, I got some feedback on how I am doing and what they would like to see. If I presented after I finished my internship then their advice could only be little nuggets of wisdom to pass on to the next intern.

          This presentation gave me the opportunity to tell them why I chose Celery Soup, because they do a marvelous job recording and relaying history. That is, the most important parts of history–not merely names and dates and facts. Like most stories or creatively rewritten histories, they were less concerned with facts or details than in the “truth” of experience, be they

moral, spiritual, or psychological nature. As I said in my initial post, I believe that, while names and dates have their place in recording factual events of the past, the most important aspect of history is the transference of memories from one generation to the future.