MovieChat Forums > Paterson (2016) Discussion > The Creativity of Common People

The Creativity of Common People

posted 8 years ago by trippycheez (37)
3 replies | jump to latest

Hello MovieChat! This is my first real film post following the demise of IMDb. I am hoping we can build this site and turn it into a place for good conversations amongst fellow film enthusiasts!

It took a while for "Paterson" to sink in after I saw it. I left the theater thinking, "Huh, those poems weren't really very good. And the cupcakes didn't look like anything special."

But then I slowly understood...

The film is not about creative genius. It's about having a creative practice that fulfills you, whether you earn fame/renown from it or not. Art is not just for "geniuses." It's for everyone.

Paterson doesn't necessarily dream of being a famous poet. He's fine just writing poems for himself.

In the past, Paterson served in the military. Perhaps he honed his observational skills in Iraq or Afghanistan, always having to be on the lookout for IED's or other attack while riding in military vehicles.

Now he still observes, but from a bus, in peacetime. He observes the social world of Paterson. Paterson is on the outskirts of New York. It's in the shadow of the big city, not quite its own cultural metropolis. But it's home, and it is as full of interest as NYC if one takes the time to notice. Filtering his observations into poetry brings Paterson fulfillment, and that is all he needs.

Paterson's wife/girlfriend (?) has so much going on with her style, decor, music, and baking. Their house looks nondescript from the outside, but on the inside there's a lot going on.

If you zoom out from the two main characters, many of the other people we meet have their own special artistic/creative interest. The bartender is a serious chess player. The guy at the bar who has been dumped is an actor who stages dramatic situations in public, complete with foam guns. (A little extreme, but he apologized and everyone moved on.) A guy doing his laundry is rapping. There are other poets, like the little girl Paterson meets and the Japanese man.

We see that art and creativity are for everyone, everywhere, and for all times of day. There doesn't necessarily need to be a larger goal. Everyone can participate in it. And there's something pretty beautiful about that.

[–] micbarry (125) 8 years ago

I agree!

One of the scenes that stood out to me the most was his encounter with the young girl who wrote the poem 'Water Falls'. They shared a genuinely great moment. What was truly fascinating about that scene was the way in which the sister and mother kept their distance from within their car and clearly expressed disapproval at the idea of her sharing her poem with a new appreciative friend. Their unwillingness to embrace art was very truthful and sad.

[–] trippycheez (37) 8 years ago

Thank you for responding! Your post gives me hope for that site will grow and become a good IMDb-replacement. :-)

Yes, that was a nice moment! I liked how Paterson took the little girl's work seriously. He really took the time to hear and appreciate her poem, and not in a condescending way.

I got the sense that the mom had a sort of unhappy feeling about seeing a strange older man talking to her daughter. But Paterson is more of a protective figure -- as I recall, the previous scene was the bus break-down, where he was herding the kids together to keep them out of traffic. He's the kind of good, observant stranger you WANT to have around.

[–] Speeed (190) 7 years ago

I fully agree with your assessment and that's pretty much what I got out of the film.

One other thing I saw in this movie is that you are what you do. Yeah, Paterson was a bus driver, but since he was also writing poetry, he was also a poet.

When his notebook was destroyed, he didn't stop being a poet. He would've stopped being a poet only if he had decided not to pen another verse.

I think that's why the Japanese guy who handed him the new blank notebook kept saying, "Ah ha." He knew and felt that Paterson was a poet and not just a bus driver like he claimed. He wanted Paterson to realize the same thing.