I’m curious. How many people out there really believe that Las Cruces is ready to become a film mecca? I hear a lot of talk, on both sides of the issue – and we certainly have our outspoken advocates both for and against – but my overall feeling is that the majority of you either don’t really care, or if you do, are skeptical. I just got into a major debate with a prolific arts writer and former resident of Las Cruces, who now makes his home in the northern part of the state. His contention is that nothing will ever happen here, because there isn’t enough community support and the politicians involved are only in it for the face time. Something he calls a “lethal combination with the potential to create a bomb the likes of which hasn’t been seen in these parts since July 16, 1945.” I guess I don’t have to mention that he’s given to melodramatic excesses in his writing. Worse, he adamantly believes that the “filmmakers” (he put the word in quotes) who live here fall into two categories: 1) “jaded and bitter professionals who have retreated from the pressures of the real world with tails between their legs” or 2) “clueless would-be students of the form whose star-struck disassociation won’t allow them to see anything except big opportunities somewhere over the distant horizon.” His belief, then, is that those of us who are advocating so heavily for “something to happen,” are just wasting our time “and, now, to compound things further, taxpayer money.” Setting aside the fact that the writer in question is a bitter ex-pat whose knowledge of southern New Mexico film politics tends to be gleaned from the pages of the Santa Fe New Mexican – a paper not exactly noted for its extensive coverage of the topic – it’s hard to take anything he says seriously. He hasn’t lived here for years and even when he did, was so out of touch he often misrepresented current events in his articles. Still, I have to wonder if he hasn’t touched on a major problem area. Does anybody, beyond the advocates of course, really care enough to see it happen? I’d like to hear your side. Is it worth the effort, or is ennui on the part of local filmmakers and the community at large going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy for naysayers? I’d like to know what your thoughts are in this debate. Are we busting our balls for nothing? Let me know. If there’s something to this topic, your comments may find themselves into a future article. I’m pretty sure some of you have something to say on the subject. This is your opportunity to do so. Or not, which would be a response unto itself, given the topic…
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:31:05 +0000
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