Post by Brian on Jul 12, 2009 1:44:43 GMT -5
03/01/07 at 07:45 AM
jackhammer
There's an article in Durham's Independent Weekly about "A Christmas Family Tragedy".
www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A45235
Interesting about the author of the book saying "she tried to make her book about the Lawson murders impersonal as a way to achieve objectivity."
It seems to me, that in her quest to make it "impersonal", she added in some things that had to be total fabrication, as there is no way that she could have known what was being said in conversations between people that died 70+ years ago.
JMO
Much of the evil in the wodd is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margret Weis
jackhammer
03/01/07 at 07:53 AM
ladebug
Thank you Jackhammer for letting us know a paper had an article about us. We don't always know who will respond to requests for coverage. It is a great help if our members let us know any links to papers they see with articles.
Many Thanks
Ladebug
03/01/07 at 07:59 AM
sissy
Thanks for the link nice article.
I agree with what you said about the author, no way anybody knows that much about what was said. Nobody but the family was talking or they were dead many many years ago and never interviewed. She calls it "artistic license".
Made up is what I call it.
sissy
03/02/0? at 11:36 AM
ecalhoun
As far as having dialogue in the Lawson house for our recreations, Matt and I made the decision very early that we didn't want to put words in anybody's mouth, and especially not on that Christmas morning. What was said is lost, and we felt like it would disingenuous to put that in there.
Also, as soon as you start making those decisions, then it becomes your story and not the community's story. No matter how dose to accurate we would have been, we felt like we would have crossed the line from journalism to fiction.
Along those lines, we didn't shoot any of our recreations until after almost all of the interviews were finished, and tried our best to coordinate the feel of the pictures with the stories we thought we were going to use in the end.
Break of Dawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
ecalhoun
03/02/07 at 12:00 PM
jackhammer
We appreciated that, Eric.
I did read the book, and did learn some things that I hadn't heard before. However, once you come to the realization that there is no way that the author could have known the contents of conversations between two deceased people, or what they were wearing, or what they were doing on a given day, you start to wonder where the fiction ends and the facts begin. I found myself constantly stumbling across passages that I knew had to be guesses at best, and wondered a lot about why she felt she needed to add the "color" to the book.
Much of the evil in the worid is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
03/02/07 at 12:30 PM
Maria
I know what you mean. It's like a criminal trial. Once a witness is caught in a He, and it only takes one Me, the members of the jury no longer believe anything else the witness says. And the prosecutor says to them..what other lies has she or he told. The same applies with making up a scenario (called artistic license) and then weaving it into the fabric of the story, making it look as if it were a fact or a truth, especially when people take that scenario and believe it. In some respects, we are the jury on the Lawson murders. We want and seek to find the truth and come somehow to understand why such a thing happened and what we can do to prevent that sort of thing from happening again. I mean, after all this was a true story. Not a work of fiction. And as such it's it is imperative to stick to the facts. Mistakes can and will be made, but that is not the same thing as making something up and then calling it "artistic license." That belongs in a work of fiction. There are real people out here that are related by blood to this family as well as friends and neighbors of the Lawson, Manring, and Bibey family who suffered terribly because of that event, it is to them we must be considerate of and treat with respect as regards our documentary. That is what makes what Eric said so important.
Maria
03/02/07 at 07:09 PM
jackhammer
The Raleigh News and Observer has listed a Christmas Family Tragedy among their "Best Bets" for the weekend in
their weekend section.
Beneath the violence
On Christmas Day 1929, Charlie Lawson, a respected tobacco farmer, killed his wife and six of his seven children before committing suicide. The Lawson murders were immortalized in a bluegrass ballad, ghost stories, even tours of the crime scene. Now Winston-Salem-based Break of Dawn Productions has made "A Christmas Family Tragedy," a documentary that explores the grim event, its effect and the reasons behind it. Starting today, the film will play as a fundraiser for area domestic violence organizations. Each screening will begin with a live bluegrass performance. (In Raleigh, tonight's event will be at 8 at Long View Center, 118 S. Person St., with music from Gary Richardson; 10 percent of proceeds will go to Interact. 835-1868. On Saturday at 4:30 and 7 p.m., the event will be at Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St., with music from Alice Zincone and Rick Lafleur; 10 percent of proceeds will go to Durham Crisis Response Center. 560-2787.) All shows are $7, $5 for students, seniors 8 groups of 10 or more.
Link here
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
jackhammer
There's an article in Durham's Independent Weekly about "A Christmas Family Tragedy".
www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A45235
Interesting about the author of the book saying "she tried to make her book about the Lawson murders impersonal as a way to achieve objectivity."
It seems to me, that in her quest to make it "impersonal", she added in some things that had to be total fabrication, as there is no way that she could have known what was being said in conversations between people that died 70+ years ago.
JMO
Much of the evil in the wodd is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margret Weis
jackhammer
03/01/07 at 07:53 AM
ladebug
Thank you Jackhammer for letting us know a paper had an article about us. We don't always know who will respond to requests for coverage. It is a great help if our members let us know any links to papers they see with articles.
Many Thanks
Ladebug
03/01/07 at 07:59 AM
sissy
Thanks for the link nice article.
I agree with what you said about the author, no way anybody knows that much about what was said. Nobody but the family was talking or they were dead many many years ago and never interviewed. She calls it "artistic license".
Made up is what I call it.
sissy
03/02/0? at 11:36 AM
ecalhoun
As far as having dialogue in the Lawson house for our recreations, Matt and I made the decision very early that we didn't want to put words in anybody's mouth, and especially not on that Christmas morning. What was said is lost, and we felt like it would disingenuous to put that in there.
Also, as soon as you start making those decisions, then it becomes your story and not the community's story. No matter how dose to accurate we would have been, we felt like we would have crossed the line from journalism to fiction.
Along those lines, we didn't shoot any of our recreations until after almost all of the interviews were finished, and tried our best to coordinate the feel of the pictures with the stories we thought we were going to use in the end.
Break of Dawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
ecalhoun
03/02/07 at 12:00 PM
jackhammer
We appreciated that, Eric.
I did read the book, and did learn some things that I hadn't heard before. However, once you come to the realization that there is no way that the author could have known the contents of conversations between two deceased people, or what they were wearing, or what they were doing on a given day, you start to wonder where the fiction ends and the facts begin. I found myself constantly stumbling across passages that I knew had to be guesses at best, and wondered a lot about why she felt she needed to add the "color" to the book.
Much of the evil in the worid is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
03/02/07 at 12:30 PM
Maria
I know what you mean. It's like a criminal trial. Once a witness is caught in a He, and it only takes one Me, the members of the jury no longer believe anything else the witness says. And the prosecutor says to them..what other lies has she or he told. The same applies with making up a scenario (called artistic license) and then weaving it into the fabric of the story, making it look as if it were a fact or a truth, especially when people take that scenario and believe it. In some respects, we are the jury on the Lawson murders. We want and seek to find the truth and come somehow to understand why such a thing happened and what we can do to prevent that sort of thing from happening again. I mean, after all this was a true story. Not a work of fiction. And as such it's it is imperative to stick to the facts. Mistakes can and will be made, but that is not the same thing as making something up and then calling it "artistic license." That belongs in a work of fiction. There are real people out here that are related by blood to this family as well as friends and neighbors of the Lawson, Manring, and Bibey family who suffered terribly because of that event, it is to them we must be considerate of and treat with respect as regards our documentary. That is what makes what Eric said so important.
Maria
03/02/07 at 07:09 PM
jackhammer
The Raleigh News and Observer has listed a Christmas Family Tragedy among their "Best Bets" for the weekend in
their weekend section.
Beneath the violence
On Christmas Day 1929, Charlie Lawson, a respected tobacco farmer, killed his wife and six of his seven children before committing suicide. The Lawson murders were immortalized in a bluegrass ballad, ghost stories, even tours of the crime scene. Now Winston-Salem-based Break of Dawn Productions has made "A Christmas Family Tragedy," a documentary that explores the grim event, its effect and the reasons behind it. Starting today, the film will play as a fundraiser for area domestic violence organizations. Each screening will begin with a live bluegrass performance. (In Raleigh, tonight's event will be at 8 at Long View Center, 118 S. Person St., with music from Gary Richardson; 10 percent of proceeds will go to Interact. 835-1868. On Saturday at 4:30 and 7 p.m., the event will be at Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St., with music from Alice Zincone and Rick Lafleur; 10 percent of proceeds will go to Durham Crisis Response Center. 560-2787.) All shows are $7, $5 for students, seniors 8 groups of 10 or more.
Link here
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer