Those of you who know me know I am rather fond of a certain typeface, Helvetica. But, even if you aren’t quite as font freaky as I am, I think the documentary Helvetica is worth a view, and it looks to be playing another week at the IFC.
One of the most interesting things about this doc is that it tackles a topic that is so not sensational or dramatic or seemingly important or entertaining even, especially when you compare it to some recent popular docs. Last year, the 5 docs nominated for Academy Awards dealt with the following topics: global warming, a priest and his molestation victims, a summer camp for frighteningly fervent religious teens, the occupation of Iraq (two films dealt with Iraq).
In Helvetica, director Gary Huswit (who produced the Wilco doc I Am Trying to Break Your Heart) doesn’t look at extreme events or occurrences, but rather a simple font that is ubiquitous in our everyday lives. But, his examination of this bit of cultural minutiae is surprisingly entertaining and insightful. Plus, it features font designer Tobias Frere-Jones, brother of music critic Sasha. And, speaking of music, the film has an impressive soundtrack, with tracks from Four Tet and Caribou.
4 comments:
Whatever, Helvetica. I'm still waiting for a documentary about Garamond.
I'm quite fond of Garamond myself. Although, I must admit that I was impressed when I first heard about the homage to Helvetica. I was worried that I missed it on the big screen.
In case you missed it, Slate published an informal survey of writers' favorite fonts earlier this year. Lots of arguments in favor of Courier (Luc Sante's is especially persuarive)....
http://www.slate.com/id/2166947/
Yes, Garamond - good stuff - though for entirely utilitarian reasons. Garamond seemed to take up the most space per word than any other common font - an attribute deemed crucial for the grants and reports I was writing at the non-profit I worked for. The idea of a direct relationship existing between page count and dollar count seems dubious to me now. (The more likely relationship was probably that between page count and bullshit level - something grant-writers adore.)
Though I certainly plan to see the Helvetica documentary, a lot of this strikes me as literary narcissism. Is this just about writers talking shop or is there a genuinely worthwhile cultural conversation happening here? Do we really care that Nicholson Baker "learned to write using Elite 12-pitch typewriter type—on Olivetti manuals, IBM twirly-ball Selectrics, and Juki daisywheels"? Do we think Luc Sante is a man of egalitarian principles because he uses a font that accords the same amount of space to each letter, "which I think is only fair to the i and the l"? Not particularly. Are we gonna start seeing skinny kids drinking Buds at The Library wearing Courier and Garamond t-shirts? Probably.
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