September's series on quotidian films is all about the journalist's uniform. Something about it feels very back to school. The journalist in the movies I'll cover always wears no-nonsense clothes; something light and easy, something that doesn't require a lot of thought and isn't flashy or distracting. A lot like a school uniform. The clothes don't really do the talking; the hard hitting story does, of course. But I like to look at clothes that aren't out of control. I like them to work with the character, not against. I like them to take a back seat to the real story at hand. I like them to feel lived in and real. I relate a lot to the Andrea Arnold's and Richard Linklater's and Sean Baker's of the world because they tell stories about everyday life. And with everyday life comes everyday clothing: the trusty denim you keep in the back of your closet as a fail safe, the same old white linen button down that you wear under sweaters at work during the fall and over a swim suit in the summer, and white sneakers that go with absolutely everything.
So throughout September, as the kiddos go back to school and we all gawp over the back to school supplies section at the market, I'll be watching journalists report on some of the most iconic stories in history while wearing unimpressive khakis and sweaters using fresh legal pads and new ink pens. After studying journalism right out of high school in a big city, this will be a nostalgic series, one that I'm ready to welcome along with a crisp breeze and the first leaves that change color.
