TMA 273 Grey Gardens Response

This documentary has been criticized by many as being a voyeuristic look into the lives of two people who are incapable of taking care of themselves. However, I did not get a sense of that at all here. I found this documentary to be extremely effective in depicting the idiosyncrasies of the lives being lived at Grey Gardens in a way that still promoted empathy and and understanding of the characters. I think that there was a potential that a depiction of this subject could have turned voyeuristic, but there was one key element that prevented this from occurring. This element was love and empathy. There were several moments throughout the film that were particularly effective in showing the love that the Maysle's brothers had for Edith and Edie. One of these was when they are all in the bedroom, and Edie is singing, and Albert and David join in with her when she does not remember the words. This moment demonstrates a stepping outside of themselves on the part of the filmmakers, and showed how much they cared for Edie. They wanted her to be successful in the performance of her song, and they were willing to put aside their roles as filmmakers to help her out.

This film depicts these characters, and they are very quirky, but the film never depicts them as an other, or as less than the people around them. Albert and David are always extremely fair, compassionate, and benevolent towards the ladies. At one point in the documentary, it becomes clear that we are so close to the ladies that people who fall more in line with cultural normativity seem strange to us. This becomes especially clear during Edith's birthday party. One of the guests is depicted as being quite reserved, and extremely uncomfortable with the loud and pestering nature of Edith and Edie. At this point in the documentary, we have spent so much time watching Edith and Edie that they do not appear as "other" here. Instead, we are so familiar with their antics that it is the reserved woman who appears resigned and uncomfortable that we see as "other."

This documentary is an effective example of the presentation of two potentially off-putting characters in a way that makes us care about them. I think that the best way that this is combatted in this documentary is letting the two subjects speak for themselves. We just follow their lives, and the Maysle's brothers never speak for Edith or Edie. This is the most effective, as the most accurate way for a person to be presented is to let them do it themselves. Humans are complex, and this situation has many layers of complexity. To have Albert and David come in and try to interpret the situation would inevitably lead to an over-simplification of the Bouviers lives, their struggles, and the things that they love and value. Instead of being an exploitation of two people who are not the most capable, letting Edith and Edie speak for themselves allows us to value their idiosyncrasies, to understand how interdependent they are, and to even find value in the lifestyles that they lead.