Written Composition Regarding my Refrigerator

Alexander S. Peak

Also available in .txt and .pdf.

27 September 2005

[Editor’s Note:  This speech was written for an electronic media and film (EMF) class I took in the fall of 2005.]

Ladies and gentlemen,

This…is my refrigerator.  Technically, it’s my grandparents’ refrigerator. I only have access to it on the weekends, when I am “home.”

This is a place to which I like to go to reflect…on what to eat.

It’s a crowded place, full of this, brimming with that.  One might even describe it as…cluttered.

Yet, for some odd reason, despite the abundance which is my refrigerator, it seems as though there’s never anything there to eat.

I believe there’s an apt comparison here between my refrigerator and media, not just PowerPoint, but media in general.  Media is often cluttered.  You have hundreds of channels, millions of websites, and hundreds of radio stations through which to shift.  And, like the contents in my refrigerator, most of it is utter crap!

You have to make choices in life: the choice as to whether you make yourself a turkey sandwich or an omelette; the choice as to whether you watch CNN or Fox News.  These choices impact your life, and your ultimate happiness.

When making media, you have a lot of competition.  For those in the class that hunger to be filmmakers, you’ll have to make sure that the movies you make taste better than those of your competitor, in a manner of speaking.  Otherwise, you’ll be ignored just as I ignore the mayonnaise in my refrigerator.

When I look at the picture of my refrigerator, after a while of searching through the options, I’m drawn to the eggs.  An omelette is a lot of work to make.  You have to get the pan, and the spatula.  You have to crack the eggs, throw away the shells, and mix the contents with a fork.  You have to lord over the pan as the fire burns beneath, and apply the cheese at just the right time.

It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it.  When making films or other media, you want your audience to feel the same: that seeing your work was worth it.

Thank you.