In Two Places at Once is a short cinematic poem that I wrote, directed, and edited at the University of Washington’s Short Shorts Summer Program. With this poem and its visual supplement, I analyzed the differences and similarities between city life and suburban life.
final cinematic poem
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxYbHTOyPkACbmdmSUFWV0docXM/view?usp=sharing
shot list plan with an early draft of the poem
final poem
It’s not hard to tell when you pass the “Welcome to Port Orchard” sign that this is is a small town.
The 13,945 people that make it up vary from senior citizens to seniors in high school. Port Orchard is a place where people go to settle after they’ve lived a full life. That is, unless you’re young and are forced to drag your feet through crowded hallways of the only high school in town. And though, it’s been voted on many times, a second high school will not be built. There are just not enough people that care.
When people need a moment to immerse themselves in actual culture, the most popular place to go is Seattle. It takes about forty minutes to an hour to even get there depending on the transportation and while that seems like a long time, the wait is worth it.
You see, Port Orchard is more of a town where you live to leave. It may not be a ghost town of one-four way intersection with train cars passing through it, but it’s definitely not a place for the modern soul thrive.
Most people, who have endured Port Orchard, escape to Seattle with dreams of creating a new past, present, and future. As if taller buildings and more people possess that kind of power. I don’t blame them. Those bright lights of the big city lure you and many others who come from all over the world to explore and live within its rich history.
Yeah, you’ve heard it all before, it’s home of the Starbucks and tragic rockstar Kurt Cobain.
But Seattle is not read or even seen, it’s felt. Especially at night.
There are neon signs above restaurants and hotels and clothing stores. The buzzing coursing through the signs also travel through your veins, igniting your mind as you enter, in attempt to figure out what’s hiding behind the electric facade.
As you walk up and down the streets, it’s going to be cold. The rush of excitement is going to overpower any natural element.
Wind gives you goosebumps on your arms, but city wind, city wind gives you goosebumps in your bones.
Staying in town on the weekend is probably not ideal, if you like new places and experiences. In my 17 years of living, I have learned that there are a couple of places that give Port Orchard an identity.
Downtown, an area of independent shops and boutiques and restaurants. At night, lanterns connected to pillars are lit, they mask the failed businesses. Unless its historic, a place is not going to stick around for long. Similarly, if you’re not actively contributing to the community of the town, you’re probably going to get up and leave too.
Past Bay St., there’s Beach Drive. It’s the most glorified road in Port Orchard for having the best view of city lights across the water. While it seems like a breath taking concept, it’s actually pretty sad. You watch people navigate through the concrete jungle, living appealing lives. A city of freedom. While you poke at the glass like a window at the zoo, trying to get in/trying to get out.
There’s one bowling alley and one cinema. (well, there’s another, but it’s a vintage movie house, and trust me, there’s a difference). These places are known for being the only forms of entertainment in town. Both would be on the verge of extinction if it weren’t for middle school kids needing something to do.
It’s fun, then, when you’re young, but as you get older, you find yourself sitting in empty parking lots with your friends, trying to figure out whether or not to give up on this small town and search for a place with more complexity and depth and adventure.
If you look closely, and I mean really closely, the hidden corners of this small town reflect the big city. The radiating signs, the diversity of people, the close knit neighborhoods. People tend to assume that Seattle is superior to the smaller cities and towns, but really, Long Lake and Lake Union are both bodies of water and we’re all swimming.
Andi Villegas 