Around the Brain in Thirty Minutes

Short film a true conversation piece

By Brooke von Blomberg

Whoever said men have a one-track mind, obviously never met Jason Fisher. His brainchild is the brilliant and unpretentious short film "Conversation For A Dollar," which I had the privilege and pleasure of viewing recently. A fresh college graduate with a degree in philosophy, Fisher's premise is simple: walk up to the table, drop a dollar in the jar, and you get a conversation. There are no limits, no rules, anything goes. And Fisher's patrons touch on nearly every subject imaginable. The conversationalist has no name in the film, because he represents the archetypal Everyman, full of wonder and insight about the world around him, and symbolizes every aspect of humanity, from the childish comic-book-lover to the deeply contemplative spiritualist, and everything in between. It is this universal aspect that makes the film so appealing and enjoyable, because there is a certain characteristic everyone can latch onto, a facet of Jason's personality everyone can relate to on one level or another. The most amazing thing about this film is that so much information is presented in just over thirty minutes.

Jason Fisher's film maximizes minimalist principles. The only elements are himself, his table, his customers, and his words, a bountiful harvest covering the entire spectrum of human experience. The filming itself is basic, consisting of primarily one scene, outside at the table, and mainly two shots, alternating between Jason and his clientele. The film is black and white, shot on 16mm, and for a modest, self- financed budget that wouldn't cover the Kraft services table on most Hollywood sets. This yearlong labor of love has resulted in a well-crafted, eloquent film that takes us on a journey through the human psyche, as materialized by a very unique and intelligent young man.

There is an alternating, yin-yang rhythm that governs the entire film. Fisher's education immersed him in reading, everything from World Religions to Chaos Theory to applied mathematics and science, all of which are expounded upon at some point during the film. Yet all of these heavy topics are balanced with some amusing and light-hearted moments, designed to give you some time--but not too much time--to contemplate the last deep conversation before being bombarded with another barrage of pontifications. Such alleviating moments include: a "You're momma's so…" insult contest, a battle with a ninja, a demonstration of monster-sighting-emergency-response, and three distinct debates on the topics of favorite superhero, the rightful leader of the Thundercats, and who was the bigger space-pimp: Captain Kirk or Han Solo? The grand finale is an all-out rap-fest between Fisher and another wordsmith. This seems odd after an earlier dialogue denouncing language as meaningless. This particular vignette was my personal favorite, probably because as a writer I have always been fascinated by words and language, and often ruminate on word origins, the relationships of languages to each other, and wonder why there are so many different languages and not one universal tongue spoken by humans.

Jason's aim is to enlighten as well as entertain the audience. He succeeds in both endeavors with style and ingenuity. His delivery is also balanced between long, rhythmic discourses and short, knee-jerk responses such as "Yeah, ain't that a bitch?" This comes after a humorous encounter in which a human-sized robot rolls up to the table, drops a dollar in the jar with its motorized arm and proceeds to dissertate for several minutes on the imminent emergence of computers and mechanical intelligence as the dominant force in the world and the subsequent uselessness of human beings and their powerlessness to stop this trend. Jason's answer is a yin-yang in itself, acknowledging his annoyance and disappointment with this prognosis, but also his acceptance of it as a truth and his decision to not resist the forces he cannot control.

The film is ultimately a conversation in its purest form, and watching this film is a conversation-starter for sure. Not only will it make you debate some of the finer points in the film, but it will give you a new appreciation for the art and act of conversation itself. Hopefully it will inspire you to go out and explore and investigate a topic that interests you, just for the sheer joy of discovering new knowledge. The film's point is straightforward: every conversation has value, the dollar is just a vehicle to get the discussion started. Jason Fisher gives hope to anyone who ever thought they couldn't do anything with a philosophy degree. He makes us laugh, he makes us think, but most importantly, he just makes us feel human. So go out and try it. The next time someone asks you a question, tell them the answer will cost a dollar. You might be surprised by the results.