Home Movies and Other Necessary Fictions Book

This book was included in the reading materials at the last minute for our Historical and Critical Research Methods in Film class during my penultimate semester in film school and I enjoyed reading it even it was an added title and we didn't have to put up a report nor write a paper on it. I guess the most interesting thing about this book is that most of us can relate to home movies because at one point or another, either we have filmed one or have been in one, although the significance of such tapes might not be as monetarily memorable as our classic movies bought from the video store.

Citron managed to put forward how these videos create a cognitive mapping of our lives, even if these are only snippets. Although, one of the more disturbing sections for me was one of the subjects reliving a traumatic, domestic event in their family. While we usually see home movies as upbeat and happy, where family reunions, birthdays and other special events are taped, the "necessary fictions" take place in the meanings ascribed to them, and what is unseen by the camera.