Naming Names

Was watching a movie last night--A Single Man, which features Colin Firth's previous Oscar-nominated role. (And for my money, a subtler, richer and deeper performance than the excellent one he just got the award for.)  I liked the movie, and after it was over, as the end credits rolled, for whatever reason I sat there and watched all those names roll by.

Now bear in mind--I'm in the business, I actually know what all those people do, I know how valuable their work is, and sometimes I even know some of the people whose names scroll by five minutes in.  But even I don't generally sit and watch all the credits, for all the obvious reasons.  Last night, though, I had the impulse to give those names their due, so I did.

I'm not suggesting we should all do the same thing all the time.  But every now and then.  Be that person still sitting in the darkened theater while everyone else files out, from time to time.  Give all those names their due.  Because when they say that movies are a collaborative medium, man, they're not kidding.  It really does take all those hands to make the final product that gets on the screen, and they're all people who worked hard and they deserve to have their names up there--even if does extend the running time of a movie by another six minutes or whatever.

One argument against having all those names up there is, Why should these movie people get their names up there when, f'r instance, the people who make cars don't get to put their names on their product?

And I think that's an excellent question.  Why don't they?  When you see one of those labels that says Such-and-Such was reviewed by Inspector #32, don't you wonder who that is?  And what sort of day they were having when they inspected your This-or-That?  Movies are one of the great American exports--they're also a rare exception in American industry where the company gets its name on the product, but so do all the craftsmen who contributed to that product.  Is it too much of a stretch to suggest that the pride generated by such recognition is part of why the product is in such demand around the world?

Imagine if every car had a plate in it somewhere--like the one telling you what tire pressure you need--with a list of the workers who assembled that car?  The writing would be pretty tiny, and most people would never look at it, but so what?  A key grip watching a movie he worked on, he still sits in the theater as the others leave, and he sees his name roll across, and yeah he feels proud about what he did and it makes him a better key grip when he goes back to work.

Strictly speaking, none of us should need that.  The work should be its own reward.  The paycheck should also be its own reward.  Is it not best to do good work for its own sake?  Of course it should.  And of course almost none of us are so enlightened.  When I sat in a theater, surrounded by strangers, and watched my name roll across a screen for the first time, that was a truly great moment in my life.  I remember it often--and as we gear up for the next movie (casting director hired, some interesting names begin to circle), I stop every now and then, and remember the sight of my name in the credits, and I know it'll be there again and that I need to do a really great job because that's my name up there.

Here's a thought: once a year, each of the Detroit carmakers creates one special-edition car.  With all the bells and whistles, the best car they make--but on this one vehicle, each part is etched with the name of the person who made it.  Then they can either auction it off, with money going to the workers' pension funds, or they can simply hold a sweepstakes where one of the listed workers gets to drive off in that car.  It'd probably be one of the most popular things they do every year--and I'll bet those vehicles would become highly sought-after collector's items.

Any manufacturer could do something like that.  A little slip of paper in the box, telling us not just that Inspector #32 is named Marisol, or Joe, or whatever, but that 13 other people actually made the thing you just bought, and here are their names.  I wouldn't read that slip of paper every time, but sometimes I would.  Giving honor where due, and credit where due.  And I'll bet the thing I bought has a slightly better chance of being of good quality because the people who made it knew--those are their names on there.