Outside Reading (Reflective Essay #2)

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell; published 2002
(borrowed from Ms. Holmes)
Essay: "The New German Cinema"
November 15, 2010
Pg 43-45

When reading one of Sarah Vowell's essays, one knows that they will be in for a treat. Vowell's all-knowing yet down-to-earth tone warms the heart of her readers as well as presents her version of the "truth." "The New German Cinema" is no different. This rhetorically strong piece has a quirky voice and keeps the reader thoroughly entertained, as well.

Vowell's best decision is to treat this essay like a story: she uses periods in her life as a beginning, middle, and end. This keeps the piece structured as well as relatable. One noteworthy fault of Vowell's is her obscure choice of words. I found myself at several times confused as to what she was discussing. Not knowing words such as "existentialism" forced me to do a bit of outside "outside reading." And I only understood the terms "oeuvre" and "accent aigu" because I speak French. Other than these few obscurities, I found I was able to comprehend the meaning of this piece fairly well. Vowell's stylistic voice shined through.

Vowell's tone is quite unexpected: both self-scrutinizing and grateful at the same time. Her first sentence introduces this thought, as she writes, "When I was growing up pretentious in Bozeman, Montana, I got all my ideas about going to the movies in New York City from the Woody Allen oeuvre." Towards the end of essay, she has her realization: "It was at that moment that I realized how small the New German Cinema community really was." Here, and in the following paragraph, Vowell decides that although she "outgrew existentialism and subtitles," she needed these experiences to discover fun in her mid-twenties (Pg. 45). I find that this reflective tone allows me to easily understand Vowell's viewpoint, even though I most definitely have never been interested in the German film industry. I can understand the core of this essay: Vowell needed to go through her "teen cineaste" days in order to mature and become the person she is today.

As an AP essay, I'm afraid that I cannot imagine this piece functioning well. Although I could see it as an essay prompt, this essay is much too informal for the tastes of the AP readers. The essay does contain stellar writing and background information, but its casual references are not with the style of the AP test.