Southern Man
My friend, filmmaker John Reyer Afamasaga, asked if he could follow me around with a camera for 6 months up to a year (or so!), and of course, I said yes!
After a few sessions of guarded responses, I finally began to open up and have never been more vulnerable. And that is terrifying!!
In John’s words:
In New Zealand, where I come from, we have what is known as the “Southern Man.” According to Wikipedia: “…the southern man is a stereotypical male from the more rural South Island, well used to the solitude and conditions of open mountain or hill country.”
With that ideology comes certain beliefs and preconceptions by the man and about the man.
As a filmmaker and storyteller living in the Deep South of the United States, I see more and more Southerners challenging their beliefs and even their cultural history. In doing so, they are often left asking, “Who am I? What am I? Southern Man talks to men of the South to find out.