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Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses)

Name: Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses)
Director: Jon Jost
Released: 1987
Duration: 110 min

Representation Score

8.2/10

Excellent

1987

Director

Jon Jost

Runtime

110 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Jon Jost’s essay-film dismantles the conventional American narrative by using an avant-garde style that emphasizes fragmented, personal accounts. This approach challenges the idea of a single, unified national story. The film succeeds in representing diverse cultures by questioning the surface-level nature of media and institutions. Its refusal to offer a single authoritative voice creates a more dynamic social environment that undermines traditional power structures. However, the film falls short in providing explicit representation of specific underrepresented groups. While it avoids mainstream uniformity, it lacks focused storytelling around LGBTQ+ characters or those with disabilities.

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Category Breakdown

Does Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses) have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film avoids focusing on straight relationships and traditional pairings through its experimental structure. However, it doesn't show clear stories or intimate moments involving LGBTQ+ characters.

How does Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses) portray gender?

Good

The film disrupts traditional gender roles by not focusing on male dominance or traditional female roles. Instead, it uses fragmented scenes that prevent stable gender roles from forming.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses)?

Fair

The extensive travel through the American Midwest showcases a wide range of communities. The film offers an authentic look at the local population through real-life subjects.

How does Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses) represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film critically examines the stability and uniformity of Western institutions. It presents truth as a mix of personal, often conflicting viewpoints.

Does Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses) include disability representation?

Limited

The film does not prominently depict characters with physical or cognitive disabilities. It does not place characters with disabilities at the center of the story.

Present on Screen

Avoids traditional gender hierarchies by not relying on male-dominated roles.
Offers an authentic look at diverse American populations through real-world subjects.
Challenges cultural uniformity by presenting truth as a mix of personal viewpoints.

Limited or Absent

Needs more explicit representation of LGBTQ+ characters.
Should include more characters with physical or cognitive disabilities.
Could benefit from a more proactive approach to including underrepresented groups.

Official Synopsis

Plain Talk is a complex essay-film, a follow-up a decade and some years later to Speaking Directly, and so another State of the Nation discourse, made for Britain's Channel Four in the year 1986-87. The work involved extensive travel around the United States, and poses an examination of just what America is/was, or what do we mean when we speak of it. Done in a series of radically different sections which collide with each other in a manner intended to provoke thinking, Plain Talk, which was made by an American and intended for American viewers, was indeed broadcast in Britain, but somewhat predictably, not in the USA.

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