The Public (2018)

Source: IMDb

What is it?

The 2018 drama movie The Public by Emilio Estevez.

What is it about?

This is how the IMDb describes this movie:

In “the public” an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place.

The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill and marginalized, as well as an exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who often build emotional connections and a sense of obligation to care for those regular patrons.

At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, the Patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an “Occupy” sit in.

What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what’s really happening.

This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation’s most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.

What do I like about it and what would other people like about it?

I like that the movie involved a public library and library workers, homelessness and how it relates to public libraries, some of the cast, the comedy, that it was a better and higher quality film than I had expected, and that the movie had a message that it managed to get across with seriousness and some comedy; and I think that other people will like this as well.

Final Thoughts

This was my first time ever attending a screening for a movie, I saw it during our work trip at a library conference recently, and the director Emilio Estevez was there (hiding in the back watching our reactions until the movie was over apparently) and he had a question and answer session with our audience immediately after the movie.

This was possibly the best session that I went to at the library conference and I am glad that I stayed for the question and answer session, and I would like to thank Mr. Estevez for screening this movie at the library conference and for answering our questions.

I think that more people should watch this movie, I hope that it will get a distributor eventually, and I hope that libraries like The BP Library where I work will get this movie and help spread the word about it.

This movie was better and better directed and better acted and better filmed and was funnier than I had expected, and it had a larger cast of actors and actresses who(m) I recognized than I had expected.

This movie also captured some of the experiences of working at a library more accurately than I had expected, and it did a better job portraying people who are homeless as normal people just like everyone else with good and bad and in-between things about them and their lives.

Whenever it gets released one day I would recommend watching it.

The end,

-John Jr

Police Officer(s) Walking Around At A Conference

Source: Wikimedia Commons

I had remembered part of a dream before these dreams, but I focused on voice recording the dreams after it first so I can not remember the dream before it now at this time but I will type it here later if I remember.

This is actually a set of connected dreams that kept continuing every time I got awakened by my alarms and / or when I would wake up to check the time and then go back to sleep.

I am not sure if I was in the dreams or not but I do know that a woman and a man were in them, and one or both of them were possibly police officers.

They kept talking about (sometimes by phone and sometimes in person) and going to a conference at a convention center, maybe a library conference, and they would be walking around and talking at the conference in the main halls of the convention center.

That is all that I can remember of these dreams at this time.

The end,

-John Jr

Talking About The Library Conference Opening Ceremony

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Dream 1

This dream involved maybe the opening ceremony for a library conference (convention), I am not sure if I went to it or not or if this was before or after the fact, but I remember talking and thinking about it.

One of the people who(m) I talked to about this was my coworker Mrs. C who is one of the assistant directors of our library, but that is all that I can remember of this dream.

Dream 2

This dream was interesting and there was a lot more to it, but unfortunately I can only barely remember part of it.

Some of the dream took place during the day at a nice multi-story house, and I was there with some of my family like my brother GC and our mom.

The house had one or more balconies with a nice view, the neighborhood was nice and quiet and had even more nature than our real house, and there was a body of water near our house.

Part of the dream involved me going around the house, enjoying the view, talking with my family, et cetera.

Part of the dream took place outside near the water and there was something that I can not remember that involved fish and / or some other water creatures, but I can not remember if I got in the water or not or what happened exactly; I just know that whatever happened was interesting.

But that is all that I can remember of this dream.

The end,

-John Jr

Convention Dreams Again

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Dream 1

In this dream I got a book at a convention at a convention center, and later in the dream I went back for a book signing.

Dream 2

In this dream there was a convention in the city of D, maybe near or at The BP Library, and after leaving the convention I helped a truck driver driving cargo from the library from outside the vehicle as I sit or stand from the outside of the cargo truck as it is driving.

Later in the dream I returned to the library, and me and my dad helped with driving cargo.

Then I leave with High Vis Harry to the convention, I see some coworkers along the way, and we stop at High Vis Harry’s motel or inn room that is along the right side of highway past the B Grocery store so he can get something.

Dream 3

In this dream there was a convention in city of D, and I was staying at an inn on the same street as the place where High Vis Harry stayed during the previous dream except it was further along the highway.

In the dream I met some people I know at and on the way to the convention center for the convention, and later in the dream I returned to the inn with someone who was at the convention too and maybe this person is my roommate.

I adjust my luggage, and I will return to convention the next day.

The end,

-John Jr

Convention Center Dreams

Source: Wikimedia Commons

This was my first night sleeping back home after the work trip, and so I did not get out of bed to record my dreams so I only made a few one sentence text notes of several dreams.

Dream 1

This dream took place at a convention center, and it involved a convention session about helping people attending the convention who needed help.

Dream 2

This dream started at a convention center during a convention, and after I left the convention center or hotel I walked to a Walmart or Walmart-like store.

Outside the store I saw my female coworker J and her family, I greeted them, and I joined them inside the store.

Dream 3

This dream involved me going to a convention inside a convention center.

The end,

-John Jr