Looking for Eric (2009) is a film that struck me as a type of narrative that may be relevant to my project. Within the film Loach explores the idea of male identity crisis. Eric, a postman from Manchester is a character struggling with the burden of debt and a single parent. His idle “Eric Cantona’ then emerges as an imaginary friend who begins to mentor him in his darkest moments. Through Cantona, Eric is able to address his problems in addition to realising his worth through a sense of community.

The journey of the film may be representative of a narrative similar to my own project. I have recently been exploring the work of Alec Soth, specifically the project Niagara. The work of Soth doesn’t really follow the mainstream narrative in the same way that ‘Looking for Eric’ does however i feel there are relevant comparisons in the representation of identity and the philosophical issues that many face. In the case of Niagara, it is the idea of flawed love in a place that sells happiness as opposed to Looking for Eric that explores male identity crisis through football and community.

Going forward, the love letters in the work of Soth in some cases juxtapose the representations within the photographs also providing a voice to the work which is powerful and angry. Going forward, i will begin to identify objects which potentially provide a voice to my own work. I need seek personal voices of a personal nature which humanise the hyperrealities that I create. Adding personalities and emotions which may serve to add an extra dimension to the work that I create. This may come from cultivating relationships with people to get to honest stories to move audiences further.