The cinematography was outstanding. The information was great. But....
From a storytelling standpoint, I found the narrative to be clunky and disjointed. When telling or writing a story you don't want the reader to stop and say "what?" This means you want a smooth flow of both the visuals and the narrative. That doesn't mean you can't jump from one scene to another or one topic to another (in film making it's called a jump cut) but you don't want to do it too many times as a jump cut does disrupt the flow of the story and visuals. Sometimes you just need a smooth transition from one point to another.
I have yet to see it however, one viewer commented that while it was well done, it focused too much on how the hobby is allegedly dying and precious little time on the emergence of younger pipers and how they're keeping it alive.
<<focused too much on how the hobby is allegedly dying and precious little time on the emergence of younger pipers and how they're keeping it alive. >>
My jaundiced POV is that the reason so little time was spent on "the emergence of younger pipers and how they're keeping it alive," is because it's not true. We pipe smokers are such outliers these days that it's amazing any attention is paid to pipe smoking at all..... Just sayin'........
Last month I read an article about a dwindling group of pipe smokers in India. They belonged to a once thriving pipe smoking club whose numbers had been slashed like prices during a Walmart Rollback sale. The article talked about the general loss of interest in the hobby but failed to give more in-depth reasons. Although, they did reference the lack of new Sherlock Holmes episodes from the BBC. So, to find out if there is any truth to the notion that pipe smoking is in decline, I decided to visit my local tobacconist and talk to a few of the customers.
When I got to the shop, I immediately noticed that of the seven men sitting in the lounge, none of them were smoking pipes. The owner of the shop, who is in the briar brotherhood, was the only guy puffing a pipe. I asked the guys in the lounge if they would mind participating in an informal survey, and surprisingly all but one, agreed.
So, here is a summary of what we discussed and what I learned from them. Of the six men interviewed, the youngest was 23, and the oldest was 62. The others were in their 30's and 40's. Only, 2 of the six guys had ever tried a pipe. Both guys who had tried a pipe only lasted a month or so before giving up.
I was curious why these two guys gave up so quickly. Both explained that they found it inconvenient (smoking a pipe required too much preparation and work) and that they had difficulty keeping the pipe lit. One of them said that they did not get any flavors out of the pipe, while the other said he did get good flavors but just couldn't keep it lit long enough to make it worth the effort. Both had tried aromatic tobaccos.
That left me with the four who had never desired to try a pipe. I could understand why someone might try a pipe and then quit (because there is a learning curve and you must be committed), but why would someone not even have a desire to try pipe smoking? Now it was time to put on my detective hat (which by the way, I do have) and get to the bottom of this. Perhaps, I would learn why that news article claimed that pipe smoking was in decline.
The men shared the same reasons why they never had a desire to smoke a pipe. First, they felt that it was for old men (that one hurt!). Next, they said it was too much work and required too many things. One guy said he didn't want to work that hard to enjoy tobacco. Finally, they agreed that pipe smoking just wasn't "hip" or cool. (Ugh! Another blow right in the bread basket).
I thanked them for their time and honest input and went to purchase a few blends for my "uncool," "old man" pipe. As I opened the jars and let the smell of the tobaccos waft into my face and nose, I happened to glance over at the tobacconist. He was ever so carefully rubbing out some tobacco and packing his pipe. After a few minutes, his bowl was full. He studied it and gently tamped it down. Then he took out a match and struck it on a flint until it blazed brightly. He waited for the sulfur to burn off, and then, with the pipe clenched in his teeth, lightly applied the flame to the tobacco and puffed. A moment later, smoke billowed from the pipe, and he cleaned up some renegade tobacco from the tabletop and smiled.
So, in a sense, the guys I interviewed made some valid points. Pipe smoking is a process. It is time-consuming and it does take work. For me, that is what makes pipe smoking amazing. The entire process is part of the act of smoking a pipe. It is the ritual that is hundreds of years old. It is a historical practice, one which I love.
After making my purchase, I thanked the tobacconist for all he has done for the pipe smoking community, and I went to pack my pipe. But, what about my quest to get to the bottom of the statement raised in that article? The following is my takeaway.
Pipe smoking could easily become a lost art. It does require commitment and practice. It requires steadfastness to persevere through the first few months or even the first year. It is historic (not old) and is rooted in tradition. It is not a "quick hit" or instant satisfaction. In a world where books, movies, and games can be instantaneously downloaded on our TVs, tablets, and smartphones, it is up to us, the brothers of the briar, to share this wonderful hobby and experience with others, so that pipe smoking is not snuffed out.
@motie~ regarding "Pipe Smoking In Decline..." Great article! wonderful read. The process we as pipe smokers go through with our pipes is as much a part of the process as the smoke that is produced. The entire ritual is a spiritual montage that links us in a group outside of any other tobacco users. The biggest complaint I have heard from viewers of "Father The Flame" is that there was not enough mention of tobacco or enough coverage of the Chicago Pipe Show. My take on the film was that the film maker took 3 people (basically) and told the story of THE PIPE. They told the history of it, they explained the science of it, they touched on the design and the and followed the construction of several of them through the hands of some of the worlds most fabulous artists known. We got to meet Mimmo Domenico, as well as his family and learn where he came from and the legend that was passed down to him and on to his children. We got to meet Lars Ivarsson and see the changes he has made to the ideas his father passed on to him. And the ideas his daughter will pass on to her children. We followed Lee Von Erck and got the final feeling of how all of his children will live on and be passed from generation to generation, solidifying his legacy. Finally we met a native American stone carver who explained to us the importance of the spiritual aspect of the pipe, and how the smoke that the pipe created connected the Earth and the sky. The pipe is a sacred instrument. That is the difference between us and other tobacco users. That is why we as pipe smokers take the time to process or tobacco before we smoke it, fill our bowls one at a time, nurse them with a tamper and pamper our pipes with a cleaner and a rag when we are finished. It is a spiritual thing. Not to be snuffed into a tray or flicked like a butt into the yard or onto the side of the road. There was some awesome special effects in this production. I appreciate the time it took to generate to full length feature. While it did lack in some smoothness of editing I believe it was a job well done and I would be proud to watch this over and over. http://www.muiniskw.org/pgCulture2f.htm
@motie2 ~ regarding "Back In The Day..." Another interesting read. I hope that web sites like TPL and our Facebook page and YTPC and the resurgence of local Pipe Clubs will help to do something about this.
Can't speak for the whole country... or world, but without an official count, I would "guesstimate" about half of the show-ups at the St. Louis pipe show were under 40. And about half of them were under 30. No one brought it to my attention. I simply found myself encouraged by the # of "young folk" in attendance...
How
is it that in a community of hundreds - if not thousands - of
residents we come in contact with throughout our daily travels we
seldom if ever happen upon a single pipe smoker among them? Yet even
in our present politically correct 'Nanny State' we'll regularly
happen upon the solitary outcast or clutch of cigarette smokers
huddled together like refugees from a Leper Colony in some designated
smoking area near the back alley dumpster, away from sight.
We
learned from fellow piper Bonanzadriver (Dino) after his tour of the
Dr. Grabow factory in Sparta, NC. that during the company's heyday
they employed 440 workers. That number has since dwindled to just 28.
Putting a strain on the workforce by requiring a single employee to
take on the job combination responsibilities once requiring 8 to 10
employees. With
that stark reality in mind how long can a niche pipe market remain in
business when that niche gets smaller and smaller. Imagine working in a restaurant where your job entails
greeting and seating the customers (the host or hostess), taking the
order (the waiter or server), preparing the meal (the cook), ringing
up the bill and collecting the money (cashier), returning to clean-up
and buss the tables, and then go into the kitchen and wash the
dishes.
For
the pipe and tobacco manufacture the practical alternative from a
business standpoint is shrinking the workforce, curtailing
production, and invariably increasing the price to absorb projected
lost revenue as the market dwindles. An apocalyptic response that
shrinks what remains of the existing customer base by eventually
pricing them out of the market and hastening the death knell for the
pipe tobacco business.
Technology is ever-changing to meet the new demands of the modern age. But tobacco
is a relatively unchanged commodity that can't necessarily be tweaked
and updated. It is what it is.
Tobacco processing techniques may have changed a little over the
years as aromatics developed and the processed tobacco was cased with
flavor additives - but tobacco is still tobacco. Delivered by either
a cigarette wrapped in paper, a cigar wrapped in a cigar leaf, or
bulk tobacco packed into a pipe.
If there has been a modern
revolution in smoking it would be the introduction of the E-Cigarette
and Vaping. But Vaping hasn't peeled away the pipe smoking market.
Vaping has been accepted as an alternative to smoking cigarettes by
the younger market. One more nail in the coffin of the traditional
pipe smoker. Each new generation has a tendency to pull away from
styles and traditions of the generation before them almost as a right
of passage, and a proclamation that 'their' time has come. So what
may have been cool for their parents' generation is now by default
uncool for theirs. And to many from both Generation X and the New
Millennial's, Pipe smoking represents a 50s' & 60s' bygone era
associated with retro TV programming like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It To Beaver". So for members of this
generation wanting to join the smoking community while independently
disassociating themselves from the trends of the past - they did so by
putting their own spin on the smoking experience with Vaping Delivery Systems. These are
the new pipe smokers of the 21st. Century.
Patience
is a virtue sadly lacking in the world today. Everything is ramped-up
to operate at the speed of light, and pipe smoking is quite the
opposite, requiring a person to put their foot on the brake and shift
'LIFE' into neutral gear for a brief moment in time. A time for
reflection over reaction, and meditation over motivation.
Me, I appreciating the laid back
'oddities of pipe smoking'.
Decades
ago I'd bump into dozens of pipe smokers during the course of a week
... oftentimes a few during a single day. I'd regularly see men
walking their dog, mowing the lawn, sitting on a bench waiting for a
bus, riding a bicycle, playing in the park with their kids, ringing
up a cash register, or just chatting up a girl with a pipe clenched
between their teeth. It was as common a sight as a motor-head revving
up the engine of his muscle car at a stop light.
So
I think the reason I incessantly mention the absence of pipe smokers
is because I vividly recall their presence as a part of the bustling
community throughout a good portion of my life.
Back then, pipe
smokers encompassed all age categories, walks of life, and race -
including fathers and grandfathers, middle-aged businessmen in suit
and tie, the flannel shirt trucker or handyman, farmers in bib
overalls, hard hat construction and mill workers, the book shop owner
and department store clerk; the tattooed Carny worker operating the
Ferris wheel, and the twenty-something college students strolling the
campus. The pipe smoker was not an oddity.
So for a person like myself, who
has remained in relatively the same general location for the bulk of
his life - to suddenly find a swatch of the population erased from
public view in what seems like the blink of an eye, well ... it's
about as jarring as coming to terms with the fact that the telephone
booth and public telephones have disappeared from the landscape as
well. Changes often creep up on you ... and it's only when you become
less self-absorbed, existing in that invisible bubble encased around
you, and take notice of the changes occurring outside that circle of
safety do you realize ... "hey, something isn't right here".
Comments
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/father-the-flame/id1463780334?mt=6&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
"Father the Flame" can now be rented or purchased on Amazon Video, here.
In addition, a DVD will be released on June 18, 2019, which can be preordered here.
From a storytelling standpoint, I found the narrative to be clunky and disjointed. When telling or writing a story you don't want the reader to stop and say "what?" This means you want a smooth flow of both the visuals and the narrative. That doesn't mean you can't jump from one scene to another or one topic to another (in film making it's called a jump cut) but you don't want to do it too many times as a jump cut does disrupt the flow of the story and visuals. Sometimes you just need a smooth transition from one point to another.
My jaundiced POV is that the reason so little time was spent on "the emergence of younger pipers and how they're keeping it alive," is because it's not true. We pipe smokers are such outliers these days that it's amazing any attention is paid to pipe smoking at all..... Just sayin'........
WHY DON’T PEOPLE SMOKE PIPES ANY MORE?!
https://www.eacarey.co.uk/2014/06/pipe-smoking-lost-art/Back in the Day: Pipe smoking was social and intellectual
https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/back-in-the-day-pipe-smoking-was-social-and-intellectual/article_d716d1b8-87ec-5ac6-9214-bad3ee761230.htmlPipe Smoking in Decline? About to be Snuffed Out?
Last month I read an article about a dwindling group of pipe smokers in India. They belonged to a once thriving pipe smoking club whose numbers had been slashed like prices during a Walmart Rollback sale. The article talked about the general loss of interest in the hobby but failed to give more in-depth reasons. Although, they did reference the lack of new Sherlock Holmes episodes from the BBC. So, to find out if there is any truth to the notion that pipe smoking is in decline, I decided to visit my local tobacconist and talk to a few of the customers.
When I got to the shop, I immediately noticed that of the seven men sitting in the lounge, none of them were smoking pipes. The owner of the shop, who is in the briar brotherhood, was the only guy puffing a pipe. I asked the guys in the lounge if they would mind participating in an informal survey, and surprisingly all but one, agreed.
So, here is a summary of what we discussed and what I learned from them. Of the six men interviewed, the youngest was 23, and the oldest was 62. The others were in their 30's and 40's. Only, 2 of the six guys had ever tried a pipe. Both guys who had tried a pipe only lasted a month or so before giving up.
I was curious why these two guys gave up so quickly. Both explained that they found it inconvenient (smoking a pipe required too much preparation and work) and that they had difficulty keeping the pipe lit. One of them said that they did not get any flavors out of the pipe, while the other said he did get good flavors but just couldn't keep it lit long enough to make it worth the effort. Both had tried aromatic tobaccos.
That left me with the four who had never desired to try a pipe. I could understand why someone might try a pipe and then quit (because there is a learning curve and you must be committed), but why would someone not even have a desire to try pipe smoking? Now it was time to put on my detective hat (which by the way, I do have) and get to the bottom of this. Perhaps, I would learn why that news article claimed that pipe smoking was in decline.
The men shared the same reasons why they never had a desire to smoke a pipe. First, they felt that it was for old men (that one hurt!). Next, they said it was too much work and required too many things. One guy said he didn't want to work that hard to enjoy tobacco. Finally, they agreed that pipe smoking just wasn't "hip" or cool. (Ugh! Another blow right in the bread basket).
I thanked them for their time and honest input and went to purchase a few blends for my "uncool," "old man" pipe. As I opened the jars and let the smell of the tobaccos waft into my face and nose, I happened to glance over at the tobacconist. He was ever so carefully rubbing out some tobacco and packing his pipe. After a few minutes, his bowl was full. He studied it and gently tamped it down. Then he took out a match and struck it on a flint until it blazed brightly. He waited for the sulfur to burn off, and then, with the pipe clenched in his teeth, lightly applied the flame to the tobacco and puffed. A moment later, smoke billowed from the pipe, and he cleaned up some renegade tobacco from the tabletop and smiled.
So, in a sense, the guys I interviewed made some valid points. Pipe smoking is a process. It is time-consuming and it does take work. For me, that is what makes pipe smoking amazing. The entire process is part of the act of smoking a pipe. It is the ritual that is hundreds of years old. It is a historical practice, one which I love.
After making my purchase, I thanked the tobacconist for all he has done for the pipe smoking community, and I went to pack my pipe. But, what about my quest to get to the bottom of the statement raised in that article? The following is my takeaway.
Pipe smoking could easily become a lost art. It does require commitment and practice. It requires steadfastness to persevere through the first few months or even the first year. It is historic (not old) and is rooted in tradition. It is not a "quick hit" or instant satisfaction. In a world where books, movies, and games can be instantaneously downloaded on our TVs, tablets, and smartphones, it is up to us, the brothers of the briar, to share this wonderful hobby and experience with others, so that pipe smoking is not snuffed out.
https://www.3pipeproblem.com/single-post/Pipe-Smoking-in-Decline
The biggest complaint I have heard from viewers of "Father The Flame" is that there was not enough mention of tobacco or enough coverage of the Chicago Pipe Show. My take on the film was that the film maker took 3 people (basically) and told the story of THE PIPE. They told the history of it, they explained the science of it, they touched on the design and the and followed the construction of several of them through the hands of some of the worlds most fabulous artists known. We got to meet Mimmo Domenico, as well as his family and learn where he came from and the legend that was passed down to him and on to his children. We got to meet Lars Ivarsson and see the changes he has made to the ideas his father passed on to him. And the ideas his daughter will pass on to her children. We followed Lee Von Erck and got the final feeling of how all of his children will live on and be passed from generation to generation, solidifying his legacy. Finally we met a native American stone carver who explained to us the importance of the spiritual aspect of the pipe, and how the smoke that the pipe created connected the Earth and the sky. The pipe is a sacred instrument. That is the difference between us and other tobacco users. That is why we as pipe smokers take the time to process or tobacco before we smoke it, fill our bowls one at a time, nurse them with a tamper and pamper our pipes with a cleaner and a rag when we are finished. It is a spiritual thing. Not to be snuffed into a tray or flicked like a butt into the yard or onto the side of the road. There was some awesome special effects in this production. I appreciate the time it took to generate to full length feature. While it did lack in some smoothness of editing I believe it was a job well done and I would be proud to watch this over and over.
http://www.muiniskw.org/pgCulture2f.htm
No one brought it to my attention. I simply found myself encouraged by the # of "young folk" in attendance...
For the pipe and tobacco manufacture the practical alternative from a business standpoint is shrinking the workforce, curtailing production, and invariably increasing the price to absorb projected lost revenue as the market dwindles. An apocalyptic response that shrinks what remains of the existing customer base by eventually pricing them out of the market and hastening the death knell for the pipe tobacco business.
Technology is ever-changing to meet the new demands of the modern age. But tobacco is a relatively unchanged commodity that can't necessarily be tweaked and updated. It is what it is. Tobacco processing techniques may have changed a little over the years as aromatics developed and the processed tobacco was cased with flavor additives - but tobacco is still tobacco. Delivered by either a cigarette wrapped in paper, a cigar wrapped in a cigar leaf, or bulk tobacco packed into a pipe.If there has been a modern revolution in smoking it would be the introduction of the E-Cigarette and Vaping. But Vaping hasn't peeled away the pipe smoking market. Vaping has been accepted as an alternative to smoking cigarettes by the younger market. One more nail in the coffin of the traditional pipe smoker. Each new generation has a tendency to pull away from styles and traditions of the generation before them almost as a right of passage, and a proclamation that 'their' time has come. So what may have been cool for their parents' generation is now by default uncool for theirs. And to many from both Generation X and the New Millennial's, Pipe smoking represents a 50s' & 60s' bygone era associated with retro TV programming like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It To Beaver". So for members of this generation wanting to join the smoking community while independently disassociating themselves from the trends of the past - they did so by putting their own spin on the smoking experience with Vaping Delivery Systems. These are the new pipe smokers of the 21st. Century.
Patience is a virtue sadly lacking in the world today. Everything is ramped-up to operate at the speed of light, and pipe smoking is quite the opposite, requiring a person to put their foot on the brake and shift 'LIFE' into neutral gear for a brief moment in time. A time for reflection over reaction, and meditation over motivation.
Me, I appreciating the laid back 'oddities of pipe smoking'.
Decades ago I'd bump into dozens of pipe smokers during the course of a week ... oftentimes a few during a single day. I'd regularly see men walking their dog, mowing the lawn, sitting on a bench waiting for a bus, riding a bicycle, playing in the park with their kids, ringing up a cash register, or just chatting up a girl with a pipe clenched between their teeth. It was as common a sight as a motor-head revving up the engine of his muscle car at a stop light.So I think the reason I incessantly mention the absence of pipe smokers is because I vividly recall their presence as a part of the bustling community throughout a good portion of my life.
Back then, pipe smokers encompassed all age categories, walks of life, and race - including fathers and grandfathers, middle-aged businessmen in suit and tie, the flannel shirt trucker or handyman, farmers in bib overalls, hard hat construction and mill workers, the book shop owner and department store clerk; the tattooed Carny worker operating the Ferris wheel, and the twenty-something college students strolling the campus. The pipe smoker was not an oddity.
So for a person like myself, who has remained in relatively the same general location for the bulk of his life - to suddenly find a swatch of the population erased from public view in what seems like the blink of an eye, well ... it's about as jarring as coming to terms with the fact that the telephone booth and public telephones have disappeared from the landscape as well. Changes often creep up on you ... and it's only when you become less self-absorbed, existing in that invisible bubble encased around you, and take notice of the changes occurring outside that circle of safety do you realize ... "hey, something isn't right here".