For the last week or so, we at Dallas Voice have found ourselves in an unusual situation: Being the subject of a story instead of reporting on it.
Well, sort of a story. A grad student from Texas State University in San Marcos has been working on a thesis about gay media, and he wanted to interview — and more notably, videotape — the inner workings of a gay newspaper. In Texas, that means the Voice.
What that has meant is coming into your office and seeing a handsome young man filming you who does not expect you to put cash in his G-string. (I did so anyway, just out of habit.) Andres has been great, if a little pushy. “Let me know if I’m invading your space,” he’d kindly say as he maneuvered his lens closer into my person than anyone since my last colonoscopy. I tried to smile, as I always do in those situations.
It’s odd how you become aware of yourself in ways you probably aren’t when someone isn’t filming you. I have a habit of singing when I walk through the halls or proofread pages; for Andres, that was visual (and aural) gold. Suddenly, my version of Rihanna triggers someone grabbing his camera and shoving it up my nose. He’d zero in on my layouts, and all of a sudden I’d become acutely aware of my notoriously appalling handwriting.
Anyway, yesterday was Andres’ last day in the office filming (he’ll complete interviews later in the summer). And the video diary he put together won’t actually be available until next year, when he submits the thesis for a grade. I hope the professor likes me. Maybe I should buy him an apple.
