Bless Their Little Hearts with Arlo Wiley

Making the Scene is back with returning guest, podcaster, and co-editor of The Deli Counter of Justice, Arlo Wiley. This time, he brings an emotionally catastrophic argument from Billy Woodberry's 1984 Bless Their Little Hearts. A critical entry in the movement known as the L.A. Rebellion, Bless Their Little Hearts is a story of family and unemployment, set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. This scene is a oner, a single take that runs for 10 minutes -- nearly a full reel of film. And yet, as Arlo and I discuss, its simplicity and straightforward camerawork gives a view into a style of oner that is too often ignored in favor of flashy Steadicam movements. We discuss the L.A. Rebellion itself, and this scene's context in that movement's communally collaborative approach.