Alphaville23

Adam Christian Clark edits

Hello!

We seem to have different opinions on how to handle certain aspects of the Adam Christian Clark article and so I wanted to reach out and clarify my approach lest this devolve into an edit war. I added the COI flag because your edit history makes it seem like you have a personal connection to Clark and you never denied it when previously warned about COI editing. (If anything, blanking out the warnings seemed like an attempt to hide the connection.) However, you have now clarified that you are not associated Clark and so I will not be putting the COI flag back.

Regarding the Category:American film directors, Wikipedia standards specify that articles be diffused to relevant sub-categories wherever possible. Clark is from Washington, so the American film directors category is redundant. If you believe that another category is also applicable, such as Category: Film directors from New York City, that would be a great addition.

Lastly, I added the failed verification flags to the citations because the Variety article does not describe his films as character-driven, nor does it mention themes of family, isolation, or unrequited love. If you can find the citations that support this interpretation of his work, I wholeheartedly support it.

I'm happy to discuss this further on the talk page for the Clark article, but I wanted to post this here because of the COI issue specific to your account. I am making my best effort at good faith editing and would appreciate an open conversation if there are any other matters that we differ on.

Vegantics (talk) 14:19, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

I really appreciate your professionalism in reaching out to me. And I want to preface this by saying that where I am a seasoned cinema scholar, I'm very much a baby Wikipedia editor. This is something I'd like to change moving forward, so I appreciate your help. Specifically, I'd like to focus on other American Independent filmmakers of Clark's size, as I identify it as a niche that could use support. I'll remove American, but may also look for a sub-catagory that associates more with Los Angeles, as that seems to be where his work has been produced from a relatively young age. To your next point about the Variety article, you're right, so thank you. But also, I've watched his three films, and taught his second in one of my classes. His three films are very much about those three themes. What do you think about me replacing with this NY Times review: as it mentions loneliness (isolation); This interview, as it's about family: https://dannypeary.blogspot.com/2012/05/adam-and-bitsie-on-caroline-and-jackie.html and this NY Times review of his second film, as you could summarize the entire review as a movie about unrequited love: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/movies/newly-single-review.html ? Thanks, JP Alphaville23 (talk) 14:46, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

or better, this is probably a more legitimate source for the family reference: https://moveablefest.com/caroline-and-jackie-interview-adam-christian-clark/ Alphaville23 (talk) 15:04, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Hello Alphaville23,

To address your points, Category: Film directors from Los Angeles is indeed a category and sounds like it would be a good fit for this article. As for the proposed citations, I think they pass muster (citing any blog will send up a warning that it may not be a reliable source, but I would certainly consider Danny Peary to be a sufficient authority on the subject). I disagree with your interpretation of the second Times review, which seems to characterize the films as about "sexual and professional misadventures," not unrequited love. However, it's not a hill I really care to die on.

One significant difference between academic writing and writing for Wikipedia is the no original research policy. There really shouldn't be any interpretation of the sources but instead a summary of significant, reliable existing research on a topic. I would also encourage you to read WP:BLP for additional guidance on creating articles on similar filmmakers. Good luck, and feel free to reach out with any questions!

Vegantics (talk) 20:57, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Thanks much for this article, I'll read it! Alphaville23 (talk) 07:12, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Also, sorry for any confusion if you just got this message twice, also from another account. I tried to send it to you from a computer I share with my partner, and realized it was signed in with her account. Alphaville23 (talk) 07:32, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

All good, Alphaville23. My understanding of Wikipedia notifications is hazy but I think unless it's on your talk page or you tag the user, they generally won't be notified to replies to posts. I generally keep an eye on pages I've recently modified, which is how I caught this.

Vegantics (talk) 19:12, 26 April 2024 (UTC)