At the very least, it’s the best ever on any of my films. Just as I was celebrating the 1,000 view milestone for The Seafarer I got an email notification about a new comment:
Apparently my film is helping students cheat on their homework. This isn’t too much of a surprise, actually. From watching the Insight data I can see that a lot of our traffic is coming from teachers and students all over the country. We’ve had traffic from high schools in the South and Upper Midwest as well as from the sort of course-supporting-materials sites generally used by universities.
When I set old texts, which I do a lot, I’m trying to show everyone else what got me so excited. The Seafarer an Old English poem that no one would come across in their daily lives, and it’s something so wonderful that I want to share it. Composing these pieces is my way of showing you what I love so much, and getting you excited.
I never thought that this film would end up in classrooms all over the country, but I’m incredibly proud that it did. And at least if the film is more engaging than the reading I’ve done my job a little bit right. Just watch out, WhiteBoyNJ, I only set the first half of the poem!