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Butterfly in the Sky
Oct. 20th, 2022 12:48 pmMy Heartland Film Festival ended on a high note with Butterfly in the Sky, a documentary about the making of Reading Rainbow! The moment I saw it on the schedule I knew it was the perfect way to end the festival, and it did not disappoint.
With the typical solipsism of youth, I assumed Reading Rainbow began around the time I started watching it and faded away soon thereafter, but actually the show lasted twenty-five years, from 1981 to 2006. The documentary features interviews with almost all the most important players: LeVar Burton himself, of course, as well as show creator and the producers, plus a sprinkling of people who worked on the show over the years, including some of the kids who gave mini-reviews of their favorite books in the end segments.
(At the end of the show there was a Q&A with one of the producers, and he commented that the one person they couldn’t get was the woman who sang the Reading Rainbow theme song.)
It sounds like making Reading Rainbow was just exactly as delightful as you might expect from watching the show. The show did so many cool things! They visited a volcano - learned how to fly a plane… climbed into a bat cave (okay, that one might best be experienced on the other side of a television screen). And it seems like it was overall a warm, supportive working environment.
This is clearest when the documentary focuses on one major tension point during the early years of the show. The producers wanted Burton to have a set look, as other children’s television hosts did at the time, like Mr. Rogers. But Burton (who was after all much younger than Mr. Rogers) was still exploring his identity as a Black man, and showed up to each season with a new look, which made the producers gnash their teeth - but perforce they accepted it.
It’s clear in the way that everyone discussed this tension point that, despite the disagreement, everyone involved respected and liked each other. And, looking back, the producers commented that Burton was right. For many Black viewers in particular it was meaningful and important to see Burton experimenting with his look in this way.
And that’s a wrap on the Heartland Film Festival for this year! I have a few regrets: absolutely kicking myself for seeing Corsage instead of Hidden Letters, a documentary about Nushu writing. But in general the documentaries I did see were absolute standouts this year. As well as Butterfly in the Sky, I loved Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game and Cat Daddies.
With the typical solipsism of youth, I assumed Reading Rainbow began around the time I started watching it and faded away soon thereafter, but actually the show lasted twenty-five years, from 1981 to 2006. The documentary features interviews with almost all the most important players: LeVar Burton himself, of course, as well as show creator and the producers, plus a sprinkling of people who worked on the show over the years, including some of the kids who gave mini-reviews of their favorite books in the end segments.
(At the end of the show there was a Q&A with one of the producers, and he commented that the one person they couldn’t get was the woman who sang the Reading Rainbow theme song.)
It sounds like making Reading Rainbow was just exactly as delightful as you might expect from watching the show. The show did so many cool things! They visited a volcano - learned how to fly a plane… climbed into a bat cave (okay, that one might best be experienced on the other side of a television screen). And it seems like it was overall a warm, supportive working environment.
This is clearest when the documentary focuses on one major tension point during the early years of the show. The producers wanted Burton to have a set look, as other children’s television hosts did at the time, like Mr. Rogers. But Burton (who was after all much younger than Mr. Rogers) was still exploring his identity as a Black man, and showed up to each season with a new look, which made the producers gnash their teeth - but perforce they accepted it.
It’s clear in the way that everyone discussed this tension point that, despite the disagreement, everyone involved respected and liked each other. And, looking back, the producers commented that Burton was right. For many Black viewers in particular it was meaningful and important to see Burton experimenting with his look in this way.
And that’s a wrap on the Heartland Film Festival for this year! I have a few regrets: absolutely kicking myself for seeing Corsage instead of Hidden Letters, a documentary about Nushu writing. But in general the documentaries I did see were absolute standouts this year. As well as Butterfly in the Sky, I loved Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game and Cat Daddies.
