I watched a silent clip of Alfred Adler and it was kind of weird

Should you watch this today? Probably not unless you are a psychology student or someone who gets a kick out of staring at grainy black-and-white archives. It is not a movie in the way we usually think about them. There are no explosions or kissing scenes. 🎥

If you hate old things that don't have a clear point, you will definitely hate this. It is literally just footage. But if you like that feeling of time travel, it is kind of cool.

I found this while digging through the University of South Carolina Newsfilm Library stuff. It feels like finding an old photo of a relative you never met. You know the name, but the face makes it real.

Alfred Adler looks... well, he looks like a regular guy. He has these round glasses that catch the light in a way that makes him look like he is squinting at the future. He does not look like a genius who changed how we think about brains. He looks like he wants to go have a coffee.

The film quality is pretty rough. There are lines and dust dancing all over the screen. It reminds me of the scratchy look in Is Conan Doyle Right? which also has that 'is this guy a fake or a genius' energy.

There is one part where he moves his hand. It is such a small thing. But in these old films, a hand movement feels heavy with meaning for some reason. Maybe because it is the only thing happening.

He seems a bit stiff. I wonder if he was nervous. Being filmed back then was a big deal, not like today where we all have cameras in our pockets. He stands there like he is trying to be important but his eyes look a little tired.

It is way shorter than something like The Adventures of Kitty Cobb. It is just a snippet. A tiny slice of a life that ended a long time ago.

I kept waiting for him to say something. But it is silent. You have to imagine his voice. I bet it was deep and maybe a little raspy.

There is no music. Just the sound of your own breathing while you watch. It gets kind of meditative if you let it.

I noticed a smudge on the right side of the frame. It stayed there the whole time. It made me want to wipe my own screen even though I knew it was the film itself. 🧼

Sometimes these old newsreels feel more honest than actual movies. There is no script. Just a man and a camera. It is like The Fighting Marine where the physical presence is more important than what is actually happening.

Why do we even keep these clips? I guess it is because we are scared of forgetting. Seeing Adler move his head makes his books feel less like homework. He was a person who breathed air and probably had itchy socks sometimes.

The background is totally boring. Just some wall or something. They didn't care about 'cinematography' back then for news bits. They just wanted to prove the guy existed.

It’s a bit like watching Sea Scamps in that you are just observing a moment that wasn't meant to be 'art.' It is just raw data of a human being.

I finished it and felt a little bit lonely. The clip ends so fast. One second he is there, and then the screen goes black. It is a bit of a bummer if you think about it too much.

Things I noticed while staring at the screen:

• His suit looks a little too big for him. Or maybe that was just the style?
• The way the light reflects off his forehead is distracting.
• He doesn't smile once. Not even a little bit.
• The film grain is so thick in some parts it looks like it is snowing. ❄️
• He looks like he is about to explain something very complicated.

It is definitely better than some of the boring stuff I had to watch in school. But it isn't going to win any awards for excitement. It’s just... there.

If you are bored and want to feel smart for three minutes, go ahead and watch it. Otherwise, you can probably skip this one and not miss much. It is a ghost in a box. 👻

I think I liked it more because I didn't expect it to be good. It just is. And sometimes that is enough for a Tuesday afternoon.