Developing From a Negative

But I Have a 1D

I love to quote movies and television shows. I am sure that more than half of what I say on a daily basis originated from entertainment. This is the same with my partner and we often find ourselves quoting entire monologues back and forth to each other. We are both so seamless with our quotes in conversations, I doubt other people even realize we are making a reference.

My most quoted line has to be, “that’s what she said” from The Office. However, I personally no longer consider this to be a quote as it has become so ingrained into our culture that it doesn’t belong to just The Office. Even though that line takes the cake in regard to the amount I’ve quoted it, it is not my favorite quote from a television show. That honor belongs to a short conversation on HBO’s award-winning series Veep.

The show follows the trials and tribulations of the fictional politician Selena Meyer as she navigates the toxic world of Washington D.C. The bulk of the show features her time spent as Vice President of the United States and all the annoying factors that accompany that role. In the episode “Baseball” from season one, Meyer finds herself having to host a healthy food-based event with various food industry lobbyists. During the event, one of her aides, known as Jonah, is shown speaking with the event photographer. This is their conversation:

Jonah: “What are you shooting with?”

Photog: “Uh, this is a 5D.”

Jonah: “Not a 1D?”

Photog: “No. Why would I need a 1D to shoot this?”

Jonah: “I have a 1D. It was more expensive but it’s a really nice camera.”

Photog: “You shoot a lot of sports? Moving action? You take hundreds of pictures of herrings catching fish? Because otherwise you don’t need a 1D.”

Jonah: “Right, but I have a 1D.”

Photog: “… yeah.”

This short 27 second conversion speaks volumes to me as a photographer and will always be one of my favorite strings of dialogue.