Point of View

Lillian Ross writes Picture from her own first person point of view. As a reporter for The New Yorker, Ross begins her work writing Picture as a means of understanding the American filmmaking industry. She uses her relationship with Hollywood director John Huston as an avenue for exploration. By following his work with producer Gottfried Reinhardt to convert Stephen Crane's novel The Red Badge of Courage to the screen, Ross achieves an intimacy with the lesser known aspects of the cinematic world.

Though Ross is the first person narrator, she is largely absent from the page. Her presence throughout each scene and experience described throughout Picture, is of course integral to her journalistic project. However, she does not insert her personal opinions or stances on any of The Red Badge key players, nor on the progression of the production. In this way, the perspective of...