The Apology Line
Is there something you'd like to apologize for? Some secret or confession you can't share because it will harm your existence and the way someone perceives you? You can call the Apology Line. It's like confessing to a priest or a therapist, except you're doing it to a machine. A cold-nonexisting machine. Director James Lees takes those anonymous confessions and shares it with the world.
James Lees makes this documentary after the inspiration from Allen Bridge's (aka Mr Apology) 15 years ago when the conceptual art piece was made in New York called the Apology Project. This project was taken the to United Kingdom. This short documentary shares with us the uncomfortable honestly, relatable, shocking, weird, and enthralling piece of these people's darkest secrets shared.
The apology line seems similar to someone just confessing something, but no. This line had its own characteristics to it. An anonymous women shared her story on being surveillance and wanted someone to take her apology, if she had done something wrong, so that would go away. Another women says nobody believes her and wants to apologize to them and hopes this will help her with her nerves to not take sleeping pills. I don't know if that's something you need to apologize for, but these people are in hopes of apologizing and in a way surrendering so bad things won't happen to them. Why do we apologize in the first place? Does it just give us comfort like repenting your sins at church after you've already committed sin? Or does it just play as a power bond between people?
Like the anonymous man who was apologizing to his "now" wife for something that happened thirty years ago when she was just a "girlfriend" at that time. His wife was sick in the hospital and needed to stay for the weekend. His wife's mother and him went back to the house and had some drinks. He confessed they had did it four times and hopes his wife never finds out. But it's something he's sorry for. So our mortality does have some kind of emotional and sin meter that is always working within our sub conscious. All of these thoughts and apologies have been stored in the hearts of these people.
There was another angry caller who actually did not apologize. He was some racist man who was ranting about not being sorry for these "white-bastards" being killed. He says he's not sorry for killing them. It's fascinating to see this kind of project unfold. If he's not sorry, why not just keep it to yourself. The way our moral compass works is beyond just psychological. This guy called to the Apology Line to not Apologize and to share his thoughts on the matter.
But really, why does confessing or apologizing make us feel like we've taken a load off our shoulders? This line is helping those who cannot afford therapists or have religious backgrounds to get something off their chest. This hotline has their own website and you can still call this line to share your deepest wrongdoings.
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