With advances in technology coming at record speed, it is easy for devices and appliances to become outdated overnight. Desktop computers were replaced by laptops and notebooks. Rotary phones fell victim to cellular devices. The list is endless. The typewriter is just one example of a device rendered useless by advances in technology. However, you would never know that after watching the DOCUMENTARY+ film, California Typewriter.
The typewriter is an elevated, almost deified device in this documentary. The title comes from a (sadly, now defunct) store. California Typewriter doesn’t provide a full-on history of the device. It instead focuses on a group of individuals who are completely obsessed with these devices. At one point in the documentary, typewriter repairman Herbert Permillion III wistfully comments that he fully believes typewriters will make a comeback. There is legitimately no evidence to support this assertion.
The film depicts him day in and day out tending to these old machines. His devotion is palpable. Herbert is a tragic hero. He clings to his devotion to this old-school technology, despite modernity looming. One scene in particular finds him buying a broken Royal typewriter at a flea market. For $150. Permillion’s passion is one of the more endearing parts of the documentary. You can truly feel how much he loves these devices.
The typewriter repair shop is the focal point of this documentary, but there are a litany of stories about people addicted to this archaic technology. Beloved thespian Tom Hanks appears, saying he owns 250 typewriters and that he uses one every day. Noted historian David McCullough also appears, discussing how his wide catalogue of books were all written via a typewriter. By far the most interesting figure here, however, is singer John Mayer.
Hanks and McCullough’s ties to typewriters may be peculiar, but they grew up with the device. Mayer was born too late to even use typewriters. He speaks fondly of a picture of Bob Dylan typing lyrics on a typewriter, which inspired him to start doing the same. He goes on a tangent about stream of consciousness writing, and how typewriters “don’t judge you” the same way the Spell Check feature on Word does. This was one of the more illuminating parts, as you see someone who grew up in the modern age connect with this device in a way Hanks and McCullough couldn’t.
The film is a love letter to people who cling to a technology most of us have forgotten. Director Doug Nichol tells a story of a ragtag group trying to do whatever they can to preserve a part of the past. Sadly, the eponymous California Typewriter shop has closed its doors. But the film shows there’s a community out there, doing what they can to preserve the technology. It is a beautiful film, and a great part of DOCUMENTARY+’s extensive catalogue.
