Self-Reflection on the Documentary Film "Salesman"

Salesman.
Name:
Institution:
Course Code:
Date:
The salesman is a 1969 documentary film that follows four salesmen trying to sell expensive bibles in neighborhoods. This essay is a self-reflection that analyzes the character that resonates with me and why.
The documentary resonates with me especially because of the protagonist, Paul "The Badger" Brennan. He epitomizes the sentiments that recur thought the documentary that "if a man isn't a success, he has no one to blame but himself." Paul is an Irish-American Catholic salesman from Boston, Jamaica Plain that is struggling with his sales. Being middle-aged, he has the determination to succeed by any means necessary. Empathy rarely enters the transaction; therefore, he has the traits to be a successful businessman or entrepreneur.
I am a catholic myself, and I hold the Bible or any religious object such as a rosary in high regard. To some, Paul's tactics can be considered deceptive and, to the extreme blasphemous. He locates the customer's sweet spot during the transaction and closes the deal before the customer comes to their senses. This can be seen as he is trying to sell a young mother a bible by quoting, the Bible is the best seller in the world CITATION Alb68 \l 1033 (Maysles, 1968)." The sentiment is true as millions of bible copies have been sold around the globe for decades. The document can also be recontextualized as the founding document responsible for western civilization. Therefore, there is a definite value in the Bible; however, the debate is about whether treating it as a market phenomenon warrants the blasphemy claims.
Personally, perception is ...