Rarely do quotes or scenes from movies stay embedded in my mind. Considering my lack of a TV and visits to the movie theater, there is not much content to be derived from for that to occur more frequently. Perhaps that is false and that is just evidence of the sheer power or quality of a film. Maybe, it's both!

In the American drama film Infamous, writer Truman Capote conducts a research over a murder in Kansas for his book In Cold Blood. As a result, he establishes a close relationship with the convicted murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Later in the storyline, Capote and Smith develop a romantic connection, which then becomes an emotional journey that is both complex and heartbreaking. In Cold Blood is published after Hickock and Smith's executions, leaving Capote with a bittersweet aftermath, a masterpiece that became an automatic success and Smith's belongings (his artwork and a recording of him singing). Seeing physical evidence of Smith's presence of his life devastates and brings Capote into utter tears.

One of the characters stated a profound truth about artists: "I read an interview with Frank Sinatra in which he says about Judy Garland, 'Every time she sings, she dies a little. That's how much she gave.' It's true for writers, too, who hope to create something lasting. They die a little getting it right."

Ande Parks, the author of the graphic novel Capote in Kansas, crafted a biography, addressing a particular period in Capote's life and reintroduced the story of the Kansas murder. In an interview, Parks states that "[Capote] loved Perry [...] but desperately wanted to finish his book… something that could not happen until Perry was dead." It is also mentioned that "For Capote, the relationship with Smith was devastating. Although he did return to Kansas to see the men die, he was unable to watch Smith hang and fled from the prison. Also, although In Cold Blood brought him enormous fame and elevated his celebrity status into the stratosphere, Capote was crushed, to a certain degree, creatively."

To create a piece of art and experience the loss of love... that is a high cost. Hardship often translates into an artist's greatest works. I often find myself thinking about about that quote and how I would like be an artist of that caliber. My obsession with art tends to depress and motivate me. I want to vomit out the emotional essence of me, my pain, sadness, and happiness, and craft something so aesthetically beautiful that I do not believe I am capable...