“The moral
reformer, eager to introduce the millennium here and now by the aid of the
newest mechanical devices, is righteously indignant with anything so vague as
an aesthetic morality. He must have definite rules and regulations, clear-cut
laws and by-laws, with an arbitrary list of penalties attached, to be duly
inflicted in this world or the next.”
Havelock
Ellis
Truly bad acting is something to behold. It
besmirches everything we regard as human and undercuts it wholesale. If I had
to think back to the worst acting I have ever seen Kevin Costner in Robin Hood,
Harry Reems in Deep Throat the dubious distinction would have to go to Chris
Rock in Joel Shumacher’s bombastic actioner Bad Company. Opposite Sir Anthony
Hopkins whose own performance prompted the Queen to rethink his Knighthood,
paled to the stilted, sclerotic machinations of Rock. Subsequently lacking in
technique and anything remotely resembling nuance Chris Rock couldn’t even kiss
the fetching Garcelle Beauvais like he was heterosexual. It was bad enough
watching the venerable Hopkins mail it in, but to be subjected to the phantasm
of Rock’s thespian style raised more serious questions regarding the United
States policies on torture. So wooden was this exploitation of the actor’s
trade a Queen Anne hutch would sooner be praised for its consummate range.
As bad a scenery chewer as Rock is his lack
of ability has since been eclipsed by an actor so thoroughly bad audiences at
the breakfast show in the Andy Williams Theater in Branson, Missouri gave him
standing ovations. This is a man who personally lowered the curtain on
theatrical life by giving performances not seen since Richard Simmons tried to
play it straight. The actor in question was none other than George W. Bush.
Anyone who saw the tape of the man with the blunted affect feigning concern
over the Katrina hurricane victims was treated to the sight of the very same
man in desperate search of his own 3rd dimension. George Bush’s
mincing interpretation of a compassionate conservative consumed by largesse was
one for the ages. He had about as much interest in wrapping it around the poor,
downtrodden masses in the wake of this abject tragedy as a man of privilege
quaffing a few pints with the local lepers.
But what did you expect from a man totally
manufactured by the world of media, a man who had spent years trained in the
deadly art of prevarication? The offensiveness of his five-week vacation prior
was a testament to the infiltration of faux reality into the public theater. Do
we really need to watch the president clear brush or brandish a chainsaw on the
set of his ranch to believe that he’s really a tough guy? Bush is a cowboy only
if the public perceives him to be. The veneer of his true mien is so thin that
he no more knows himself than the public knows itself. Were we witnessing a man
overcome by a genuine sadness for the indigent and disenfranchised or was this
a man trying to act like a man overcome with sadness but lacked the chops to pull
it off? The president’s performance was as good as one could expect from
someone who has the sense memory of a hobo. The problem is as an actor he
stinks! He’d be out of his league in a junior high school production of Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. He couldn’t even understudy the fuckin’
coat! His handlers knew this and that’s the rub since we no longer care if any
of our leaders ever reveal a genuine human dimension because we have nary a
clue what a genuine human dimension might be.
This wave underscores the current problem
with reality. What exactly are we really seeing? If all the news outlets are
owned by multinationals then it stands to reason that all of our views and
opinions come sluicing down through this Weltanschauung. They control the
vertical and the horizontal and we are the Zeligs who adapt to the corporate
model. Opinion gets controlled. This is what free market of capitalism is
all about taking something complicated and shaded then reducing it to an
inconsequential bite size morsel. But what about emotions? Can our humanness
too be shaped by market forces and accepted like Ovaltine? Is our defining
humanity based on primordial underpinnings or are they conditioned responses
that keep us recognizable to each other as long as the existing social model
remains intact? If we only expect one dimensionality from our leaders and are
willing to be forced fed a diet of media snippets then why can’t emotions be
compartmentalized like a Whitman sampler? If human behavior can be sold to us
like a bad sitcom and the feelings that genuinely make us human are no longer
such, but instead infantilized they become social constructs. In the last 20
years it would be hard to argue against the manifestation of indifferent and
aggressive social behaviors. If Jerry Springer is any indication then it’s time
to show us your tits! Mother (beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep)! Suck my
(beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepp)! Cause you don’t know me! (beeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppp)!
Hitler and Goebbels knew that it was all about the show. And the show
always…always must go on.
But what about reality? Does it have a stake
in this little scenario? Is it something that can be bargained with? Does it
even remotely care? Is the remorselessness of the cosmos the crucial paradigm
and the only one to be considered at all? The tsunami in Indonesia in 2004
exacerbated this great indifference and revealed a God who would just as soon
kill you as look at you. One hundred sixty thousand people were wiped away like
bacteria on a Formica tabletop by a power that would cause anyone with a
novitiate’s brush with existential dread to tremble in the wake of Life’s
awesome randomness. Global warming, deforestation, strip mining, dependence on
fossil fuels are symptoms of an evolutionary plateau. but Man is so enamored
with himself he can’t see beyond the next day. This is what happens when
Man began to think he could control nature. Nature doesn’t give a shit! It does
what it does and if we sully this great dream the universe will just add earth
to its pile of forgotten burned out carbon molecules. It is Man’s belief in his
absolute tenure on this planet that is the real problem. He is too much a
solipsist to see the error of his way. Witnessing a major loon like Pat Robertson pray
for the death of William Rehnquist so another conservative court appointee
might possibly advance his personal evangelical vision is as narcissistic as it
gets. How arrogant is Man to believe that he is The Man. Anybody who suffered
at the hands of Katrina knows the truth down to the very marrow of their being.
Can’t we see beyond this that it’s not the small mindedness of Man that rules
the world, but actually the very indifference of the world that rules Man?
In order for Mankind to survive he must come
from this perspective. We are no more in control of our destiny than a Soap
Opera character. Absoluteness certainly hasn’t worked as the graves of millions
stand testament to this fact. Man has killed wantonly ever since he uttered
“Yahweh” for the first time. Once a supreme being was established and the transference was complete a New Man emerged one that subjugates his power and is
willing to kill for this privilege. However, the Universe just shrugs and moves
on. Man must realize he cannot continue to walk blindly any longer.
This viewpoint is the direct result of a species not willing to grapple with
its own insignificance.
Is there a snowball’s chance that this could
be ever introduced into the public discourse or are we doomed to spend the rest
of our days tethered to the faux realities of other people? Could an
existential perspective ever creep into the grand discussion of our cultural
story? All religions and totemic mindsets rely on the faceless masses to
perpetrate them. Does it really matter which dogma it comes from? Human beings
have been slicing and dicing each other since time immemorial. Maybe this set
of guidelines is not working anymore. If cultures can still stone their women
with impunity or vilify minorities without public outrage maybe its time to change
course and head for a place where there are no fairies or elves, where
possibility is boundless, where the remorselessness of reality is a boon not a
hindrance.
As President Obama creeps toward the end of
his theatrical run you will hear the low hum of dissatisfaction getting louder
and louder. It is not because the public has suddenly awakened and realized
that his administration was as bankrupt as the last, it’s just that they’ve realized they’ve seen this show before.
As a species we must find another vessel to pour our hopes
into. Year after year we choose politicians that mirror our beliefs and our
desires. We look to elect politicians who represent us. Vote for Joe Blow! He’s
one of us! A man just like you and me? Why would anyone want that? We’re losers!
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