I had the opportunity this weekend to visit the Pike Street Public Market in downtown Seattle. For those of you not familiar with the Puget Sound area, suffice it to say the Market is to vegetable stands what MTV is to music. It epitomizes the pre-packaged Hollywood spend-o-rama; the sort of environment cultivated by a community as much to set itself apart from, as to blend with, traditional/lost America. To some it is a mole, to others, it is a beauty mark; to me it is a feeding frenzy of sensual stimulation, a whirlwind of sight and sound.
Nevertheless, I was wandering down one of the dank cloisters of the lower Public Market arcade when a gentleman approached me and asked if I had any spare change. His query struck me as a profound observation of contemporary society, not only from the economic realities of his request, but from a cultural perspective. Arguably, he was only mooching for a handout to continual his sordid descent into drunken squalor, accompanied by his alcoholic Virgil, but one must remain vigilant for any inspiration...
Change is popular word today. Television, politics, the print media and popular culture pronounce "change" as an almost mystical mantra to ward off any purported threat. At Melrose Place, change is subtle affair each character deals with over the course of an episode. Relationships are changing, social roles are changing, and above all, the characters are changing.
Contrast this with the Hollywood model for change. Hollywood is a land of sure-things; an industry which purports to be cutting-edge, yet daily strives to achieve mediocrity and the status quo. Outside of Woody Allen and David Lynch, there are precious few risk-takers in the Shining Pearl of Crass Commercialism that is Hollywood. (Granted, they can get a date easier than the Woodster...) One has only to watch the Emmy's or MTV to realize that much of Hollywood, and indeed, pop culture remains a vanilla- flavoured, I'll-have-my-people-contact-your-people, beige- with-brown-trim, man-on-top-get-it-over-with, let's-do-lunch, virgin-vinyl-with-fake-fur-trim exercise in mindless boredom.
Even politics has shifted toward "change," viewing it as a benevolent agent of mercy who acts with decidedly partisan judgment. The Republican National Convention spouted endless platitudes and bold rhetoric redefining "change" as "tradition;" even a key speech was delivered by none other than Ronald Reagan, actor, former President and hemorrhoid sufferer. Oddly enough, that leads us full-circle back to Hollywood, and the Philosophy of Creative Inertia.
Change is one of the few elements that keeps each of us from blowing our brains out from boredom. (Lina Wertmuller astutely observed that one should always have a gun; if not to shoot yourself, then to at least be aware that you were always making a conscious decision to the contrary.) Yet too much change, and an individual feels disjointed and powerless.
McLuhan taught us, (or at least gave it his best shot) during the 1960s about hot and cold media; of media as environment and its ability to shape and change the message it contains. (Ironically, McLuhan was once a very hot media figure, but he has been rather cold since 1981...) A key element of his thesis was society's ability, through whatever means available, to adapt to the cultural change spawned by the development of new media.
While television is not a new media, it is one of constant flux, particularly in content. A newspaper is limited by the ink-on- paper media; to shape a message, one needs tools and newsprint provides few tools. Yet the introduction of the newspaper freed information to the masses and radically changed contemporary culture. Television, through its unlimited visual freedom, is not bound by cords of strict content, and offers boundless opportunity to shape and mold the message.
Advances in the coming years will eliminate what few content limitations remain in television and once again we will be forced to change not only our perception but our perceptors. Television has been viewed as a Jekyl/ Hyde medium, which can be said about any valuable tool. The Hammer that pounds the Nail may also burst the Skull.
The final interpretation is left as an exercise for the reader.
I remain, - Ian
This week saw the return of Melrose Place with an all-new episode, and a zinger at that. There were two storylines, one very serious, and the other more humourous, in typical Spelling "pain/relief" fashion.
The main story dealt with Sandy and her travails with a particularly earnest suitor. She meets him On The Street, so she is immediately suspicious. Remember what Mom always said: never talk to strangers! (Rick Springfield excepted.) She goes on a "test" date with the guy and discovers he is as engaging as a South American Sea Slug, so despite his pleadings to the contrary, she gives him the old Heave-Ho. Imagine her surprise when she comes home one evening and finds Paul waiting for her by The Pool with the rest of Melrose Place crew. Sandy is Noticeably Upset, but unfortunately, everyone else Throws Caution To The Wind and urges her to Give The Goober A Chance.
Meanwhile, Allison is fed up with her car, (hey, she drove it to Palm Springs two weeks ago and it worked fine!) and decides she needs to get a new one. Billy, of course, has to provide the Male Wisdom In Car Shopping and manages to screw things up pretty good. Unfortunately, Allison already has her Illogical Female Car-Buying Sights set on a Mazda Miata and won't let go. There are a number of yawner scenes with Allison trying to sell her car but retain her Honour As A Human, while Billy just shows off The Chest and rolls his eyes a lot.
Sandy is still sticking by her guns, (and sporty-looking guns they are!), yet Paul just doesn't get the message. She wakes up one morning to discover the swimming pool filled with lilies and the Married Couple faithfully cleaning them up. (What troopers!) The suspense escalates as Paul discovers The Answering Machine and starts leaving messages every five minutes. (Interesting note: Paul earlier in the episode bitches about not having Sandy's phone number, and we know it is not registered in her name, (the episode where Rhonda reminds Sandy she needs to pay the phone bill), so how does he get it?) By the time Sandy comes home from work and discovers rose petals all over her bed, the viewer is Chewing Those Nails To The Root.
Jake decides to take matters Into His Own Hands, and nearly gets arrested in the process. Sandy has the Confrontation with Paul at the nursery where he works and suddenly we are back at Melrose Place, exchanging Mindless Pillow Talk with the Jakester. (And nary a petal in sight, I might add...) I had trouble following this development, but it probably had more to do with the Dog Breath From Hell I was enduring while trying to eat in front of the dog/TV and take notes at the same time. Sandy cooks breakfast the next morning for Jake, and Spelling plays with the viewer's mind with some flirtatious dialogue. Yawn.
Oh, and Allison decides to keep the clunker and skip the Miata. Billy was relieved, but I think that had more to do with the lack of a back seat in the Miata than anything else.
Once again we face two seemingly-disjointed story lines, but we all know better. Sandy/Sex faces an outside Threat while Innocence deals with the trappings of Success. Signor Spelling, in his typically generous style, presented us with a Tele-cinematic Pandora's Box and thoughtfully provided the Key.
The dichotomy of stories between Sex and Success is once again exploited with Spelling finesse. Allison/Success wants to sell her car, yet this is like no other car. It is Transportation; it is Freedom in an All-Confining World. It is not a collection of infantile-quality assembly-line detritus, nay, it is the Wings of Icarus. "Fly with me to the Stars," beckons Freedom. "Cast loose the chains that bind you close to the Past and Live!" Success is feeling Inhibited, Controlled by her lack of Freedom, and Ineffectual against Society. Innocence strives to console her, to guide her through this period, yet Culture has changed too much; Innocence can offer little assistance or resistance. In the end, Success relinquishes her desire for new Freedoms and returns to the Past Freedom. The pathos of the final scene is stirring; Success pleading for the return of Freedom from the Chains of Culture as Innocence looks on, Frustrated and Powerless.
In the main story, we find Sex pursued by an agent named Paul. Who is this man, and for what reason does he antagonize our nubile neighbour? Notice that the character representing Sex is named Sandy. Some minor research reveals this is the diminutive form of Alexandra, which is the feminine derivative of Alexander. Alexander just happens to be Greek for "Helper of Men;" certainly an apt moniker for Sex. Paul, on the other hand, is our tireless suiter whose name, as any student of religious history will know, is Latin for "Little." So, we have something little, something ultimately ineffective that chases Sex.
His near-moment of triumph arises only after Rhonda/ EveryWoman abandons Sex. EveryWoman leaves, seeking the Freedom of New Horizons; without a thought she withdraws her Mantle of Security from Sex allowing Fate to unleash this "Little" Dog of Hell. EveryWoman is momentarily oblivious to the Threat, she even ponders aloud whether Sex should be allowed this moment of Vicarious Pleasure. All because she does not see what insidious Threat is posed by Paul/Little...
Notice also that Jake/EveryMan is threatened by Paul. Sex was formerly his possession, yet now he may lose this most worthy of prizes to another suitor, a consort of a different sort. "I will kill you!" cries EveryMan. "I shall cast you out from this place, as an Eagle casts out the bones of her victims from the nest." EveryMan hates Paul, fears Paul, and must ultimately triumph over Paul.
Why is this so important? Because Paul is Impotence.
Impotence not only of a sexual nature, but the grand sense of ineffectiveness felt by the modern EveryMan in contemporary Western-Euro-centric culture. EveryMan has no place, no authority in a mad world infested with feminism, political correctness, "rational thought", AIDS, and do-it- yourself plumbing kits. There is no need for him outside of procreation, and the greatest threat to this final value is Impotence. "You are worthless!" cries Paul as he scatters the dying petals of EveryMan's self-esteem upon the Bed where Sex lay. "You are an anachronism, I have usurped your societal role, and I shall crush you as I crush your self-esteem." Yet, EveryMan will not relinquish his Role without a Battle Royale.
When Impotence felt betrayed, his first resort was to fill the Water with Life as evidenced by the pool filled with lilies. This attempt to influence and tease Sex is foiled by the cleansing efforts of the Married Couple/Responsibility. Responsibility knows EveryWoman is not present to protect and defend Sex, ergo, someone must stand up to Impotence and negate this Threat. Spelling's use of Water as metaphor for Life and Sex has been explored in previous episodes and remains true.
The climactic scene portrays EveryMan filled with Rage over Impotence. His threat of Death echoes through the Halls of Social Change. His words buzz like WASPs around the Mind of Impotence, sharp and stinging to the core. In the end, Impotence is defeated only through the combined efforts of Sex and EveryMan, a biting commentary on Modern Society. EveryMan can no longer achieve his goal solely on the strength of his own efforts; he must work in union with other elements. Impotence is not destroyed, it will return in the future under a different guise, and that much wiser for this temporary setback.
Billy gets a new flame and tries to pour some gas on the relationship, until he finds out the flame comes with a little lighter... Will things get too hot for Billy? Will he get burned?
Handheld Fuzzy-Focus camera during "Fear" scene in Sandy's apartment. Spelling has watched too many Ridley Scott movies; the wind blowing the curtain in her bedroom and rose petals all over the bed were classic. All we needed was dripping rain and a few guys running around in rubber Alien suits...
Sandy. (And golly did she work!)
"You've got to be a model, or an actress, or something." "Ya; is it obvious?" - Paul to Sandy, revealing Paul read "How to pick up Women" as a child...
"It was so much easier back home." "Ya, Daddy had a shotgun." - Exchange between Sandy and Jake.
"Great building; I'd kill for a place like this!" - Paul to Sandy, admiring Melrose Place and reaffirming Spelling's Freudian attraction to phallic symbols of violence.
"Sandy! Sandy!" "Forget it, Jake. You said it yourself, wrong gender..." - Exchange between Jake and Sandy where Sandy exhibits that damned obnoxious female ability to stab a man in the groin with his own words.
"Listen to me, you sick son of a bitch!" - Jake to Paul, yanking yet another canine metaphor from the writer's diverse mind.
- Allison to Billy, referring to The Car and proving that you should always check under the upholstery for coins and such before you trade a car in...
"The pleasure of love is in loving." - Francois , Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 'Reflections'
"I was in love with loving." - St. Augustine, 'Confessions'
"It wasn't love, but the idea of being in love." - Pet Shop Boys
"You don't love me, you love the idea of being in love." - Sandy to Paul. Evidently our Melrose Place writers are well-read or once wrote speeches for Joe Biden...