Ginger's follies, foibles and fixations.
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| You Listen to Me, Mr. Kick-Ass Ginger's follies, foibles and fixations. |
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Saturday, September 06, 2003 Turmoil Is it just me or have things been weird the past few months? Not just weird, but actually bad, or at least chaotic, tumultuous, and unexpected? Is the normal ebb and flow of life ebbing a bit more than usual? It dawned on me recently that a lot of people I know -- and now even people I don't know, like Wil -- are going through what the kids call "heavy shit" these days. Not the day-to-day annoyances and minor heartbreaks of normal life, but huge, scary big things, like job losses and personal tragedies and medical problems and marital woes and the like. At first I thought that it was just people in my circle whose lives were in some sort of upheaval - two major job losses in my immediate family, for example - but I kept hearing about other people who were afffected by any number of maladies, from as simple as just being bummed out to truly life-altering crises. I don't have any answers or explanations, though for some reason it's easier to blame the unusual proximity of Mars (poor Mars) than the far more reasonable theory that living through the worst economy and highest unemployment in decades might have something to do with it. Not to mention that we're in embroiled in a fiasco overseas and the impact of energy deregulation has become abundantly clear to, um, those who weren't lucky enough to be out of town a few weeks ago. Well, you know the drill. On my end, I haven't suffered a personal crisis so much as I'm dealing with various crises around me, which, naturally, have had an impact on my general mood and attitude. Additionally, the post-vacation letdown of getting back to work and normalcy had a surprisingly devastating effect - I spent most of the last couple weeks depressed, irritable and generally immobile, topped off with my apartment building having no hot water for two days. I was not only depressed, I was depressed and stinky. Which brings me to the movie I just saw, the wonderful American Splendor. After hearing about this for what seems like years, I feel like I'm the last person in America to get around to seeing it, but I'm sure glad I did. I never read the "American Splendor" comics and in fact never heard of Harvey Pekar until I started seeing press about the movie, but it's a terrific story vividly filmed. It is simultaneously the embodiment of the idea "if this schlub can make it, anyone can," and a refutation of it. Who's to say that Harvey has "made it?" Can a real life be easily packaged into an uplifting, easy-to-swallow caplet? I also love that the movie confronts our idea of the benefits of fame. Here's someone who had a fairly successful comic book about him and was on David Letterman multiple times, so could be considered famous. Fame is something for which some people feel such a deep hunger that they will humiliate themselves in an astonishing multitude of ways for the mere taste of it. Yet when told by an aquaintance, "you're famous!" Harvey grunts it off. So what? How has his life changed? At that time it wasn't so great. And even now, with the movie and a seemingly endless number of articles in print, I would guess that Harvey's life isn't so much different. Busier for the moment, perhaps, but in the end he is looking at the same person in the mirror, no matter how many people now recognize the face. Fame is something that has always fascinated me. Not so much that I wanted to be famous (well I did, but then some years ago I just decided that I already WAS and have left it at that), but that I always wondered about the psychological process that transforms the ordinary person into a Celebrity - particularly the Madonnas and Brad Pitts and Julia Robertses who we can safely say will never, ever again live life unobserved. That must be a very heavy thing, and it's no wonder that many go batshit crazy because of it. I played briefly with the idea of writing a book on this topic once, though I admit one motivating force was that in doing so I might get to meet and interview a lot of famous people. But my fascination about meeting celebrities has never been that I want to tell them how great they are, or figure out how to be their best friend so I'd be invited to their fabulous parties. No, my deepest desire was to find out how fame has affected them. Do they consider themselves famous? When did they first feel that way? How did it affect the people close to them? When I first met Hanson, I blurted out "I can't believe you do this every day!" meaning the endless meet-and-greets before concerts, with streams of nervous fans (myself included) lining up for the chance to spent thirty seconds shaking hands and making talk so small as to reduce the words to nonsense. It's a profoundly surreal thing - so why do any of us participate in it? What value does the ritual give our lives? Living in New York has opened up my perspective about this as well. Working peripherally in showbiz, I have met or know a number of people who I would have considered "famous" growing up as I did in celebrity-deprived Nebraska. There, even appearing for a second on national TV or in a movie was cause for celebration. Here it's business as usual. I suspect that a lot of people who hunger for fame believe that the fame will take them out of their mundane, paycheck-to-paycheck lives and deliver them an In Style magazine existence. But fame doesn't do this--money does. And one thing I've learned is that a lot of famous people don't have any money. Most of the people I know are actors and writers, and believe me, these are some of the shittiest-paying jobs. It's wonderful to get a chance to do what you love and have people connect with and appreciate it, but the other side of that is having to hunt under the sofa cushions for subway fare. Being on "Law and Order" seventeen times might seem pretty cool to the folks at home, but it doesn't mean you're not still wondering how you're going to pay the electric bill. Of course, some lucky ones hit the big payday. A friend of Mrs. Boss, for instance, is a star on a very hot TV show, and is, for the first time in a long career, doing well. But this doesn't end the struggle. The Friends cast is pretty well set for life, but you can name all of them. There are a staggering number of actors in the business, and most are just a cancelled show or a film-wrap away from grocery-shopping with VISA. So if fame doesn't automatically bring wealth, is it still worth pursuing? I guess you should ask the casts of "The Real World," whose financial benefit from the show seems to extend mostly to living rent-free for six weeks, which is probably outweighed by the fact that they are compelled to quit their day jobs. What need is fulfilled by the possibility of being recognized on the street, or seen on TV by your ex-schoolmates and lovers? Does the hunger for fame and recognition only increase after one has had a brief taste of it? What American Splendor teaches us is that fame is, in itself, meaningless and arbitrary. What enriched Harvey's life was not the fame that fell upon him, but that he chose to express himself artistically. It's not that writing comics magically made him happy or simplified his life -- indeed misery followed him relentlessly and, perhaps, still does -- but it allowed him a voice, a way to contribute to the great legacy of human storytelling. Creating something, whether or not it is ever recognized, is the one way we have to confront the certainty of mortality, our only chance to escape the inescapable. I've seen too many people with artistic sensibilities wither when they deny that part of themselves--the art student who gives it up for business and wonders why he is miserable and alone. The act of creating does not require great talent, support or equipment; it only takes the desire to leave this world with a piece of yourself behind. posted by Ginger | 12:42 AM Thursday, September 04, 2003 Yetiette! Everybody say congratulations to gonna-be-Dad Matthew & Mom-in-progress The Queen. Congratulations! Enjoy the blog now, while he has time to post. posted by Ginger | 10:20 PM Like, You Know Hey kids! If you missed my appearance on MSNBC, you still can benefit from my barely-articulate wisdom and insight via the embarassingly accurate transcript! This is a transcript of the whole show. I was part of the last story, so scroll down at least 3/4 of the way to get to my bit. But first look at the very top of the page, under "Complete Transcript...". Yes. That is my name, listed right next to Gary Coleman--Gary freakin' Coleman!! That is the famous-est I'll probably ever get -- if you're nice I'll let you shake my hand for $1. No checks. I still haven't seen the show, but, actually, everyone says I, you know, really sounded all smart and, well, like, totally cool and rad and stuff. Though for some reason the actual words don't quite, you know, convey that...exactly. [HUGE thanks & kisses to DAD for finding this!!!!!] posted by Ginger | 7:30 PM Monday, September 01, 2003 Celebrity Freak of the Moment: James Duval!  Having seen James "Jimmy" Duval do a hilarious few minutes in May, I decided to watch Donnie Darko again, in which he has a significant role. But I was soon beset with concern for this talented youngish actor. He chooses great projects, but does the poor guy EVER get paid? Jimmy, for your dedication to quirky, quality cinema, your good humor, your welcome insights on DVD commentaries, and your eagerness to spend most of a film in a creepy bunny suit - WE SALUTE YOU! May your cinematic paydays soon move beyond the "five bucks and a hand job" variety... Some links about the crown prince of indie cinema: |
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