Being There

Watched the film "Being There" last night. I seldom enjoy movies; perhaps it's because I went to film school or perhaps it's because I have ridiculously high standards; but whatever it is, I get in trouble because of my curmudgeony dislike for most films - after a screening of "The Dark Knight" I was savagely beaten with graphic novels by a cabal of comic book nerds.

How dare I not think it was the greatest film of all time?!?

That said, I fiercely enjoyed "Being There". Basically, it's the story of a mental dum-dum, played by Peter Sellers. Until his "master of his house" passed on and he was forced into the real world, Sellers's character Chance never interacted with another soul and garnered all his social skills from a lifetime of obsessive TV watching. Chance gets mixed up with high-power political players who think that his short, inane observations about gardening are actually profound metaphors for life, the universe and everything . He takes the world by storm, and by the end of the film the powers-that-be want to elect him president and he's walking on water.

As he takes his Jeebus-like steps across a pond, a voice over says "Life Is a State Of Mind", implying that people see Chance's character as a profound Zen-like soothsayer, because they want a profound Zen-like soothsayer. When he walks on water, it's because we want to believe that is possible.

Anyway, it got me thinking; my judgment of people I interact with is hampered by my own subjective need to see people the way I want to see them.

Do I feel bad about myself? Well, then everyone around me is staring at my huge nose and my argyle-socks-with-sneakers-combo. They hate me AND Jews.

Am I looking for a philosophical conversation? Well, even if I'm around a bunch of smart-alecky wiseacres who have about as much to say about life as Paris Hilton has to say about vaginal cleanliness, I engage them and usually find them to be profound. They'll talk about "DuckTales" as a metaphor for lost youth or some shit, and I'm eating it up.

Here's a good one: You want people to like you, right? In fact, you want people to find you attractive, no? Don't you take every stray glance and every brief eye contact as "gee, I think they like me", then your mind pops to sex, death and marriage, or perhaps all three. Even if three seconds later, you say to yourself "boy, that's a bunch of horseshit, that person has zero interest in me"...a part of you still believes there might be a chance.

You want to see it: you want to believe: there is a CHANCE. Which, if I'm correct (and I'm usually not), is why Sellers's character is named Chance.

Next time you're out and you meet someone or interact with a stranger; think to yourself "what am I looking for?", and you might be surprised that you'll find it in the person right in front of you.

People are mailable; they are who you want them to be. Hell, after a while, if you tell someone enough times, they'll become who you think they are.

Not my usual "unfunny rant-a-thon (with sex references!)", but it's interesting to think about. What are you looking for?

Here's a trailer that doesn't do the film justice: