Woody Allen keeps churning out movies every year ~ some good, some great and some awful ~ but all of them the creation of a comic genius and much in the tradition of the immortal and irrepressible Charlie Chaplin: Allen L Roland
I
refused to get sucked into the kabuki
theater of the Republican and Democrat conventions with all their comic
absurdities ~ from phony populism to empty phrases to empty chairs to empty
coronations, empty words and blatantly false and
outrageous roll call votes ( please see
http://rt.com/usa/news/jerusalem-israel-dnc-vote-528/ ). Just another example of whose in control of our
political process ~ which includes both political parties.
As
wsws.org correctly writes ~ "As
the Democratic Party wound up its charade in Charlotte as the party of
“progress” and the “little guy,” it could not conceal the ugly reality of a
party immersed in torture, criminal war and the wholesale assault on democratic
rights of working people ~ all in the interests of defending the financial
oligarchy’s monopoly of economic and political power."
Both
Presidential Candidates are committed to
maintaining the status quo and the obvious PLAN ~ a new world order
cemented in the oligarchy's exclusive possession of economic and political
power. That's why Geoge W Bush didn't panic on the morning of 9/11 and Obama
hasn't panicked as his broken campaign promises destroyed his progressive base and litter the political landscape.
“You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go
‘according to plan.’ Even if the plan is horrifying!”
The Joker
As such, I
turn away from the theater of the politically absurd to two true comic masters
of the absurd and realize that our own Woody Allen has slowly evolved into America's Charlie Chaplin. Both had similar
paths to greatness, both followed their own intuition and both were troubled
geniuses in their own right ~ and I define genius as someone embodying
exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality in their craft
or occupation.
"All my pictures are built around the idea of getting in
trouble and so giving me the chance to be desperately serious in my attempt to
appear as a normal little gentleman."
~ Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin
Chaplin's rise was a true rags-to-riches story. His father, a notorious
drinker, abandoned Chaplin, his mother, and his older half-brother, Sydney, not
long after his Charlie's birth. That left Chaplin and his brother in the hands
of their mother, a vaudevillian and music hall singer who went by the stage
name of Lily Harley.
For
a few years, anyway, Chaplin's mother, who would later suffer severe mental
issues and have to be committed to an asylum, was able to support her family.
But in a performance that would introduce her youngest boy to the world of
performance, Hannah inexplicably lost her voice in the middle of a show,
prompting the stage manager to push the five-year-old Chaplin, whom he'd heard
sing, onto the stage to replace her.
Chaplin
lit up the audience, wowing them with his natural presence and comedic angle (at
one point he imitated his mother's cracking voice) and the rest is history.
See article ~
As
a film maker, later like Woody Allen ~
Chaplin came to be known as a grueling perfectionist. His love for
experimentation often meant countless retakes and it was not uncommon for him
to order the rebuilding of an entire set. It also wasn't rare for him to begin
with one leading actor, realize he'd made a mistake in his casting, and start
again with someone new.
Here's
one of the funniest movies created by Sir Charlie Chaplin ~ 5 minute video
As
for Woody Allen ~
" I made the statement years ago which is often quoted that
80 percent of life is showing up. People used to always say to me that they
wanted to write a play, they wanted to write a movie, they wanted to write a
novel, and the couple of people that did it were 80 percent of the way to
having something happen. All the other people struck out without ever getting
that wish. They couldn’t do it, that’s why they don’t accomplish a thing, they
don’t do the thing, so once you do it, if you actually write your film script,
or write your novel, you are more than half way towards something good
happening. So I would say that is my biggest life lesson that has worked. All
others have failed me " ~ Woody Allen
Initially,
at a very young age,a gag writer and then a musician, humorist, philosopher,
playwright, stand-up comic, film star, film writer and film director ~ Woody Allen continues, at the ripe age of 77,
to follow that life lesson ~ grinding out a
movie a year and continues to surprise us,
as Chaplin almost always did, with his observations, artistic talent and always
his own unique voice.
Here's
one of my favorite Woody Allen scenes from Annie Hall ~ see 5 minute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpIYz8tfGjY
But
Robert Weide's must see two-part documentary
on Woody Allen features unprecedented access to people who not only truly know
him but also supported his talent and worked with him ~ as both producers and
actors. After delightfully watching both
parts ~ I can easily say that Woody Allen is America's Charlie Chaplin and
we are blessed to have experienced, in some of our lifetimes, two such driven, troubled and gifted talents. http://video.pbs.org/video/2163103615/
And
finally Woody's passive,
unlike Chaplin's, take on politics ~ " I don’t find politics
profound enough to deal with it as an artist. The story of human beings is
composed of murder, only the cosmetics and the decorations change: 2001 some
fanatics killed Americans, and now the Americans kill Iraqis. And when I was a
kid, Nazis murdered Jews. Now, Jews and Palestinians are butchering each other.
Politics has been volatile for thousands of years, and meaningless, because
everything repeats itself. But, as a citizen I vote, or course."
As
Walter Kerr wrote in “The Silent Clowns,” describing the 1921 film “The Kid,”
Chaplin allowed his audiences “to see and to feel what is realistically
distressing about life through the magnifying glass, and only through the
magnifying glass, of humor" ~ which to me is
precisely what Woody Allen has accomplished in his movies.
Humor
and laughter are the most undervalued and underrated stress relievers in our
convoluted times and in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin ~ Woody Allen has
become a master practitioner of that art.
Allen L Roland
Freelance
Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is
available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations allen@allenroland.com
Allen
L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a
daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website
www.allenroland.com He also guest hosts
a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net
Every age has its humorist from Mark Twain to Charlie Chaplin to currently Woody Allen ~ and all to keep us from taking ourselves too seriously.
ReplyDeleteObat Penyakit Radang Hidung
ReplyDeleteObat Infeksi Usus Dan Lambung
Obat Peradangan Lidah
Obat Leher Bengkak Pada Anak
Obat Panas Dalam Untuk Anak Anak
Obat Sakit Dada Untuk Anak
Obat Penyakit Jantung Ibu Hamil
Obat Penyakit Hepatitis B Akut
Obat Penyempitan Pembuluh Darah Ibu Hamil
Obat Radang Amandel Ibu Hamil
Obat Nyeri Lambung
Obat Infeksi Luka Pada Anak
Obat Radang Pita Suara Kronis
Obat Jantung Bocor Ibu Hamil
Obat Serangan Serangan Jantung Lansia
Obat Kekurangan Trombosit
Obat Radang Amandel Akut
Obat Nyeri Lambung Untuk Anak
Obat sering kesemutan di tangan
Obat luka di langit langit mulut
Obat bisul di dalam telinga
Obat patah tulang pada anak
Obat gatal di selangkangan