How To Be
I love strange movies. Crushes usually bring me to strange places and this movie was one of them. It hurt, it hit home a bit more than it probably should have.
I felt such a coward after I’ve seen it. Yes, Art was amazingly brave, he dared being awkward. Only a strong person sees life like he does: he can’t even conceive to dissimulate. Most of us arm ourselves with the constant smile on our faces, we blend in, do things like we “supposed” to. And in the meantime we have no clue of who is really shivering under the pile of pretend. Art was defenseless because he never learned this easy trick of the adults. All he had, all he was he put it out there. Yes, he was miserable. But he is the most honest character ever setting foot in our imagination. And who is to say that the rest of us is any tiny bit happier than he is?
How many parents does it take to screw… up a kid? One is enough, two are plenty. This movie reminded me of that excellent line, perfectly delivered by Keanu Reeves in Parenthood. “You need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car, hell, you even need a license to catch a fish. But they let any butt-reaming asshole be a father.” So many people don’t ever grasp the responsibility of bringing a new person in this world. We aren’t all self-sufficient from the diapers, are we? The way society is built, family should be the hard core of our existence, the root where we all draw our strength from. Keeping our shit together is a hard job in any case but without this it’s virtually impossible. I know parents who are like that. They watch this stranger who is tied to them for good, they watch him with grit, hostility… an uncomfortable part of their daily routine. In best case scenario, they feel guilty… but even that takes a bit of interest, a bit of feeling. “I wonder about you sometimes” is not the worst thing that can happen. “Your existence is an oxymoron” encapsulates all the helplessness of a father who doesn’t have the slightest desire to be one.
Self help books. It’s Not Your Fault, alias Twart the Freezing Guilt of Your Dysfunctional Past. Huh? Snort! LMAO! Have you seen Little Miss Sunshine? Perfect example of who is really writing these. We are in constant search for formulas, easy solutions for the shit in our life. The creepy little man following Art around with the creepy smile on his face was bizarre, but nothing about this movie was remotely funny. People give loads of money to charlatans exactly like him, who are claiming to have the solution to every problem. And of course it’s all your fault when the magic formula doesn’t help you. Peeps, there is no such thing as normal. It’s only you, me, them. We are alike and we are different, and we are all normal to our own standards. And who else’s standards do you want to be measured by? Why is their standard better than yours? And believe me, nobody knows shit when it comes to YOUR life. You are responsible for it, you are making it. It’s only you who can help you. Even Art learned that.