Two ludicrous topics today, web-loggers. The first is in reference to last Tuesday's post (8/14/07). It would seem that it's a popular choice for people to endorse Batman against any and all odds in a fight, giving him the acclaimed status of figures such as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Most Guys' Girlfriends. I have Friend Adam to thank for exposing me to this (my own) bias, in the form of a string of submissions to IGN.com. It seems IGN had a survey/fantasy-football-esque event in which they paired off comicbook characters to see who would win in a fight, until they were down to a final two: (The) Batman and The Phoenix. Batman won the votes. Which is ridiculous (I concede...begrudgingly). So IGN began a series of articles inviting people to describe how Batman would win in the face of a variety of unbeatable odds, aptly titling the series "Use Your Delusion." I invite you to check it out. I daresay they make my proposed Batman vs. Wolverine scenario seem utterly reasonable in comparison.
The other ludicrousity (is SO a word) is the terrible volatility of personal relationships between artists. I am not even kidding. Sometimes it seems to me that these involve more bloodshed even than Wolverine fighting a busload of overweight babies. And understand, I'm not speaking exclusively here of romantic relationships . . . you know: "relationships." rather, I mean any personal relationship that develops between artists. But I should confine myself to actors, here. That's where most of my experience has lain, with a dash or two of dancers and writers for good measure.
We will rock your world. We will: It's science. Now, get two of us together and add a dash of affection, an ounce of attraction and a dram of chemistry and you've got one intense stew. The only problem with that stew (assuming you like stew [and intensity]) is that when it is really cooking, it means it is constantly at a boil.
Wait. I lost myself in the metaphor.
I think it's something having to do with dedicating a good part of one's life to exploring emotions others generally choose to avoid, practicing reacting out of instinct and cultivating an awareness of everything everywhere. For a start. So we apply that exploration, reaction and awareness to our greatest priorities, many of which are personal relationships. That's part of why I'm grateful for those of my friends who aren't artists (though I'm just as grateful for my fellows in the arts), because it's kind of nice to know people who can let an issue slide, or are interested in just sitting down over drinks without discussing the ramifications of society's increased isolation from itself. It's great to be uncompromising and sensitive, to have an alternative viewpoint, but it's not always good to apply this ethic to the day-to-day of personal relationships.
I think there are myriad causes for the explosive nature of relationships between artists, and I haven't the experience or interest to explore them all, but one think we can agree on, I think again, is that personally involved artists working together on a project is the most explosive situation of all. I am thinking here, of course, of my relationship with the actor who left As Far As We Know. Moreover, I'm thinking of her relationship with the producing team, with which she is/was really close. I wonder how much of the reasons for the rift had to do with personal feelings on both sides, and how much with work disagreement. I suppose I'll never really know. What I do know is that, regardless of how much you can clean up both aspects of a relationship--professional and personal--this kind of event creates a breach of trust that I don't believe ever really goes away.
So maybe the better question is, assuming they don't rip each other to shreds, how can we hope for Batman and Wolverine to find a reconciliation together? You know? Kick it over a bucket of wings and a couple of brewskis?
4 comments:
This is not applicable to your latter metaphor, but I still think you're bonkers in assuming Batman could beat Wolverine. Bonkers, man.
I applaud the step toward reasonabilityness (is SO a word!) that this blog is taking. {Applause}
Yeah, I was kind of getting to the point of considering posting "Well, who do you think COULD beat Batman? Galactus, Eater of Worlds?" But I decided I'd rather keep my friendships. So this is good to see. Vindicating, even. The Batman camp doesn't technically have to admit defeat, but it allows the rest of us to reasonably dismiss Bruce's Men as, let's say, sometimes overenthusiastic.
I wouldn't necessarily say that this is exclusive to actors; I think any close relationship has the potential for conflict, because the more you trust the other person, the more you reveal of yourself, and the more potential that brings for discord and conflict.
You don't always tell the acquaintances everything about yourself, but the closer you get to someone, the more likely you are to confess things you suspect would be hot issues ("you know, I honestly never understood what the big deal was about Happy Days"). You're trusting that they'll react the same ("oh my God, me too -- all the other kids picked on me for hating it and I felt like a freak"), but you of course may run the risk of them disagreeing with you ("are you kidding? how could anyone not like the Fonz?") And people have different ways of dealing with these conflicts -- sometimes you just have to get through a lot of sparks to get to the point when you finally stop, shrug, and say "oh, screw it, this isn't important."
I will give you that sometimes theater is a bit more permissive of the sparks-flying kind of hissy fit like that, but such conflicts happen elsewhere -- they're just a little bit more hidden. And they have just as much potential for remaining unresolved.
Me, I just engage in revenge fantasies instead. Much less messy.
Alright first, what's up with referencing Meggs comment on Wings and Brews without citation? Not referencing that your girlfriend gave you the perfect closer for the post is a little lame dude :-P
And.... seriously, how about a little NPOV. I'm a Batman fan, but I hate to see Logan like that. That picture has me thinking that I could kick his @$$. Very low blow dude.
hehehehe
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