22 September 2013 – THIS IS YOUR AMERICA – “Stare Down the Barrel of This” Where do you go when you have no place left to go? What do you do when you’ve done it all, seen it all, and had enough of it all? To think that I have to give a shit about any and everything is a daunting task. To know that for me to get something out of life, I must give myself over to it, is such a burden! I have no special message or uplifting moment today. For the last two weekends I have been watching “Red Beard” (1965) by the great Japanese film director Ikira Kurosawa, a long film exploring Life’s pain – and ultimate redemption – through the eyes of doctors at early 19th century Japanese neighborhood clinic. The central theme – that one alleviates one’s pain/sickness by helping others – is very relevant to the AA philosophy that keeps me moving forward today. Contained within the film’s commentary is the story of Kurosawa as a boy being taken by his hero/older brother to see the ravages of 1923 Kanto Earthquake that rocked Japan. When the young Ikira tried to avert his eyes from the atrocities before him, his brother said, “No! Look!” It was that lesson that Kurosawa took with him to make some of the greatest films I have ever seen, films that challenge the viewer to do just the same. His films speak to me because I have always believed the same thing: an artist doesn’t avert his or her eyes in the face of Life, be it Life at it’s best or it’s worst.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 13:34:53 +0000
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