Ah, the magic number of everything, as taught to us by the great Douglas Adams who showed us all how a different perspective can save the world. In fact, one of the reasons I love science fiction as a genre, is that it always manages to frame the reality we know, as a small part of something greater than we could ever imagine. In some ways it's scary to think of the endless possibilities in existence, but in another way it can be the most liberating feeling to realise just how insignificant you are.
Tonight I was watching an episode of the Graham Norton show that I had recorded, and there was some celebrity on there talking about their children. It occurred to me that I really enjoy how having children can give some people a reality check that changes their life. When it's a celebrity, it could mean that it's the first time they've felt a primal need to void their own narcissism for the first time in their life. So for one fleeting moment we might be able to glimpse a spot of recognition in their tone when talking about their children that says "I now know I'm not the centre of the universe".
I was reminded of Oprah (surname not necessary… she's that epic) being interviewed and asked about the fact that she has a whole lot of dogs. Her response was simple, as she explained that all her dogs have no interest in her as a celebrity or as a wealthy woman. All her dogs cared about was if Oprah was kind to them, loved them, fed them, and kept them safe.
It's nice to think that people go to these lengths to ground themselves within such an un-reality like that of fame and fortune. At the same time though, I appreciate it when celebrities avoid trying to tell "ordinary folk" about some major revelation they've had, which is only applicable to their niche status.
For instance, I watched that documentary on Netflix about Jim Carrey working on Man On The Moon. There's a part of the doco when Carrey emphatically embarks on a diatribe about how he had a revelation about how he had lived his life pretending to be someone else. It struck him that pretending to be another person on and off screen had brought him money and fame, but he wasn't happy until he starting living as his true self. Of course I'm paraphrasing, but that's the general gist of the rant.
Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy to anyone to have life changing moments that contribute to them living a more fulfilled and happy life. The thing that annoyed me about Carrey telling us (the viewers) all about it, is that I feel like most ordinary people face these problems on a daily basis. In the real world you won't get very far if you aren't authentic or genuine about your intentions. My experience with fakers is that they get shut down pretty quickly by the other ordinary folk they interact with. Jim Carrey's revelation seems to be fairly unique to his own position in life, and I'm happy to hear that he's managed to see the fakery for what it is and discover his own truth.
Maybe I'm mistaken though, as I can't be sure that everyone else experiences these moments in life. Especially when I find myself surrounded by people talking shit a lot of the time. Part of me feels like a lot of people are trying very hard to be the person they think they ought to be, so perhaps Carrey's message is really for them. Perhaps it's just my hope that regular people are up against it so much that they find these truths faster than the privileged.
I don't know though, I really don't.
Another example was at the end of the awesome series Long Way Round, featuring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman traveling around the world. If you haven't seen it then I recommend the series highly as it's quite interesting and the two stars are very affable celebrities. However, there's a moment at the end where they're reflecting on the trip and McGregor says that he hopes the show inspires others that doing something like their trip is possible. The sentiment is well intentioned and I believe he's coming from a positive place, but I fear that old Ewan might be a little short sighted in the notion that such a thing is open to everybody.
For starters, most people can't afford to take months and months off work to focus on what's essentially a holiday. The show included an entire crew of film makers and support staff, whose services were actually required many times throughout the journey, but I doubt they'd come along with me if I put the same proposal to them. Not to mention the fact that the entire show was sponsored by various companies, who provided almost everything they needed for the trip (including their motorbikes).
So with all this in mind, tell me again how such a thing is open to the average person?
I'm not having a go at Ewan McGregor though, because I genuinely think he was just being naïve when he forgot how far his fame and wealth had taken him. Unfortunately for the vast majority of us, we're stuck with out mandated four weeks holiday a year, which is usually spent at home so that we can still pay the rent.
Hence why I like it when that glint of perspective shifting pops into a celebrity's eye when they talk about their children. I guess because at the end of the day, kids are like dogs and they don't give a shit about how much money you've got until they get old enough to make their own.
Let's not get too far up our middle class asses though, as I'm not about to blame anyone for doing well in life and being successful. There's no benefit in denying yourself luxury to make a point about privilege. In fact I'd say that it's even worse to forsake fortune because of some self-deprecating need to always be surrounded by poverty. Take your lumps, just try and remember the life that most people are leading and the sheer complexity of difference and diversity that informs us all.
I have to admit that I don't really have a point to this, as it's more of a stream of consciousness dump to empty out a bit of space in my head. Another year is almost over and I have very little to show for it, so I feel like I need to prove something for my own satisfaction. Only to myself though, I learned a long time ago not to give a shit about what people think about what they think your life is like.
Actually it always made me laugh when people would give me shit about doing the menial jobs I've done in the past. I get that others like to put us down in any way they can find, so when I was doing blue collar work, I was told often how I should get my shit together and get a real job. The funny thing was that I was doing more of an honest day's work than anyone criticising me for the work's low status. Now that I practically do nothing at all, as all my pursuits yield very little resources for living, nobody says anything. If only I were friends with Karl Marx so we could have a good chat about the value of labour and those that exploit it.
Then again, I think the point should be that I know too many capitalists and need to immerse myself in some good socialist values again. It was easy when I was at university, and even when I was in high school. The sad fact is that I live in a capitalist society who are okay with the rich exploiting the poor, no matter how much anyone tried to justify it.
Let's not get into that though. It's probably a much deeper discussion for another time. Like, never. I guess the point of all of this is that perspective changes the very nature of reality, and we'd all do well to remember that more often.