Being There

I was delighted to see that tvo last night aired the movie "Being There" with Shirley McLean and Peter Sellers. This was Sellers swan song performance as Chance the gardener. It goes to show that not much has changed in the political game since 1971 when Jerzy Kosinski published his novel. It also takes a satirical look at television and the importance placed upon the sound byte to sway the masses. I mentioned that I watched this movie to an acquaintance earlier today and they said that they had watched some of the movie, but found it boring and stupid. I will save you the trouble and spare those of you that are of the like mind of this acquaintance; do not watch this movie (or read the novel) if you are shallow, self-serving or have a simplistic outlook upon the socio-politico-economic environment of the western world. Personally, if I had to have a "High Fidelity" top-ten moment, this movie would definitely crack the list. There are very few stories that relate how self-deceiving/self-serving this society really is and do it in such a multi-dimensional way. This is one of those stories that is the exception to the rule when movies are converted from novels. This movie truly takes on a higher life through this medium and allows for each event to demonstrate a facet of the illusionary world we live in. It is, indeed, an illusion within an illusion. "I have no use for those on welfare, no patience whatsoever.... But, if I am to be honest with myself, I must admit that they have no use for me, either." or "When I was a boy, I was told that the Lord fashioned us from his own image. That's when I decided to manufacture mirrors." So many perfect lines to quote from and so many ideas to fathom. "Life is a state of mind"