19 July 2008

Q: Which mythological creature would you be?

I don't know which mythological creature I would be. Sometimes I feel like the troll under the bridge, but I would like to think I could be Prometheus, a man who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. Problem is, Prometheus, like Orson Welles, spent the rest of eternity chained to a rock getting his kidneys pecked out by vultures. Orpheus bravely descended into the underworld to find his beloved, and he was allowed to take her back to the land of the living, on one condition. He would have to just walk out, and she would follow him, but he could not turn back to look at her until they were out of the underworld. Of course, he was unable to wait, and turned back to look at her, and lost her forever. I recognize the self-destructive, counter-productive impulse in myself that doomed Orpheus to a life of loneliness. The genius of Orson Welles, the great loving heart of Orpheus, the drive to do something new and unexpected that destroyed Andy Kaufman, all these things are great gifts and terrible burdens. I don't want to burn that brightly, I only want to be true to myself, say what I have to say, keep the right people close, enjoy.

If you can accept a movie only 70 years old as mythology, and I think you can, I would probably compare myself to all 4 of the travelers on the Yellow Brick Road. Like Dorothy, I often feel like I'm not where I belong, like I've lost something, something I'm desperate to get back to. Like the Lion, I wish I was braver. Like the Scarecrow, my head is fulla stuffin'. And like the Tin Man, sometimes I have a cold spot in my heart, a place of anger and sadness and loss. We know now that each of them had what they needed all along, and what they really needed was just to walk the path, to take the journey and do the best they can

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not normally one to comment on a blog; I'm far more comfortable creepily stalking anyone I obliquely know. The joys of internet anonymity.


"what they really needed was just to walk the path, to take the journey and do the best they can"


Thank you.

Brian O'Blivion said...

Do you obliquely know me??

onswah said...

perhaps,

Brian O'Blivion said...

perhaps, Yes, yes? what do you mean to say?