FRIDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2003
Brendan's World - PERSPECTIVES - THE COMMENTARY
By Brendan Newton
Well, here I go with the first (and hopefully not last, ha-ha-ha) edition of "Brendan's World" for The Commentary. I'll be basically discussing my life (such as it is, and yes, I am addicted to self-deprecating humour) and the way I view my world, particularly with regards to literature, television, film, theatre, and other various art forms. For this column at least, I'll be taking a page from Stephen King's first column for Entertainment Weekly by discussing the books, movies, and music that have been a part of my life recently. I'm not going to arrogantly compare myself to King (probably my favourite living novelist, and yes I am willing to defend his work against anyone who considers it to be nothing but a load of "penny dreadfuls"), but I will say that I'd rather write for The Commentary than for Entertainment Weekly (brilliantly parodied by Mad magazine as "Entertain Me Weakly" a few years back).
What I've Read: This month, I've been reading Hamlet for the third time, and studying it in class for the second; I seem to be the latest in the long procession of those who have found themselves captivated by Shakespeare's tragedy of the Prince of Denmark. I'm not going to go so far as to declare it to be hands-down the greatest thing ever written, or even the greatest thing that Shakespeare ever wrote (King Lear comes close in my opinion), but it has to be one of the greatest works of art to ever spring from a human brain. Some say that it's too long, but I see it more as being like a long banquet with many different dishes that never fails to leave me well-fed and wanting more at the same time (nice thing about reading is, no matter how much you do it there are no major negative effects, which is more than I can say for almost everything else that's as pleasurable). Maybe it's a bit bland to read in places, but see a good performance (or even a movie; Kenneth Branagh's is my favourite, but Ethan Hawke's or Mel Gibson's are shorter and more accessible) and hopefully you'll see what all the fuss is about.
What I've Seen: Two cult classics at UBC's Norm Theatre this last week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Evil Dead. (this is probably the first time that Hamlet and The Evil Dead have been discussed in the same article; maybe someday I'll be able to stretch my imagination enough to be able to analyze the parallels between them) Rocky Horror has some memorable tunes and good performances, but really, it's much more of an experience than a movie; it's great to see in a theatre with lots of people (some of whom have memorized the whole movie) shouting lines and throwing things (rice, toast, playing cards, etc.), but I have no earthly idea why it's shown on TV every year around this time. Perhaps there are some agoraphobics who are huge Rocky Horror fans. Evil Dead is good cheesy fun; if you have a strong stomach and a willingness to suspend disbelief (and if you're not too critical of some pretty bad acting and really weak attempts to make the story "touching" and/or "meaningful,") you'll love it! I didn't watch the sequels (Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness) because I'd seen them before, but they're good fun too; a sense of humour is infused into the series there that works much better than the first film's attempts at high drama ("high" yes, "drama" no).
What I've Heard: This is probably a sign that I'm getting old (and hopefully wise, but I wouldn't bet on it), but I've been playing a lot of my parent's music lately, particularly folk music. I came across a tape of my parents which I grew up listening to with Stan Rogers' "Fogarty's Cove" on one side and Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" on the other. My appreciation for Rogers' music was rekindled during my trip to Calgary with the UBC Debating Society, who apparently have adopted the Rogers classic Barrett's Privateers as their drinking anthem. It's absolutely great fun to sing (in your own key, of course), as are most of Rogers' songs as well as most of Guthrie's. What makes their music great, I think, is that they have (well, had in the late Rogers' case) poetic abilities as well as musical abilities. It's my belief that music is best when fused with poetic lyrics, and poetry is best when it has a musical quality to it; art forms must cross-pollinate.