Cal, I had forgotten about that movie, will re-watch if I can. And you reminded me of another which asks the question "What if a man were immortal and had been a central figure in the origins of some modern religions?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mOIxyRTY5I
Speaking of belief-systems, I've been meaning to get back to reading Brad Warner's
Don't Be A Jerk partly I admit, because it has a kaiju on the cover (and Warner has an actual kaiju-movie background). Simple though it might sound at first, the practice of not being a jerk can be kind of profound.
Jeff
Jeff,
As photographers are we not trying to have some form of immortality through our photography?
Prints and negatives can survive beyond our lifespans. If we are lucky is this the immortality we seek?
Also I say that "Time is the best editor." Ideally we create a few images that become universally "Iconic" and by that I mean that an image or moment is captured that once shared will be deeply remembered.
I also believe in "classic culture" that is so universal that no matter how much time elapses that it remains "timeless" and relevant. Great art, music and writing basically endures.
As far as immortality goes, I believe in the conservation of energy, and through memory and legend one's spirit can live on and vicariously have an effect on others.
In art school I met Ken McIntire a Jazz basson player who was the convenior of the Jazz Music program. This was in the 70's and Ken looked like Shaft and was an intimidating man. He would yell at students and get angry.
Truth was I was kinda afraid of him, but one day I knocked on his office door and asked him directly why he was so mean at times and got so angry.
He asked me to sit down and I saw a side of him that was not exposed in class where he made me an insider. He explained that everyone would like to be an accomplished musician, but unless they do a Louie Armstrong who dedicated two years of his life where he obsessively played his horn single mindedly to become great, that he did not have the time to waste on students that did not listen or were not serious.
Point blank is he wanted students to withdraw from the huge class so he could teach the ones that had talent, dedication and discipline.
There was a blackboard where one had to sign in. I was consistently the first, and Ken took note of that. Many students towards the middle and end of the list got no performance time.
In the end Ken was an influential mentor who changed my life. I knew because of my disrupted childhood and life that I would be unable to do what "Pop's" had done, and I had no family or resources to pursue the struggle required. The most important lesson Ken taught me was about avoiding mediocrity, and we live in a world that is full of mediocrity. I ended up not becoming a music major.
So one day, decades later, I was listening to some Jazz broadcast from Newark on WGBO a Public Broadcast Station, and the DJ reported the passing of Ken McIntire. Tears...
This is a man who gave me what I needed to be great, Ken's spirit lives on, and I am pretty sure I'm not the only one who was profoundly influenced by Ken.
You should know that there is a long list of men who were fatherly figures who saw something great in me. Together they gave me what my poor father could not. They taught me what it was to be a man, how to grow up, and helped me become the person I am today.
My father was a weak man.
So in the end I think I likely disappointed many people who saw great potential in me. My disrupted life with so many starts and stops though seems to make more sense at this age. I can be proud of my struggle, and I can also say I remain humble and will continue to struggle in the decades ahead because of men like Ken.
You should know that when I retire in about 14 months at the age of 64 I will have the time to woodshed and develop my chops on the guitar and bass. I won't have a disrupted life anymore. In a ways it is like getting the childhood that I was cheated out of.
Cal
