Category / comedy entertainment culture

by Diane Tate

Yiddish lesson


Mensch =

He acted in more than 65 movies over more than 50 years, drawing on a physical grace, unassuming intelligence and good humor that made it all seem effortless.

Yet he was also an ambitious, intellectual actor and a passionate student of his craft, and he achieved what most of his peers find impossible: remaining a major star into a craggy, charismatic old age even as he redefined himself as more than Hollywood star. He raced cars, opened summer camps for ailing children and became a nonprofit entrepreneur with a line of foods that put his picture on supermarket shelves around the world.

Ok fine fine – I know he left his first wife for Joanne Woodward…but then proceeded to clock FIFTY YEARS with her…in addition of course to the above….in his honor, I’m watching some of his old flix and discovering some gems. CHECK OUT THESE LINES from “The Hustler” — and we think people were repressed back then? ah no….

Bert Gordon: Sure you got drunk. You have the best excuse in the world for losing; no trouble losing when you got a good excuse. Winning… that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You’ll drop that load too when you got an excuse. All you gotta do is learn to feel sorry for yourself. One of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry for yourself. A sport enjoyed by all, especially the born losers.

…and, while you gotta see the whole Minnesota Fats scene to appreciate this one fully, it’s still worth quoting given its broad applicability:
Bert Gordon: I don’t think there’s a pool player alive shoots better pool than I saw you shoot the other night at Ames. You got talent.
Fast Eddie: So I got talent. So what beat me?
Bert Gordon: Character.

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by Diane Tate

Like a dog & a bone


The latest development in my tenacious quest to define character: interestingly, Gretchen, our creative arts director, just elaborated on this in her Labor Day sermon (check out the 8/31/08 one once it’s posted here).

I’ve taken Gretchen’s classes on “Story” (adapted from the infamous Robert McKee classic…so beautifully mocked in “Adaptation“…but I digress…) – all that to say she gets storytelling and used this to elaborate on what CHARACTER is. Specifically as distinct from “characterization”:

– Characterization is what we can glean about people from their observable traits: mannerisms, looks, habits, words, voice, outward appearance.

..however…

– Character is ONLY revealed by the choices a person makes when under pressure.

It all leads us to a great reflection question: “What do our choices reveal about our character?”

Gretchen drove home the point by referencing another film hero, Steven Spielberg, who apparently screens movies by leaving out the SOUND. This filters out the ‘noise’ (literally and figuratively) to enable him to get at the core of the characters …as revealed by what they DO vs. what they say (or perhaps for us, what they write, text, etc. as well….).

So if someone were watching our life as if it were a silent movie, what would they say about us? In essence, who ARE we (as distinct from what we may say or think we are)?

The Hebrew mindset is dead-on here. It’s all about ACTIONS. Jesus the Israeli said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”

Words words words. Maybe I should blog less.

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