AN ART OF BEING ANOTHER

When I saw Spilberg’s film “Catch me if you can” it didn’t impress me at all. 6-years fight between charming rascal and pedantic agent of FBI ends up with a standard happy ending: great feeling of friendship and transformation of all Frank’s defects into virtues.
So, when I saw a book, the movie is based on, I didn’t want to read it, until I read a phrase from it which hooked me: “Modesty has never been among my personal virtues, however, a virtue itself was also not among them.” These words couldn’t be written by a boring man, and I decided to read.
The plot is, actually, pretty simple, it looks like: “I went there and did that things, then that and that happened and I decided to do another things…”. How it could be interesting? But the story captured me because the author was always a person he wanted to be. How many people can say the same about themselves?
Frank likes to transform himself into other people. But he does not perform, he does not play, he lives… as a pilot, as a podiatrist, as a public prosecutor’s assistant, as a professor of sociology… And he likes to realize his big and small swindles, but he is able to be a person he wants to be – that is the main point. And not at all – in money he gained with his frauds.
Even Shakespear wrote: “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” But most of us are afraid to be real players, we perform only one role during the whole life while dreaming about hundreds. Stereotypes and conventions are too strong in our minds.
I think, it is better to read this book when you want to do something with your life but don’t know what and how. Actually, the author doesn’t teach us how to steal money but how not to be afraid to change yourself.

TO FIGHT OR NOT TO FIGHT

Honestly, I like to watch films with sense. More over, I like films which have a lot of different senses and provocations. But when I saw “The fight club” by David Fincher it was the first time in my life I realized that such films can be very dangerous.
There are multiple layers of meaning in this story: a lonely life, a leadership, a fascism in general not in its historical sense. But, to my opinion, the main point is that it is a film-provocation. Tailer is so persuasive there that not only heroes of the film follow him but viewers too. Definitely, he has something that we call charisma, an ability which everyone dreaming to be a new Hitler demonstrates. Surprisingly, we are discovering this animal instinct in the successful yuppy.
I am sure, Fincher was laughing at all of us: firstly, at his heroes; and secondly, at the impressionable viewers making them to share Tailer’s philosophy. After watching this film, a lot of people had become its fans, they created the same clubs trying to embody fight club’s principles. I was really shocked! One talented (?) film was enough to encourage many young people to reject civilization, to wear uniform, to lose their individuality, to agree to submit to the powerful, crazy, cruel master. We are so easy ruled with our basic instincts.
“The fight club” has become the last consolation for those who had appeared beyond the borders of life, for youths living on the margins of society. At some point, civilization has destroyed their lives, and Tailer calls to destroy it in reply. It is dangerous for the teenagers first because they often feel they have no place in this world.
This film made me think about the power of an art; it is so easy to get people carried away with dangerous ideas when they don’t use to critically examine a reality.

Да. Действительно интересно. Захотелось глянуть на книгу. Фильм оставил после себя совершенно невнятное впечатление.