Ambition

It may be a surprise to hear a Baby-Boomer analysing his own ambition and the ambition of the rest of his demographic cohort. Put a group of us together and you will always have more “horsepower” than people in the room. Yet, we have not always been very good at introspection. We have traditionally left that to other cohorts.[1] Perhaps as we age toward senior citizens, we may find that we are prone to a little more self-analysis and questioning of our ambition. This allows us to see better how we might play nicely with the rest of the people in the work-force of the world, even as we begin our slow exit from that work-force.[2]

I return to one of my favourite artists, a Baby-Boomer himself, for an example of healthy introspection regarding our ambitions. Steve Taylor expresses himself in song-writing and film-making and has the reputation of a court-jester in the Kingdom of God. He speaks the questions we are all thinking and challenges our complacency about the things we have been taught but have not thought through for ourselves. Taylor, along with his band the Perfect Foil, released an album entitled Goliath in November of 2014. I wrote about the album at the time. Today, we return to the album for a song entitled, “Moon Shot.” Here are the lyrics (watch as you listen here):

I'm building a rocket
Been working so hard
Getting ready to rocket
Straight outta my backyard

I'm building a rocket
It's bigger than me
It's my gift to your future
My mega legacy

Ready, aim
The stars are aligning
Ready, aim
I've been sweating a lot
But I persevere
The hopes of a nation ride
Everybody gets one moonshot

I'm building a rocket
The neighbors are tense
When they point and they laugh
I don't even take offense

Ready, aim
A quiet confidence
Has been my mark
Since I was a tot
I've been sent here
To show you people how
Everybody gets one moonshot

I'm building a rocket
It's totally mine
It'll spell out my name
Where the sun don't ever shine

My motives are pure
I've untangled the knots
I'm ready for sure, Lord
Now give me all you've got

May the planets align for you
Hold steady and taut
If you're face down
In desperation, know
Everybody gets one moonshot

I'm building a rocket
It's not about me
You'll be thanking me after
I've saved humanity

I took steel and a feather
And welded them together
I took hellfire and ice
And made them play nice

The musical style of the song is right out of 90’s alternative and punk music and grabs my attention from the first drum beat and grind of the bass line. Steve Taylor’s two vocal styles within the one song (sweet and high; and scream growl) keep me listening and following the themes as I realize that the song is about more than a moon shot.

The song is about ambition and the crazy pursuit of fame. The singer is looking for a way out of his own back yard and he will do nearly anything to see his name spelled out in lights in some far distant place. He dreams of Andy-Warhol-type notoriety where he will get his fifteen minutes of fame. He senses the tension of organic fame rising up from those who admire him and the hard work he is doing to achieve his fame.

The singer wants to leave a mega-sized legacy and he believes it can be done, but there is still a questioning doubt as he wonders why it hasn’t happened yet. He tells us that his motives are pure, even as we the audience wonder if he is being transparent with us. He’s untangled the knots, a reference to the Gordian knots of ethical puzzles, and we sense there is still some ethical confusion and mixed motives, even as he says, “it’s not about me, I am saving humanity.”

The words that end the song are a tribute to the hard work of economics, performance, and art:

I took steel and a feather
And welded them together
I took hellfire and ice
And made them play nice

The person who could truly take the cold, hard steel of making a living and weld it together with the feathery beauty of art would be a "fortunate son." The only other question would be the staying power of that individual and so the video for this song nicely addresses the question of longevity. The entire song focusses on the band and the singer while the world revolves around them. Then, at the end, a small, young upstart shows up and crashes into the singer’s world. The upstart brings the singer toppling to the floor with a big crash. Cue the “New Kid in Town” and stand back. It’s their turn for the next “moon shot.”

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[1]The concept of generational cohorts is a helpful, though incomplete, tool for discussing the driving forces of large populations. Although it is a poor representation of individual personalities, it provides a framework for discussions such as this blog. For a list of some of the major demographic cohorts of western thinking see these and other resources: “From Baby-Boomers to Generation Z,” Psychology Today, Ralph Ryback M.D., “The Truisms of Wellness,” 2016, https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-truisms-wellness/201602/baby-boomers-generation-z; “8 Important Characteristics Of Baby Boomers eLearning Professionals Should Know,” Christopher Pappas, https://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-baby-boomers-elearning-professionals-know; “Baby boomers,” Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers.

[2]My goal is to use the generational-cohort tool without relying too heavily upon it as we look at individual expressions of personality and ambition. If we press too heavily upon the tool, we will find that it readily breaks down with our analysis of individual motivations and natural tendencies.

Jim Carrey the Philosopher Part 2.

(Yesterday's post was part 1 of my attempt to make sense of what has been happening with Jim Carrey. Today I will conclude the story.)

Jim Carrey goes even further when he espouses the idea that others do not exist. "I don't believe that you exist," he told an E! News correspondent at New York Fashion Week. "There is no me. … There are clusters of tetrahedrons moving around together. … We don't matter."[1]

One might think that Carrey’s reference to tetrahedrons is a reference to Plato or Pythagoras, but if it is, it is likely an unconscious reference; and, even if it is a conscious harkening to philosophers of another era, Plato’s Theory of Everything has been found wanting by a great many better philosophical minds. Plato’s theory has little to offer our contemporary understanding of the universe. It is a bit like what Douglas Adams says in The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.”

I would suggest that Jim Carrey has largely given in to the influences of other thoughts, other people, and perhaps even other spirits. Take, for example, a particular monologue from the documentary made about Carrey’s personal crisis. It is entitled, Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond. The documentary is a marvelous medium for Jim Carrey’s bizarre pseudo-philosophy. In the documentary, speaking of the movie, Man on the Moon, in which Carrey portrayed the performance artist and sometimes funny comic, Andy Kaufman, Carrey says, "Andy Kaufman showed up, tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Sit down, I'll be doing my movie,' What happened afterwards was out of my control."[2]

Therein lies part of the problem. Many actors, when preparing for a new role, would take the lessons they learned in acting school and begin to craft the mannerisms, vocal inflections, and impulses of the person they will play. Carrey seems to have a different method: he becomes the person and allows the spirit of that person to take over his own personality such that a portion of Jim Carrey is lost with each role. On top of this, it seems there is no going back for Carrey. Forever after, a portion of Andy Kaufman’s or Truman’s or Ace Ventura’s persona is grafted into the Jim Carrey persona.

It has been reported that Carrey is preparing, or has prepared, for a role as a hermitting, organic drug experimenter named Terence McKenna. One wonders what this kind of role may do to Jim Carrey. Will this be the point of no return for the actor we have loved? Speaking of this role, he has reportedly said,

“The deeper you go into the psychedelic dimension the bigger it gets. I’ve seen things which no human being has ever seen before, and no other human being will ever see again. I retreated to nature and I took five grams of dried mushrooms in order to prepare for this role. The real message of psychedelics, I think, is to reclaim experience and to trust yourself. Your perceptions are primary.

Your feelings are correct. Everything must constellate out and make sense and parse with what you know. If you don’t start from that assumption then you are off center to begin with. And the psychedelics will dissolve the cultural programming that has potentially made you a mark and restore your authenticity.” [3]

Some of Jim Carrey’s journey is not unique to him, yet, it is worth noting a few pertinent details. Jim Carrey is not an educated man. He never took acting lessons and he began his career before he had an opportunity to complete high school. He has learned what he has learned through his experiences in life. He became desperate to survive, thrive, and succeed while he was still a teenager. He has had experiences that no one else has ever experienced and likely, no one else will. I do not say this to mock the man but rather to remind us all that he is not the sort of person we would typically turn to for philosophical advice. His journey has not been that of a guru or an academic. Thus, we heed his words at our own peril and trust his advice at our own risk.

I do hope and pray that Jim Carrey might find a supportive group of people who would direct him toward a more balanced and sustainable life. I pray that he might find joy in living his life for a cause greater than himself and that he might have true friends who show him the way.

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[1] http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/jim-carreys-message-in-netflix-jim-and-andy-we-are-all-truman-now-20171129-gzvk4v#ixzz50Ck74QXx “Jim Carrey's message in Netflix 'Jim and Andy': we are all Truman now,” by Dan Zak, Financial Review, December 1, 2017.

[2] Ibid.

[3] I hesitate to legitimize the website upon which this quote is found but recognize that these may in fact be the words of Jim Carrey: http://livetheorganicdream.com/jim-carrey-preparing-psychedelic-role-staying-nature-taking-mushrooms/

Jim Carrey the Philosopher Part 1

Jim Carrey, by most accounts, is one of Canada’s most well-loved actors, and one of our best exports to the United States. He has certainly generated a good deal of laughter with his insanely comedic movie roles. Who could ever forget his portrayal of Bruce in Bruce Almighty. We applauded his stunningly stupid performances in movies such as Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber, and we marvelled at the relevant story he helped to tell in the 1998 movie, The Truman Show. There are a great many things that we can learn from Jim Carrey. For me, the best learning comes as I allow both the noble and the strange elements of his life to point me back to my own life as a follower of Jesus. But, for now, let’s talk about Jim.

Born in New Market, Ontario, Carrey lived for eight years in Burlington, Ontario. A formational element of his early life is the fact that his family struggled to pay the rent, buy the groceries, and pay the bills for other necessities of life. At an early age, Jim Carrey felt an obligation to help the family succeed. He set outlandish goals for himself as he worked to become a world-class performer. Perhaps surprisingly, many of those goals were achieved; and his “wisdom” regarding how one goes about achieving dreams has a larger-than-life following (just do a search for inspirational quotes by Jim Carrey to prove this point).

Carrey readily admits that The Truman Show was a significant turning point in his career and philosophy of life. Recently, Carrey has said,

"Truman Show really became a prophecy for me. It is constantly reaffirming itself as a teaching, almost, as a real representation of what I've gone through in my career – and what everybody goes through when they create themselves, you know, to be popular or to be successful."[1]

Of course, Carrey makes an important point, and it is the point the writers and directors wished to make: all the world is a stage (thank you William Shakespeare) and we are all constantly acting. That was true in 1998 and it is even more true in 2017 when we are aware that Google, Siri, or Alexis may be listening to our every word. We see it in international intrigue as politicians and their assistants assure us that no one is spying or passing information, when all along we are pretty sure they have been. In some sense, Jim Carrey is simply speaking the obvious, and perhaps coming unglued as he realizes the big joke the rest of us got while we watched his performances.

In fact, some suggest that Jim Carrey’s persona has begun to unravel as he becomes more and more caught-up in an introspective consideration of his own rags to riches life. On Jimmy Kimmel, Live! Carrey recently said, "Jim Carrey was a great character, and I was lucky to get the part, but I don't think of that as me anymore."[2] He claims to have walked through a door to another reality. Referring to elements of the Truman movie, Carrey says, "The door is the realisation that this – us – is Seaside. It's the dome. This is the dome. This isn't real. You know? This is a story."[3]

(This is not an attempt to write a cliff-hanger but, this blog post will be continued in tomorrow's post, at which point I will seek to leave us with a better conclusion.)

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[1] http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/jim-carreys-message-in-netflix-jim-and-andy-we-are-all-truman-now-20171129-gzvk4v#ixzz50Ck74QXx “Jim Carrey's message in Netflix 'Jim and Andy': we are all Truman now,” by Dan Zak, Financial Review, December 1, 2017.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.