I had heard about the movie many times throughout the 1980's - "Being There," starring Peter Sellers and Shirley McClain, a comedy from 1979 mocking the social and political scene of that era. This weekend we finally saw it, and I could write a thesis on it. It is about a half-wit who was kept isolated in an old city house in Washington D.C. by a rich old man who had him tend the small garden in the inner courtyard. He was cared for by a black housekeeper and never allowed to go outside, his only contact with it being television, which he watched constantly. When the old man dies, he is evicted, and walks the city streets dressed in the smart, although antiquated, clothing of his old protector - top hat, 2 breasted suit, alligator suitcase - looking for someone to take care of him. Confused, he strays between two parked cars, where one backs into him, causing minor injury to his leg. The driver is a chauffeur for a very, very rich lady (Shirley McClain) who takes him back to the incredible mansion that she shares with a huge staff and her much older, dying husband, to have him see their private doctor. There, Sellers (Chance Gardiner) speaks softly and simply, answering questions from the only background he knows - gardening and TV. His odd enigmatic phrases, really very simple, are taken to be words of great wisdom. The rich old man, who is an adviser to the President of the US, comes to see him as a man of great depth, and grows to love him as a man of perfect sincerity. Chance is brought to advise the President, and soon is seen on TV and reported in the papers as the new genius behind White House financial planning. Shirley comes to love him as a man, with the encouragement of her husband. Soon, all are trying to know this new wunderkind, a man who has absolutely no identity and little capacity to know the thoughts of the very smart people who he's dealing with.
Farce follows farce; politicians connive and try to trick him, newspapers and TV follow him and interview him, and Shirley falls deeply in love. Chancy, however, cannot love, does not understand human love. At the death of his old caretaker, he did not shed a tear. But finally, he learns. At the death of the rich old man, tears form - he has been bitten by human pathos. At the funeral, while the pallbearers talk politics, Chancy walks off into the woods and then onto a lake. Yes, he walks on water, and off he goes, hopefully to some better place.
It is a Christ moment; having barely any contact with humans, he had existed as if on a cloud, but with life at the mansion with Shirley and the rich old man, he has come to know humanity, just as God sent his only son to know us. He rises above material reality afterwards, with, we hope, no crucifixion before him.
There is much, much more to the movie. Made just 37 years ago, we can see how much society has changed. In two examples, all the power players were white men and blacks were only maids or servants or gang members. We see not only a change of culture here, but a change of movie culture - no such movie would be made now. We also see our culture's timeless wisdom: that self-important men will claim another to be brilliant if this other leaves them to think things through for themselves, for it is themselves who they really think are brilliant. "Still waters run deep," is our phrase, but Chance, although still, is not deep at all. In the old fashion categories of intelligence, he would be labeled an idiot.
But how, then, could he become God's contact with humanity? We know that knowledge does not always come through words or logic; as hard as that is for some to understand, we only have to think of music, which speaks a deep language of its own. Still, Chance had nothing on the ball, no talent other than his quiet way. How, then?
The older cultures have something to teach us here. Among many American Indian groups, it was believed that those who we would call "retarded" or "intellectually challenged" were touched by the spirits. In fact, they had a respectful dread of them, because around them, anything could happen. Being largely closed to the human world, they were seen as open to the spirit world. The Irish, too, had the belief that "touched" people were fairy people, who often brought on spooky magical powers.
In the farce of the movie, we see how silly and self-centered the "smart" people really are; we come to appreciate the simpleness of Chancy; but we are astonished at his magical ability at the end. We see that he works on another level, as an idiot in our small world, but as a genius in the other.
It is all about understanding that other language - something that we cannot understand from our language, but that we can allow if we drop the pretenses and the internal chatter. We do not really know what it is or from where it comes, for in this we are as simple as Chancy is in our world. The implications are grave, and bring some greater clarity to the teachings of major religious leaders and simple shamans alike. But enough for now of chatter. Still waters might run deeper than we think possible.
[Note - there will be no new blog until this weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. As with Chancy, the garden needs tending.] FK
Farce follows farce; politicians connive and try to trick him, newspapers and TV follow him and interview him, and Shirley falls deeply in love. Chancy, however, cannot love, does not understand human love. At the death of his old caretaker, he did not shed a tear. But finally, he learns. At the death of the rich old man, tears form - he has been bitten by human pathos. At the funeral, while the pallbearers talk politics, Chancy walks off into the woods and then onto a lake. Yes, he walks on water, and off he goes, hopefully to some better place.
It is a Christ moment; having barely any contact with humans, he had existed as if on a cloud, but with life at the mansion with Shirley and the rich old man, he has come to know humanity, just as God sent his only son to know us. He rises above material reality afterwards, with, we hope, no crucifixion before him.
There is much, much more to the movie. Made just 37 years ago, we can see how much society has changed. In two examples, all the power players were white men and blacks were only maids or servants or gang members. We see not only a change of culture here, but a change of movie culture - no such movie would be made now. We also see our culture's timeless wisdom: that self-important men will claim another to be brilliant if this other leaves them to think things through for themselves, for it is themselves who they really think are brilliant. "Still waters run deep," is our phrase, but Chance, although still, is not deep at all. In the old fashion categories of intelligence, he would be labeled an idiot.
But how, then, could he become God's contact with humanity? We know that knowledge does not always come through words or logic; as hard as that is for some to understand, we only have to think of music, which speaks a deep language of its own. Still, Chance had nothing on the ball, no talent other than his quiet way. How, then?
The older cultures have something to teach us here. Among many American Indian groups, it was believed that those who we would call "retarded" or "intellectually challenged" were touched by the spirits. In fact, they had a respectful dread of them, because around them, anything could happen. Being largely closed to the human world, they were seen as open to the spirit world. The Irish, too, had the belief that "touched" people were fairy people, who often brought on spooky magical powers.
In the farce of the movie, we see how silly and self-centered the "smart" people really are; we come to appreciate the simpleness of Chancy; but we are astonished at his magical ability at the end. We see that he works on another level, as an idiot in our small world, but as a genius in the other.
It is all about understanding that other language - something that we cannot understand from our language, but that we can allow if we drop the pretenses and the internal chatter. We do not really know what it is or from where it comes, for in this we are as simple as Chancy is in our world. The implications are grave, and bring some greater clarity to the teachings of major religious leaders and simple shamans alike. But enough for now of chatter. Still waters might run deeper than we think possible.
[Note - there will be no new blog until this weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. As with Chancy, the garden needs tending.] FK
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