ROBIN WILLIAMS
JULY 21, 1951-AUGUST 11, 2014
JULY 21, 1951-AUGUST 11, 2014
I never wanted to write this one.
As with many of you, I returned home from work yesterday and logged onto the internet and met myself and my family with a gasp that was heard all around my home. Reading the news that legendary, peerless actor and comedian Robin Williams had been found dead, at the age of 63, in his San Francisco home from an apparent suicide completely felt as if someone had hurled me to the ground and stomped profusely upon my heart.
While I had been long aware and knowledgeable of Williams' battles with drugs, alcohol and debilitating depression over the years, never in a million years did I ever think that I would read news of this sort, especially about a figure who, to me, seemed so Herculean due to the voluminous brilliance, scope and range of his talent, and his blitzkrieg of stream of consciousness humor and stand-up comedy that was often so hysterical to the point of exhaustion as you clearly had to hang on for dear life when he performed as you did not ever want to miss any singular moment. Robin Williams was so formidable and therefore, in my mind, he seemed to be unstoppable, no matter of the means of his respective ailings. It just seemed so impossible that something like this, so horrendously tragic, could happen to him, one who has provided a universe of joy to generations upon generations. But, as with the cruel reality of life, anything can happen. And yesterday, anything did.
While I had been long aware and knowledgeable of Williams' battles with drugs, alcohol and debilitating depression over the years, never in a million years did I ever think that I would read news of this sort, especially about a figure who, to me, seemed so Herculean due to the voluminous brilliance, scope and range of his talent, and his blitzkrieg of stream of consciousness humor and stand-up comedy that was often so hysterical to the point of exhaustion as you clearly had to hang on for dear life when he performed as you did not ever want to miss any singular moment. Robin Williams was so formidable and therefore, in my mind, he seemed to be unstoppable, no matter of the means of his respective ailings. It just seemed so impossible that something like this, so horrendously tragic, could happen to him, one who has provided a universe of joy to generations upon generations. But, as with the cruel reality of life, anything can happen. And yesterday, anything did.
Robin Williams has truly been a part of my life for nearly my entire life. Never will I forget my childhood years growing u in the 1970's and seeing this absolute force of nature completely blow away everyone off of the screen as Mork from Ork on television's "Happy Days" and the subsequent spin-off series "Mork And Mindy." Williams' abilities were nothing less than astonishing as, much like Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor and the performers on "Saturday Night Live," "SCTV" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" he essentially represented a certain "BIG BANG" as far as what a comedic performance could actually be. He had a voice that sounded affected by helium merged with a cognitive ability and elastic physicality that suggested the movement seen in an accelerated movie. As Mork, Robin Williams was the personification of childhood but in an adult form and what we were given was something beyond a performance of a scripted character. What we were given, and what I was responding to, was a sense of perpetually existing within the childlike act of discovery (combined with an adult sense of anarchy) and we were invited to discover and laugh right alongside him. On this television show, plus his ferocious talk show appearances, Robin Williams was exhilarating to behold and seemingly immediately, he was beloved by me.
Beginning with the starring role in the late Director Robert Altman's bizarre live-action cartoon musical fantasy of "Popeye" (1980), which I saw on opening night at the age of eleven, Robin Williams' embarked upon a film career that was as problematic as it was extraordinary. Certainly not every movie anyone can make can be good or even great and Robin Williams did have more than his share of misfires. Some, like "Cadillac Man" (1990) or Director Barry Levinson's ambitious "Toys" (1992) were fair or noble failures while the truly awful ones need not be mentioned other than the terribly mawkish and painfully odious "Patch Adams" (1998), which I desperately urge you to stay away from as you reminisce about Williams' mammoth capabilities. My issues with the nature of Robin Williams' film career was that simply it took a powerful creative force to be able to accept the challenge to not only harness his supreme energy but to supply him with a role and a character worthy of that energy. Too many films obviously seemed as if the filmmakers decided to not have a script, turned on the cameras and just allowed Robin to do "his thing," and as brilliant as he was, a little of that goes a long way when it is supposedly at the service of a story and characters. And truth be told, I did tend to prefer his more dramatic work in film (and occasionally on television, most notably an excellent episode of "Homicide: Life On The Street") to his comedies. But in totality, when Robin Williams found the right material and the right collaborators, there was often nobody better, and at times, there was nobody more fearless.
In tribute to Robin Williams, I would love to take this time to share with my some of the performances that spoke deepest to me and showcased why he was an actor who operated on a level that was uniquely his own.
"THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP" (1982) Directed by George Roy Hill
-This film represented the very first time that I saw Robin Williams not as a comedian but as an actor of deep skill and vulnerability. Starring in the title role in the adaptation of John Irving's legendary novel Williams portrayed the equally legendary T.S. Garp, the bastard son of nurse/feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close) as well as house husband to working professional Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt), Father to two sons, best friend to transsexual Roberta Muldoon (John Lithgow), passionate wrestler, as well as a famous and controversial author in his own right. In this film, Williams richly captured the persona of Irving's creation by not attempting to steal the show from all of the madness that surrounded him through the film from all manner of violent cults, assassination attempts, extra-marital affairs, the tragic death of one of his children, the slow existential drain of suburban ennui and his desire to become "a real writer." Williams flows through the film with a sense of bemusement, passion, wonderment and the beginnings of eliciting a certain pathos on screen that would soon surprise and astound us with its unbridled power. Robin Williams' performance was so indelible that when I finally read the novel many years after having seen the film, and each subsequent time that I have re-read the book, I always see Williams' face in my mind.
"MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON" (1984) Directed by Paul Mazursky
-What impressed me the most about this drama about a Russian circus musician (with a penchant for the music of Duke Ellington) played by Williams who defects to America while on a trip to New York city. Williams completely committed to the role, in a most adult film, by not only making a three dimensional character but by being a guide and providing me with a window into a larger world and the people that populate it.
"SEIZE THE DAY" (1986) Directed by Fiedler Cook
Beginning with the starring role in the late Director Robert Altman's bizarre live-action cartoon musical fantasy of "Popeye" (1980), which I saw on opening night at the age of eleven, Robin Williams' embarked upon a film career that was as problematic as it was extraordinary. Certainly not every movie anyone can make can be good or even great and Robin Williams did have more than his share of misfires. Some, like "Cadillac Man" (1990) or Director Barry Levinson's ambitious "Toys" (1992) were fair or noble failures while the truly awful ones need not be mentioned other than the terribly mawkish and painfully odious "Patch Adams" (1998), which I desperately urge you to stay away from as you reminisce about Williams' mammoth capabilities. My issues with the nature of Robin Williams' film career was that simply it took a powerful creative force to be able to accept the challenge to not only harness his supreme energy but to supply him with a role and a character worthy of that energy. Too many films obviously seemed as if the filmmakers decided to not have a script, turned on the cameras and just allowed Robin to do "his thing," and as brilliant as he was, a little of that goes a long way when it is supposedly at the service of a story and characters. And truth be told, I did tend to prefer his more dramatic work in film (and occasionally on television, most notably an excellent episode of "Homicide: Life On The Street") to his comedies. But in totality, when Robin Williams found the right material and the right collaborators, there was often nobody better, and at times, there was nobody more fearless.
In tribute to Robin Williams, I would love to take this time to share with my some of the performances that spoke deepest to me and showcased why he was an actor who operated on a level that was uniquely his own.
"THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP" (1982) Directed by George Roy Hill
"MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON" (1984) Directed by Paul Mazursky
-What impressed me the most about this drama about a Russian circus musician (with a penchant for the music of Duke Ellington) played by Williams who defects to America while on a trip to New York city. Williams completely committed to the role, in a most adult film, by not only making a three dimensional character but by being a guide and providing me with a window into a larger world and the people that populate it.
"SEIZE THE DAY" (1986) Directed by Fiedler Cook
-I stumbled across this film sometime during my late high school or possibly early college years on PBS and I was floored by its dramatic depth and force. In this adaptation of Saul Bellow's novel of the same name, Robin Williams stars as Tommy Wilhelm, a salesman who has lost his job and his girlfriend, is attempting to forge a relationship with his Father and slowly begins to psychologically unravel. By this point, I had absolutely never seen Robin Williams in this state of being as his sensational performance felt to be an act of being rather than acting. His pain was palpable and left bruises upon me as a viewer. "Seize The Day" was undoubtedly Williams' "Death Of A Salesman" and it was a complete knockout.
"GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM" (1987) Directed by Barry Levinson
-This was the right film at the right time with the right director, screenplay, and actors all working and playing in full collaboration with Robin Williams, who rightfully earned his first Oscar nominated performance. This was the first film that successfully merged Williams' comic persona with an actual character and story, in this case the real word figure of 1960's military disc jockey Adrian Cronauer. I distinctly remember seeing this film for the very first time as a Freshman in college and also as I was going through a particularly rough emotional patch. It was a film and a performance that made me laugh so painfully hard and yet possessed the substantive weight I enjoyed and looked forward to in Williams' more dramatic roles. And to this day, the film holds up beautifully well while also possessing the amazing put down, "You are in more desperate need of a blow job than any other White man in history!"
"THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN" (1989) Directed by Terry Gilliam
-Robin Williams' first collaboration with Monty Python writer/animator and visionary film director was quite an auspicious one as his extended cameo performance was actually uncredited...or more honestly, credited to the fictional "Ray D. Tutto," as to not mislead the public into thinking they would be seeing a new Robin Williams film. This elaborate fantasy, which I feel is one of the very best--and most underseen--films of the 1980's, features Williams as "The King Of The Moon," and here was a situation where the madman genius of both Williams and Gilliam were magically suited for each other. It is a character and performance of unbridled lunacy tinged with malevolence as the King, a giant with a detachable, flying head and inner conflict concerning the desires of the mind and the flesh, attempts to enact revenge upon the film's hero for an old fling he once shared with the Queen Of The Moon. And if any actor could somehow make the sight of a flying detachable head out for romantic retribution enormously entertaining and breathlessly funny, it was a role tailor made for Williams.
"THE FISHER KING" (1991) Directed by Terry Gilliam
-Williams' second collaboration with Gilliam produced a performance that was just as breathlessly funny as the previous entry but also one that descended into a cauldron of psychological despair that was almost unbearable to watch but so brilliantly delivered that it was impossible to look away. Portraying a delusional homeless man named Parry who believes to be on the search for the Holy Grail would be more than enough for Robin Williams to sink his teeth into. But, when we add in the fact that this man's current state is entirely, yet inadvertently, due to the careless words of a radio shock jock DJ (Jeff Bridges) which prompted a mass murder in a Manhattan bar in which Parry's wife was a victim in front of his eyes, we are given a first class seat into a multi-layered performance that I think is one of the very best he ever delivered. In fact, the sequence where Parry, who is subjected to nightmarish hallucinations featuring the horse riding Red Knight who torments him, succumbs to a psychological breakdown starring the aforementioned Knight on the New York streets, I believe that what we witness is again not a form of acting but more of a state of being. Robin Williams is towering as he scales heights that I feel most actors are not capable of reaching in quite the same way. The anguish we see is crippling to the point of paralysis as Robin Williams dangled us and himself over the edge of madness.
"MRS. DOUBTFIRE" (1993) Directed by Chris Columbus
"GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM" (1987) Directed by Barry Levinson
-This was the right film at the right time with the right director, screenplay, and actors all working and playing in full collaboration with Robin Williams, who rightfully earned his first Oscar nominated performance. This was the first film that successfully merged Williams' comic persona with an actual character and story, in this case the real word figure of 1960's military disc jockey Adrian Cronauer. I distinctly remember seeing this film for the very first time as a Freshman in college and also as I was going through a particularly rough emotional patch. It was a film and a performance that made me laugh so painfully hard and yet possessed the substantive weight I enjoyed and looked forward to in Williams' more dramatic roles. And to this day, the film holds up beautifully well while also possessing the amazing put down, "You are in more desperate need of a blow job than any other White man in history!"
"THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN" (1989) Directed by Terry Gilliam
-Robin Williams' first collaboration with Monty Python writer/animator and visionary film director was quite an auspicious one as his extended cameo performance was actually uncredited...or more honestly, credited to the fictional "Ray D. Tutto," as to not mislead the public into thinking they would be seeing a new Robin Williams film. This elaborate fantasy, which I feel is one of the very best--and most underseen--films of the 1980's, features Williams as "The King Of The Moon," and here was a situation where the madman genius of both Williams and Gilliam were magically suited for each other. It is a character and performance of unbridled lunacy tinged with malevolence as the King, a giant with a detachable, flying head and inner conflict concerning the desires of the mind and the flesh, attempts to enact revenge upon the film's hero for an old fling he once shared with the Queen Of The Moon. And if any actor could somehow make the sight of a flying detachable head out for romantic retribution enormously entertaining and breathlessly funny, it was a role tailor made for Williams.
"THE FISHER KING" (1991) Directed by Terry Gilliam
-Williams' second collaboration with Gilliam produced a performance that was just as breathlessly funny as the previous entry but also one that descended into a cauldron of psychological despair that was almost unbearable to watch but so brilliantly delivered that it was impossible to look away. Portraying a delusional homeless man named Parry who believes to be on the search for the Holy Grail would be more than enough for Robin Williams to sink his teeth into. But, when we add in the fact that this man's current state is entirely, yet inadvertently, due to the careless words of a radio shock jock DJ (Jeff Bridges) which prompted a mass murder in a Manhattan bar in which Parry's wife was a victim in front of his eyes, we are given a first class seat into a multi-layered performance that I think is one of the very best he ever delivered. In fact, the sequence where Parry, who is subjected to nightmarish hallucinations featuring the horse riding Red Knight who torments him, succumbs to a psychological breakdown starring the aforementioned Knight on the New York streets, I believe that what we witness is again not a form of acting but more of a state of being. Robin Williams is towering as he scales heights that I feel most actors are not capable of reaching in quite the same way. The anguish we see is crippling to the point of paralysis as Robin Williams dangled us and himself over the edge of madness.
"MRS. DOUBTFIRE" (1993) Directed by Chris Columbus
-Yes, I do thoroughly enjoy this big budget, high concept mainstream feature as Chris Columbus was another director who able to be the right director with the right material that allowed for Robin Williams to work his specialized magic at the full service of a character and story. While he looked as convincing as a female as Dustin Hoffman did in "Tootsie" (1982), Williams, like Hoffman, was able to locate a distinctive pathos underneath the latex and mistaken identity hijinks. For all of the slapstick, Williams' huge heart made me believe that here was a loving yet irresponsible Father, wounded by divorce, who found himself in a position where he would literally do anything just to have the chance to still see his children. I was particularly touched by the moment when he explains to a judge late in the film the following passage: "I'm addicted to my children, sir. I love them with all of my heart, and the thought of someone telling me I can't be with them, I can't see them every day...it's like someone saying I can't have air. I can't live without air and I can't live without them." In another actor's mouth, those lines would have sounded precisely like the type of material that would make me gag. But, in Robin William's mouth, those words sounded like the truth.
"GOOD WILL HUNTING" (1997) Directed by Gus Van Sant
-Robin Williams' Oscar winning performance as a therapist to Matt Damon's troubled title character was a study in sheer, unforced, honest, soulful empathy--the type that again doesn't feel "acted" but "believed." For as wonderful as Williams' sequences with Damon are throughout the film, I found myself really loving the sections featuring Williams and Stellan Skarsgard, who portrays a professional rival and former college roommate. In those sections, Williams again plumbs the depths of envy, resentment, regret at chances and opportunities not taken as well as attempting to maintain one's true sense of self even when disappointment is staring him in the face.
"WHAT DREAMS MAY COME" (1998) Directed by Vincent Ward
-A gloriously ambitious, visually resplendent drama in which Williams starred as Chris Nielsen, a man killed in an automobile accident whose spirit embarks upon a journey through the afterlife, Heaven and ultimately Hell itself, all in order to be reunited with his true love. It is a film that would seem to be impossible to realize if not for the soulfulness of Robin Williams' performance which anchors all of the special effects into a most human and stunningly romantic reality.
"ONE HOUR PHOTO" (2002) Directed by Mark Romanek
-Released around the same period when Robin Williams delivered unsettling sinister work in Director Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" (2002), he gave his most accomplished, and again, multi-layered work in this queasily disturbing psychological thriller as a convenience store photo technician who grows obsessed with the lives of a young family. But instead of making this character a horror film monster, Williams again found the humanity inside the character to make this performance a deeply troubling portrait of depression, loneliness and isolation.
and now...
"DEAD POETS SOCIETY" (1989) Directed by Peter Weir
-I am not certain if Robin Williams' role as John Keating, an inspiring late 1950's all male prep school English teacher is necessarily his very best performance, as the film is indeed not about this character but about the students that populate the school. Even so, it is the Robin Williams performance and accompanying film that has always, and will forever, mean the most to me.
The speech, sequence and passage is now so familiar that it was even utilized in an I-Pad advertisement (something I felt was precisely the opposite of what the speech was about, but I digress). On the very first day of the English class and after John Keating has instructed his students to completely rip out the opening section of a manual that scribes a mathematical formula to determine a poem's quality, he addresses them with the following:
"In my class you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. You see that look in Mr. Pitts' eye. That 19th century literature has nothing to do with going to Business school and Medical school, right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you may agree with him thinking, 'Yes, we should simply study our Mr. Pritchard and and learn our rhyme and meter and go quietly about the business of achieving other ambitions.
"Well, I have a secret for you. Huddle up. Huddle up! We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But, poetry, beauty, romance, love...these are what we say alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless...of cities filled with the foolish, what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer: that you are here, that life exists and identity, that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"
Amen.
I first saw this film during my college years and at that time, the film and especially Robin Williams' wise and genuinely humane performance lifted my spirits so tremendously as it served to vindicate my chosen major of English as well as Communication Arts. The film made me feel that my chosen field of study plus my passionate love of art, words, literature, music and film were indeed not as frivolous as my parents and even other students and acquaintances I knew had led me to believe. That the fruit of life itself is indeed found in all of those art forms and how their levels and forms of inspiration could in fact fuel me to go forwards and establish the kind of human being that I wished to be.
It is a film that while I have not actually seen it that many times, it is the one that my soul draws from over and over and over again as I explore my own life, relationships, writing, and even in my own teaching as yes, I have habitually had my little charges refer to me as "O Captain, My Captain." But most importantly, I wish for my students, even as young as they are, to find the process of going to school to be a richly rewarding one. And as I love sharing stories and books with them more than anything, I try to make all of the words spring to life with the hopes that they will grow to love reading, language and perhaps even writing as they grow older themselves. "Dead Poets Society" and Robin Williams role in it are a film and performance that continuously reveals itself to me and as I think about Williams right now and even re-watch elements of this performance on You Tube, I am amazed with not only his fluidity and free flowing ease between the more dramatic and comedic portions of the film. His ability to make scripted words sound as if these are the words naturally forming from his own lips and originating from his own soul, makes him one of the greatest performing treasures that we have ever had the good fortune to have had for as long as we did.
And perhaps that is a major reason, if not the primary reason, why his passing has been so painful to read and now process. Because Robin Williams truly was our Captain, using his unstoppable comedy, his intense pain, his sublime craft and his deepest, innermost pathos in such a completely unfiltered fashion to guide us through the process of living life with all of its peaks and valleys, triumphs and tragedies. And now, here we are without him to help us through this specific tragedy.
Now of course, it is beyond difficult to make sense of the senseless, and there have already been some people on television and the internet to openly express that Robin Williams was a "coward" for committing suicide or that he took an "easy way out." To that, I only offer as sternly as I am able that not one person on this Earth ever walked in the exact shoes in which he walked, and therefore, there is absolutely no one on this Earth who could have ever had inside knowledge to the quality of his depression and pain. To any criticism of his actions, I say that we are not in any position to judge and any perceived scorn will never help those who loved his the most and will definitely not bring him back to life.
I actually just read a tribute to Williams written by Barry Levinson and perhaps his words will be able to provide some illumination as to Williams' inner state.
"What makes his death so difficult to understand is the question, 'How can someone so funny be so sad?' We can reflect on it, try to understand it, analyze it, but nothing will truly answer the question. The fragility of the man, his sensitivity, his deep feelings for life...all that allowed for him to carve his comedic sensibilities, were the same feelings that took his life. He felt too much perhaps?
There was always a kindness to Robin. An inquisitive man trying to understand the madness of mankind. But when the comedy motors were off, you could sense the vulnerability of the man. There was always a sense that he could easily be hurt. Ad if he were hurt, how quickly could he heal? A bleeder in a world of sharp edges. There was an innocence to his thoughtful intelligence. It there were an endangered species list for mankind, he would have been first on that list. He was perhaps too delicate for this difficult world."
Just think of what Robin Williams has meant to you and apply that to not only those whom you hold dearest but also to those around you in your daily lives. Think about it. Robin Williams' brand of comedy was never mean spirited or at any persons' expense (unless they were really asking for it). Think of the roles he chose to play throughout his career. Think of his humanitarian causes or his political stances of which were also the most humane. All I have been hearing about over the past 24 hours has been Williams' selflessness and compassion. If we can take anything from his death is to just try and take those moments when we otherwise would have walked away or lashed out to try and just show some patience, forgiveness, understanding, empathy and of course, some much needed laughter.
"GOOD WILL HUNTING" (1997) Directed by Gus Van Sant
-Robin Williams' Oscar winning performance as a therapist to Matt Damon's troubled title character was a study in sheer, unforced, honest, soulful empathy--the type that again doesn't feel "acted" but "believed." For as wonderful as Williams' sequences with Damon are throughout the film, I found myself really loving the sections featuring Williams and Stellan Skarsgard, who portrays a professional rival and former college roommate. In those sections, Williams again plumbs the depths of envy, resentment, regret at chances and opportunities not taken as well as attempting to maintain one's true sense of self even when disappointment is staring him in the face.
"WHAT DREAMS MAY COME" (1998) Directed by Vincent Ward
-A gloriously ambitious, visually resplendent drama in which Williams starred as Chris Nielsen, a man killed in an automobile accident whose spirit embarks upon a journey through the afterlife, Heaven and ultimately Hell itself, all in order to be reunited with his true love. It is a film that would seem to be impossible to realize if not for the soulfulness of Robin Williams' performance which anchors all of the special effects into a most human and stunningly romantic reality.
"ONE HOUR PHOTO" (2002) Directed by Mark Romanek
-Released around the same period when Robin Williams delivered unsettling sinister work in Director Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" (2002), he gave his most accomplished, and again, multi-layered work in this queasily disturbing psychological thriller as a convenience store photo technician who grows obsessed with the lives of a young family. But instead of making this character a horror film monster, Williams again found the humanity inside the character to make this performance a deeply troubling portrait of depression, loneliness and isolation.
and now...
"DEAD POETS SOCIETY" (1989) Directed by Peter Weir
-I am not certain if Robin Williams' role as John Keating, an inspiring late 1950's all male prep school English teacher is necessarily his very best performance, as the film is indeed not about this character but about the students that populate the school. Even so, it is the Robin Williams performance and accompanying film that has always, and will forever, mean the most to me.
The speech, sequence and passage is now so familiar that it was even utilized in an I-Pad advertisement (something I felt was precisely the opposite of what the speech was about, but I digress). On the very first day of the English class and after John Keating has instructed his students to completely rip out the opening section of a manual that scribes a mathematical formula to determine a poem's quality, he addresses them with the following:
"In my class you will learn to think for yourselves again. You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. You see that look in Mr. Pitts' eye. That 19th century literature has nothing to do with going to Business school and Medical school, right? Maybe. Mr. Hopkins, you may agree with him thinking, 'Yes, we should simply study our Mr. Pritchard and and learn our rhyme and meter and go quietly about the business of achieving other ambitions.
"Well, I have a secret for you. Huddle up. Huddle up! We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But, poetry, beauty, romance, love...these are what we say alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless...of cities filled with the foolish, what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer: that you are here, that life exists and identity, that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"
Amen.
I first saw this film during my college years and at that time, the film and especially Robin Williams' wise and genuinely humane performance lifted my spirits so tremendously as it served to vindicate my chosen major of English as well as Communication Arts. The film made me feel that my chosen field of study plus my passionate love of art, words, literature, music and film were indeed not as frivolous as my parents and even other students and acquaintances I knew had led me to believe. That the fruit of life itself is indeed found in all of those art forms and how their levels and forms of inspiration could in fact fuel me to go forwards and establish the kind of human being that I wished to be.
It is a film that while I have not actually seen it that many times, it is the one that my soul draws from over and over and over again as I explore my own life, relationships, writing, and even in my own teaching as yes, I have habitually had my little charges refer to me as "O Captain, My Captain." But most importantly, I wish for my students, even as young as they are, to find the process of going to school to be a richly rewarding one. And as I love sharing stories and books with them more than anything, I try to make all of the words spring to life with the hopes that they will grow to love reading, language and perhaps even writing as they grow older themselves. "Dead Poets Society" and Robin Williams role in it are a film and performance that continuously reveals itself to me and as I think about Williams right now and even re-watch elements of this performance on You Tube, I am amazed with not only his fluidity and free flowing ease between the more dramatic and comedic portions of the film. His ability to make scripted words sound as if these are the words naturally forming from his own lips and originating from his own soul, makes him one of the greatest performing treasures that we have ever had the good fortune to have had for as long as we did.
And perhaps that is a major reason, if not the primary reason, why his passing has been so painful to read and now process. Because Robin Williams truly was our Captain, using his unstoppable comedy, his intense pain, his sublime craft and his deepest, innermost pathos in such a completely unfiltered fashion to guide us through the process of living life with all of its peaks and valleys, triumphs and tragedies. And now, here we are without him to help us through this specific tragedy.
Now of course, it is beyond difficult to make sense of the senseless, and there have already been some people on television and the internet to openly express that Robin Williams was a "coward" for committing suicide or that he took an "easy way out." To that, I only offer as sternly as I am able that not one person on this Earth ever walked in the exact shoes in which he walked, and therefore, there is absolutely no one on this Earth who could have ever had inside knowledge to the quality of his depression and pain. To any criticism of his actions, I say that we are not in any position to judge and any perceived scorn will never help those who loved his the most and will definitely not bring him back to life.
I actually just read a tribute to Williams written by Barry Levinson and perhaps his words will be able to provide some illumination as to Williams' inner state.
"What makes his death so difficult to understand is the question, 'How can someone so funny be so sad?' We can reflect on it, try to understand it, analyze it, but nothing will truly answer the question. The fragility of the man, his sensitivity, his deep feelings for life...all that allowed for him to carve his comedic sensibilities, were the same feelings that took his life. He felt too much perhaps?
There was always a kindness to Robin. An inquisitive man trying to understand the madness of mankind. But when the comedy motors were off, you could sense the vulnerability of the man. There was always a sense that he could easily be hurt. Ad if he were hurt, how quickly could he heal? A bleeder in a world of sharp edges. There was an innocence to his thoughtful intelligence. It there were an endangered species list for mankind, he would have been first on that list. He was perhaps too delicate for this difficult world."
Just think of what Robin Williams has meant to you and apply that to not only those whom you hold dearest but also to those around you in your daily lives. Think about it. Robin Williams' brand of comedy was never mean spirited or at any persons' expense (unless they were really asking for it). Think of the roles he chose to play throughout his career. Think of his humanitarian causes or his political stances of which were also the most humane. All I have been hearing about over the past 24 hours has been Williams' selflessness and compassion. If we can take anything from his death is to just try and take those moments when we otherwise would have walked away or lashed out to try and just show some patience, forgiveness, understanding, empathy and of course, some much needed laughter.
The world already just feels so much darker without Robin Williams' presence in the world. So, it is up to us to fill it. And may his soul be free and at peace.
Thank you, Robin Williams. For absolutely everything.
Thank you, Robin Williams. For absolutely everything.
Beautiful tribute, Scott.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your words as well as for taking the time to read it.
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