Whenever I watch Adam Sandler in the movies he stars in, I'm almost inclined to scream, "Can't he just stop doing movies where he plays a single dad with middle-class range income, a son or daughter or two in-tow, beer belly that's getting there, the aura and posture of the quintessential American loser and hackneyed hideous California bum accent of someone who always seems to have a hangover?" Why can't he just be a young, smooth-faced, pale-skinned vampire who chews on the throats of female victims he has seduced? Or am I getting bombarded by these creatures-of-the-night genre series too much that I was able to mention them now? And to go with the train of thought I am currently on, also suspect that these blood-suckers might as well just be creatures-of-the-day because of their highly saturated relevance and exposure to the average pop-corn-eating American crowd?
Must the world run on templates? Cliches?
It doesn't have to be but if you carefully examine OUR lives, the lives we have to lead, because of the occupational (not mine! HAHA), cultural, social dynamics we have to fit into, we are living cliches of lives! I hate to say this but the average foreign person here in Singapore also seems to fit a cliche. Or does this frame of mind just come into the open because it becomes too painfully obvious to me whenever I open my eyes in a foreign country?
I said cliche because most of the people who are alien to this country seem to follow a certain pattern in lifestyle. They'll huddle on their beehives of homes and units, whether ALONE or not and whenever they're bored they go out to SHOP, coffee, or walk around like silly. They'll alcohol once in a while but the costs of partying would be too much to do it on a daily basis! They'll have a girlfriend, an accessory for someone to look PARTNERED haha, sorry I have bucketfuls of respect for the temple of LOVE but when you're looking like you just have to have company to LOOK PARTNERED then I do not have respect for that HAHAHA
Sorry I am not condemning the LIFESTYLE but it feels sad that we all have to fit into a template in order for us to arrive at an image, a STATUS QUO to be maintained.
Life doesn't always have to be cliche though. At least if you can muster the courage to be different, to stand out. to just not live the bumper-sticker of a life. At the same time, I am truly committed and I think there has to be A LOT OF emphasis on trying TO rebel and look cool and be non-conforming WITHOUT and yes the emphasis is on WITHOUT looking like you are trying way too hard to do it. It's paramount for me I believe. I mean if you have to be different but end up like you are doing it beyond your capability then I am sorry it is futile because eventually you will exhaust yourself and you will just go back to being Plain-Jane living the cookie-cutter life! HAHA
It always pays to be SMART too. Not necessarily microchip-intelligent, but to be well-read, well-versed, well-educated simply is a distinction that cuts across all platforms. It's so amazing when you have looks and brains and it really is almost a free pass to COOLness because very few people possess this. Working on the personality will come after you believe you have these two major components within you. SHYNESS is not an option, this destroys all possibilities of being unique. What if you possess all the good qualities mentioned above but cannot overcome this infernal barrier of self-withdrawal from situations of dealing with other people? It's futile if you do not assert yourself in a conversation or any situation.
We walk a fine line these days. Everything seems to be blur into gray areas that many barely recognize as visible and existent and as a consequence lose themselves in the huddle of the masses of cliches walking all around the city. It is a great divide which makes us question. Should we stop being pneumatic robots that fit into the cookie-cutter casts allocated for us in the great social picture or should we risk a life filled with unique possibilities that make us look barely normal and therefore risk the scrutiny and even isolation of the rest of the populace, and even our close peers?
Decisions, decisions, decisions...
1 comment:
Hi Salma, thanks for such a colorfully entertaining yet deeply thoughtful post (by the way, I'm relieved I'm not the only one who sees Sandler this way!).
Meeting you in Singapore by chance this month was truly a delight. I hope your other fans get a chance to sip coffee with you some day too to better understand how uniquely wonderful and precious you are; while having the type of rich discussion that you realize is what your mind has been starving for way too long.
I'm sure you could describe this in text given your gifted writing skills, but you wouldn't...so in person is the only way. :-)
Warmest wishes always,
Fan13577
Post a Comment