This Review Originally Ran on Comics Bulletin
Sometimes the most
universal truths can be found in the smallest slices of life. That’s
what makes independent documentaries so powerful, engaging, and
entertaining. Not only do they show you little worlds to which you’ve
never had access, but they oftentimes also tell the larger story of
what it means to be human. Armed with this intellectual conceit, a
bag of Funyuns, and a couple of Miller beers, Daniel Elkin curls up
in front of the TV and delves deep into the bowels of Netflix
Streaming Documentaries to find out a little bit more about all of
us.
Today he and his
friend Jason Sacks found 2009's William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet
directed by Pat Buckley, Bobby Ciraldo, Kevin Layne, and Andrew
Swant.
Elkin: When
you think of the music of William Shatner, I’m pretty sure that
your head is flooded with his plaintiff cry, “Hey, Mr. Tamborine
Man!” Captain Kirk was not a song and dance man, T.J. Hooker no
hoofer. Shatner’s musical output was a joke, becoming the fodder
for hipster cool sound mixes that you play before your girlfriend’s
performance piece of crushing depth to which you smugly smile and
turn to your friend who too knows how cool it is to be ironically
derisive, something you will post on your Tumblr later in the evening
as you twirl your mustache and sip your artisan tea.
And Shatner knew
this. And he played it for what it was worth. And he conned you out
of your pennies all the while turning the joke back on you.
But maybe, just
maybe, there is more depth to William Shatner than you knew. Maybe
Shatner was more human than you could ever aspire to be. And maybe
other people realized it and, in a non-ironic, non-derisive way,
wanted to celebrate that.
And thus we have
this week’s subject for Convenient Truths.
The poorly titled
William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet is a 2009 film which explores
the creation of choreographer Margo Sappington’s ballet called
Common People. Common People is set to the music from
William Shatner’s 2004 album Has Been which he recorded with
Ben Folds and featured guest appearances by Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann,
Henry Rollins, and Adrian Belew.
The story goes that
Sappington heard Shatner being interviewed on NPR about his album and
was so intrigued by his earnestness and his “everyman-ness” that
she went out, bought the album, and then realized she wanted to make
a ballet out of it. She called Shatner, told him her idea, and he
responded, “It can’t possibly turn out bad.”
The 60 minute film
features interviews with Shatner, Sappington, Ben Folds, Henry
Rollins, and Michael Pink, the Artistic Director of the Milwaukee
Ballet. It also features behind-the-scene moments from the making of
Has Been, as well as footage of the actual ballet Sappington
choreographed.
And it all works.
And it is all beautiful. And it is all celebratory. It is dance, it
is music, it is us, and I loved just about every moment of this film.
Sacks: One of
the great experiences I had at last year's Comic-con was when I had
the opportunity to interview William Shatner. He was doing publicity
for a documentary on the Epix channel - not this documentary but one
I hope we can get to eventually – and it was a truly memorable
conversation. Shatner was so affable, so interesting and so sincere
that I instantly liked the man.
There's a
fascinating sort of openness in William Shatner that comes from being
at a certain point in your life, with a certain amount of success in
the past and contentment in the present. He seems a truly happy man,
a man confident with his legacy and legitimately curious and
thoroughly engaged in the world around him.
And as you said,
Elkin, this documentary captures exactly that spirit and energy in
Shatner, this wonderful directness and questing that gives him a
wide-open view of what is possible as a creative person, this chance
to really explore different areas in the ways that a person can
create work that is meaningful to him.
It's a wonderful
documentary because Shatner's energy and honesty is almost
infectious. There's an almost palpable glee in Margo Sappington’s
eyes when she talks about the ballet that Shatner inspired, an energy
and excitement that she gets to explore such a unique work in such a
distinctive way. And Sappington creates a ballet based on Shatner's
work that's intriguing and weird and tremendously moving. I'm no fan
of ballet, but I was intrigued by the creative process involved in
creating this ballet and in the way that the whole project comes
together in such a fascinating way. "Celebratory" is a
great word for it, Elkin.
If this ballet came
to Northern California, Elkin, how fast would you buy tickets?
Elkin: In a
heartbeat, Sacks, or maybe even less.
Because it’s so
easy to get dragged into the mud, isn’t it, my friend? We are
constantly walled off from each other as we are hand-dipped into our
personal tragedies and petty desires and self-righteousness. There’s
unemployment and divorce and financial instability. There’s cancer
and madness and a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Each of our days
can be so full of the garbage we encounter the moment we walk out our
doors and into the world, the world of other people, that we sneer
and connive and disassemble and seethe. And we do so because we
forget.
We forget that the
reality of the situation is, for better or for worse, that we are all
in this together. My human problems are your human problems are her
human problems are his. There is, like it or not, “a commonality of
experience.” And this little gem, this little koan, this little
sentiment is behind the semen stained velvet curtain we wrap
ourselves in as we get through our days. It is the underlie, the
truth, the necessity we need to survive.
And Shatner knows
this. And Sappington knows this. And through Common People,
they not only remind us of this, they celebrate it – fully and
about as fucking viscerally as they can.
You say you are no
fan of ballet, Sacks. I wonder how you responded to what Shatner said
about it, that ballet “has the same distillation that poetry
has. It’s the distillation of line. The beauty of the human form.
The grace of a human line. And once you see it you are forever
fulfilled by it.” How did you respond to Sappington calling it
an “ephemeral art form that is so immediate to the human soul,
the human psyche”?
Because I agree with
them. Dance, even more so than music, is the truly universal
language. And somehow the illogical collision of Shatner and
Sappington reminded me of that. William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet
reminded me that even in the depth of despair, even while I
wallow in the sty of my own disappointments and tragedy, there is the
beauty of our cohesive humanity that has to be celebrated over and
over again if we ever have any desire to get out of bed again.
And that’s what
this ballet is – it is that celebration, an undulating physical
moment to moment celebration of connection and community. Shatner
says that when putting his album together he was after the
universality of “I understand that experience,” and by the Great
Goat in the Sky, I swear to you that he accomplished this, and this
film gives that to us.
Sure there are some
flaws in the film, some of the camera “tricks” are quite
distracting for example, but ultimately it is about movement and
color and experience and celebration – and given the title of the
film and the players it features, who wouldda thunk that?
Sacks: Wow,
my friend, that's beautiful.
One of the biggest
problems I often struggle with is the problem of getting outside of
my own head. I have a terrible tendency to get bogged down in the
tasks that I'm working on and in the problems or thoughts that I'm
having. I put blinders on, ignoring things that are on the periphery
of my vision that will make my life happier just in the cause of
Getting Things Done. Dishes have to be washed, laundry has to be
folded, a review has to be written, a client needs an email. a column
has to be posted, and the list goes on and on. I often feel like I'm
on the run 24/7, ignoring the events around me, pounding through
events rather than taking my time and enjoying the events.
I've learned a few
things from living like this. One is that it's kind of unsustainable.
I'm trapped on a treadmill that will never end. Things will continue
to go around and around and never stop and before I know it I'll be
60 years old and I'll be able to say that I have a clean house, but
what will that bring me, really?
But secondly, and
maybe much more importantly, that sort of outlook puts me out on an
island, alone with my tasks. People become objects or tasks to be
managed and completed, rather than fellow people with whom I can
enjoy a connection, share life experiences, and get a different
perspective on my life.
Shatner has a
different perspective. He's direct and honest and focused on the
things that really bring him joy. The wonderful song Shatner wrote
about his everyday love for his wife was beautiful because it was
honest and direct and so completely from the heart that no level of
cynicism or postmodern hipster mocking will take away from that. He's
real. His emotions are true to him.
And in a world full
of stars like Kim Kardasian and Justin Bieber whose favorite people
stare at them in the mirror each morning, Shatner has a world outside
of himself. He is open and positive and doesn't fear jumping into new
challenges.
I'm always taken
aback by people who are completely direct. That's one reason why Don
McGregor has become so special to me. His honesty is right there on
the surface; direct, real and personal. He's not walled behind a
corporate identity or some sort of public face. Who he presents
himself as being is who he is. William Shatner is like the wonderful
McGregor – he has no artifice at this point in his life. He is just
who he seems to be on the surface – a man who enjoys his life and
is always ready for the next experience, even embracing a ballet
based on a CD he recorded.
I loved the idea
that dance is a universal language, a kind of physical poetry that
expresses raw and unfiltered human emotions through the brilliance of
human movement. I'm really only not a fan of poetry because I haven't
been exposed to it much – actually in much the same way that
someone who has never read comics might not quite be sure how to
react to The Nao of Brown or some other great graphic novel.
But I responded to the honesty of the work, to its lack of artifice.
Maybe that surprised me the most. I was expecting to not really "get"
the ballet but in fact the exact opposite happened. I loved the
ballet.
Yeah, despite the
terrible title, William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet was a
moving, fascinating, wonderful documentary that did exactly what art
is supposed to do. It really shook me up.
Elkin: I hear
you, Sacks, loud and clear. I too have heard that clarion call that
makes a person realize his or her life has so easily become a problem
to be solved and a conflict to be avoided. In the film, Shatner calls
the story of our lives “interconnected dots of decision.”
He talks about how we so often make decisions “constantly filled
with the apprehension that we don’t know what we are doing.”
He ends this conversation, though, with a line that we all know but
seldom heed, “You gotta forgive yourself.”
Sage words indeed.
Every decision we
make is one that leads us to where we are, who we are with, what we
are doing. That’s something to celebrate, in a way, because it is
within these decisions that our power over our lives resides. Sure,
for some, this can lead to an existential crisis, but it can also
lead to an endless well of hope and a gas tank full of possibilities.
Sometimes it takes a guy like William Shatner to remind us of this.
Sometimes it takes a universal language to speak these truths.
Shatner’s insights, Sappington’s ballet, this film – they
awaken us to ourselves, and through that to each other.
William Shatner’s
Gonzo Ballet is a celebratory film of the highest order. It makes
you feel good to be part of this thing that is all so much larger
than our own little bags of water and meat. It is a dance of, for,
and by all of us.
Do yourself a favor.
Make the decision to fire up the Netflix and let this one into your
life.
And don’t forget
to dance.
Trailer for the
film:
A performance clip
from the film:
No comments:
Post a Comment