The Wait Is Over

Apologies for the tardiness of this post. Blogs were promised, yet undelivered; for that, I am sorry. There were unforeseen circumstances preventing the posting--they involved buses, sweat, passports and alot of curse words--ask me about it sometime; or don't.





Some of you were upset. Some of you wondered how you would face the day without a post from Onietzsche. One man in New Jersey quit his job. A woman in Texas threw her PC through a glass window. The lack of blog was big news cyber-wide, but alas it is time. Take your Prozac, cuz here it comes.











NAPOLEON DYNAMITE





Let me tell you about Napoleon Dynamite. This is old news you say. Worn out. Sick of it. Has any movie in recent memory been so overexposed so quickly? From underground cool to passe faster than Jack Johnson?





Here is the thing: Detractors claim it is a pointless movie, devoid of plot, special effects or anything of interest. Some fans claim it is amazing--funny, original and worth two or three views. But, it is more. Underneath the skin of this Tot are some compelling themes.





1. Teenage Life: Compare ND with Mean Girls or Varsity Blues or 13 or some other movie depicting teenagers are uber-mature, adults with adolescent cleavage, strutting their stuff cell phones in hand and doing nothing but driving fast and shagging like rabbits. Sophistication, communication (cell, IM, e-mail, etc.), consumption (daddy's credit card, nice cars, flashy clothes, plastic surgery)--these dominate. Teenage life is about growing up too fast, staying connected and carving out a niche in the fragmented realm of 21st century techno-life. It doesn't have to be traditional (cheerleader, football player, etc.), but it does have to be unique, up to date and full of alluring aesthetic somehow or another.





ND? Different messages. Think of the main characters--we all know Nap is an unassuming dork just trying to make it through the day. But, where is the sophistication, consumption, and communication? Nowhere. That is the charm of ND, you say, he is the anti-hero we all cheer for, the underdog that is hilarious along the way to glory. Maybe. But lets take the supposed hip, cool protagonists of this teenage drama. Don, Summer, Tricia. Can they keep up with Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls? No. Surprisingly simple (Summer works at the store, Tricia's mom has surprising control over her social life, and even Don doesn't emit the untouchable coolness of the Alpha Male, but a boyish false-confidence symbolized by his mono-coloric white wardrobe. They wear PE clothes like dorks. This isn't the Gods of Campus we are used to.





Think about it: the kids actually look like kids. Their problems are kid problems--not blown out of proportion into matters of world politics, but simple, boring, teenage worries about dances, body-image (why are you drinking 1%?), friendship and dealing with parents.





2. Rural American Life: There is a subtle but prevalent myth about small-town American life held by many urban and suburbanites. This myth, probably partially based in reality, speaks of a slower pace of life, community, friendship, beautiful surroundings, and an overall sense of serenity in contrast to the fragmentation and schizophrenia of the postmodern melee we call 21st century urban living.





ND works against this myth in an equally subtle manner. I've talked to some who feel that the movie was almost too sad to watch. This, I believe, derives from the image it paints of rural life, in this case, Idaho (2005, look at Nap's ID card at the beginning of the film). Where is the community? Nowhere. Instead, loneliness. Kip is 32, or somewhere close, and stays at home all day chatting. Rico throws footballs to no one. But, look even deeper. Look at the people Rico sells Tupperware too--sad, bored, alone. The camera angles accentuate the vast space in between houses--demonstrating just how much land is out there in between all those people. This isn't an automatic fellowship of human beings, but a dilapidated conglomerate of people looking for a connection with others. Time drags here. Every scene moves at a place of almost maddening delay. Ten seconds could be cut off of some scenes. We are left, somewhat reminiscent of the pace of Lost in Translation, with a feeling of the weight of time which is a disorienting vertigo from the rush of lights, neon, pastels, noises and voices we are used to in films and RL (real life).





Yes, you do root for Napoleon. But, this isn't motivated by revenge (the mean kids aren't that mean), it isn't a plot for world domination (everyone involved doesn't take themselves that seriously), no, it is cheering him on just for connection--to feel, to be, in a way that connects with others. His dance is a resolution to a plot that is self-aware enough to know that it isn't resolving anything but some loose ends of de-centered lives. And, finally at the end, he gets his wish--sex with the pretty girl? No. Win the big game? No. Hang with the cool kids? No. Just tetherball with Deb--finally someone that will play him.



I love living.


Keep it real,