Real Make-Believe

There have been many times in my life in which I have found myself in conflict with the actor's craft. My faith in the craft that has given me so much is sometimes shaken by what I see on movie screens, in rehearsal rooms, onstage and on TV. Red carpets both attract and repulse me. Talk shows where actors make a few slick jokes and wink at the camera in an attempt to lure my film dollar make me immediately (and many times, unfairly) skeptical. I am both weary and leary of my opinions and my loyalties being bought and sold for the sake of flashy crap starring a bunch of short, skinny, pretty people in designer clothes.

Sometimes I feel my career, my artform is useless tripe.

When Will Smith was plugging "The Pursuit of Happyness" on Oprah, he told a story about a meeting he had with Nelson Mandela. He (Will Smith) was in awe of Mr. Mandela (rightfully so) and had told him that he felt his profession wasn't as worthwhile, expecially in comparison to Mandela's. According to Mr. Smith's story, Nelson Mandela told him that what he does is powerful and important.

That story should make me feel good, validated and empowered. But it doesn't. Because the context in which the tale was told leaves me cold and disgusted. It was told in the context of making a sale. It was told to make me see that this movie is as important as Nelson Mandela's struggle against Apartheid.

Well, it's not.

It just isn't. While I hold tightly to the belief that art can change the way people see the world and can spur them into action, I also know that we must keep our influence in perspective. Few people exhibit the level of strength and courage that inspire others to greatness. We can't expect a handful of mealy-mouthed celebutants to be the ones who change the world. Real society changing stuff doesn't happen in a sequinned gown on a red carpet. Social equality will never be reached in the back seat of a stretch limo even if that limo runs on bio-diesel. Real change happens on street corners, prison cells, living rooms, bars and coffee shops.

But there is no reason for me to believe that I cannot, by virtue of my chosen profession, play an integral part in change. I do not have to participate or encourage the artificiality that is celebrated in our culture. What I need to keep in mind is that there IS something true and rare about what I do.

Here is something interesting, when a person watches a compelling performance the viewer's brain kicks into overdrive- as if the events on stage or on screen are actually happening to the viewer. The experience of the viewer is in synch with the performer. Both the performer and the viewer's brains act as if the event depicted in the film or play or whatever is actually happening to them. Even though we can walk away from a performance and understand that those events did not "actually" happen, our systems feel as if it did. Our systems interpret the experience on that level of truth. In essense, this means that our make-believe experiences are real to our bodies. This is where my artform is uniquely necessary.

Acting can inspire empathy. Empathy- with proper direction- can be inspired to action.

While that calling is not as grand or as self sacrificing as that of a political dissident, it still has unlimited potential for changing the hearts and minds of others. But potential can be squandered by the celebration of the messanger and not the message.

What I am saying here is- Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back.