By the way, have you ever gone to see "Riverdance"? The sound of
clicking, of the taps? Yes, pre-recorded. You see, they found
out, as they played larger and larger venues, that people wanted to hear the
clicking. But it's almost impossible to amplify the clicking in real
life, so they faked it.
Nobody cared.
But then I never much cared for the whole concept of "Riverdance"
anyway: for heaven's sake, these are tap dancers. Tap dancing
is a ridiculous art form. In fact, it is not an art form at all.
It is a kink, an affectation, a quirk. Think about the nature of
watching a tap dancer: what are you watching? Noise?
Synchronized noise? Foot action? Can you be moved
by a tap dance? Inspired? Anything other than annoyed?
2011-04-19
A real comment by a real
fan of the film on IMDB:
If this movie doesn't get you motivated, then something is wrong with you.
This movie proves that good things happen to people who work hard and don't
except the circumstances they are dealt. I've seen this movie more than 30
times in my life, and i still cant get through the end of this movie without
getting tears in my eyes. Another thing this movie teaches you is to listen
to the people in your life who believe in you and want you to succeed, don't
listen to the people who want you to fail and constantly remind you that
you are going to fail. "The best revenge is success." One of my favorite quotes
comes from this movie as well, when the coach dan devine tells rudy and the
rest of the team that "Nobody, and i mean nobody, comes into our house and
pushes us around."
And thus the viewer becomes complicit in the hoax.
I watched and admired a movie called "Rudy" several years ago.
It's the true story about a devoted Notre Dame football fan named Rudy Ruettiger, who
saved up his money and enrolled in Notre Dame so he could try out for the
football team. He
tried out and practiced hard and trained with determination and sucked up to the entire football department
for four years and got to be a second-stringer, without once getting a chance to play. Finally, in his
last year, he was allowed on the field for one play, in the last minute of a game that was already
decided.
I thought the film was intentionally funny. I thought it did a
reasonably good job of showing how Rudy wasted four years of his life under
a delusion. I thought most people watching the film would realize that
if Rudy had devoted half the energy he gave to the Notre Dame football team
to almost any other pursuit, he would have had something important and
meaningful or even beautiful to show for it. I thought it revealed
that our so-called heroes-- athletes, especially-- inevitably use people
like Rudy because that's the way the system works.
Years later, I realized that I had it all wrong: it was meant seriously--
Rudy was to be admired for wasting most of his college life waiting
for a chance to play while he had none of the skills or attributes required
to be a good player. He was a hero. He never quit. The
lesson we were supposed to take away from this film was: never give up on your
dreams.
Even if your dream is to flap your arms and fly, or marry Angelina Jolie,
or be nominated to the Supreme Court.
Well, the one thing that didn't occur to me was that most of the movie
was pure hokum. It didn't occur to me because I assumed that a film
made of an unremarkable man who led really an unremarkable life would at
least adhere to a few unremarkable facts.
The main "facts" are that Rudy tried out for the team, never got to play
until the very last moment, and in that very short moment, had some
peripheral involvement in a quarterback sack. The crowd did not know
Rudy's story and did not cheer wildy because he had just realized his dream
(as if).
They did not chant his name. The play-by-play announcer did not note
his presence. The opposing quarter-back did not mutter, "who was that
man!" under his breath (all right -- I made that up -- it wasn't in the
movie). He didn't have a brother. The coach did not oppose him
going into the game-- in fact, he insisted on it. His team-mates never
dropped their sweaters on the coach's desk as a protest gesture against Rudy
not being dressed for a particular game.
Without those delusional
Rudy's out there-- the losers in this scheme of things-- how could we have
winners?
So, aside from the facts, yes, it's a true story. Does it still
inspire you? I have an investment opportunity, if it does...