Peg Life Vol. 26

Where's the new Peg Life, Tony? When are you going to write another Peg Life, Tony? Haven't gotten a Peg Life in a while, Tony? Are you running out of ideas, Tony? How come you don't write anymore, Tony? ALRIGHT! Geez, if I keep pretending people are that interested in these things it's going to drive me mad. The only thing to do is get down to it. That's always the thing to do. Before I do that, or rather as a means of starting to do that, I should offer something by way of explanation for why I've taken so long to write this, as my phantom fanbase seems so eager to discover. It really comes down to respect for the element of surprise. Or more accurately, respect for people's wish to retain the element of surprise in both the role of surpriser and surprisee. Those that don't respect this, and the information they callously provide are known as spoilers. The reason the explanation for my prolonged period of non-action comes down to this is that the Peg Life I have been intending to write (that's correct, I am indeed not out of ideas) would, for those unfamiliar with the subject matter, be full of spoilers. So what is it that I have no wish to be spoiling? V for Vendetta. If you have not seen the movie I encourage you to do two things. First, stop reading this. Don't worry if you glance down the page a few lines. My ruinous revelations will not appear until later in the text as I intend to get to them in a rather circuitous way so as to provide a buffer of superfluousness between the warning and the spoiler itself. Second, go see the movie. Third, if you still haven't seen the movie go back to the first suggestion. I realize that in order to get to the second step you have to disregard the first, which is why I included this conditional loop. Perhaps it would becomer clearer if explained it more BASICally.
10 IF MOVIE = SEEN THEN GOTO 50
20 STOP READING PEG LIFE
30 GOTO THEATRE
40 WATCH V FOR VENDETTA
50 CONTINUE READING PEG LIFE
60 END
There. Now all the nerds understand what I'm telling people to do. Unfortunately it's the nerds who are most likely to have already seen the movie. That's more or less irrelevant but it does bring me to the beginning of my story. I don't go to see all that many movies in the theatre. To be sure, I go to more than many, but fewer than most. For me to shell out the cash to see a movie in the theatre it generally has to be a particularly good movie or have some other particularity about it that draws my attention. Case in point, the movie Doom. I wasn't expecting Oscar calibre filmmaking, but my fanboyism knew no bounds and I went anyway. I was severely disappointed and regretted the loss of my nine dollars but such are the perils of geekdom. A couple of weeks ago I got home from work and told Danny that we should go to see V for Vendetta. He was pleasantly enthused and we made our way to Polo Park. I enjoyed it. A lot. So much so that I went again the next day with Keith. And I enjoyed it. A lot. Again. So much so that I decided I had to read the graphic novel on which it was based. As it happens I was able to find a copy available for download on the internet. I downloaded and read all ten volumes. I enjoyed them. A lot. The comic book was even better than the movie. The story is much more complex, supporting characters are expanded and given more depth, and V's anarchist philosophy is delineated much more explicitly. Having read the books I can understand how the hardcores and the nitpickers would be dissatisfied with the film. However, I also understand that in adapting the story for the screen concessions need to be made for length, consistency, and *shudder* marketability. The changes that were made, while significant, I can only see as necessary. Or at least forgivable. There were three scenes that really made the movie for me. The first was V's introductory speech in which he alliterates with the letter V for a full minute. I've always been a fan of alliteration (especially back in the days when I was writing the material that would become Somaphore's album Typecast [in particular, see the lyrics to Deed and U R B an Isolate]) and Hugo Weaving's delivery is terrific. The second was after Evey is released from her imprisonment and V reveals that it was all an elaborate illusion designed to alter Evey's perception. When it starts to sink in Evey doesn't seem able to handle it and she starts having a panic attack. V tells her, "This may be the most important moment of your life. Commit to it." That line really convinced me of the intelligence of the script. The wisdom is also very apt when applied to psychedelic experiences. In that situation fighting the experience instead of releasing yourself and committing to it can make the difference between nadir and ecstasy. I was reminded of an especially intense mushroom trip I had, at one point in which I felt like I was going to be under the effects of the drug forever. This was extremely frightening. I thought, "Oh no, holy shit. I'm never going to be the same again. I'm going to be in this state for the rest of my life." The more I worried, the more horrified I became. Before my thought cycle degenerated into a catastrophically bad trip I was able to calm myself and accept the decision I had made to take the mushrooms. Instead of fighting the past and fretting over the future, I committed myself to the present and revelled in its wonder. The advice is not useful solely in the most life altering of experiences, though. I see it as a call to be aware of the present. Life is happening to you right now. Be there for it. The third scene to solidify my adoration for the film came as Evey was leaving the Shadow Gallery. V stands over the jukebox in wistful melancholy and reflects that although he has listened all of the hundreds of songs it contains he has never danced to any of them. Now, it wasn't the substance of the scene itself that struck me, but the song that V selects to punctuate his musing. He plays I Found a Reason by Cat Power. Not only does the song perfectly accentuate the mood of the scene, it also serves as an interesting parallel between the film and the comic book. The original song by the Velvet Underground is very different stylistically and has several more lyrical parts than are included in Cat Power's version. The compression and change of affect in the Cat Power version are, without too much of a stretch, analagous to the film's differences from the book. I have little reason to suspect the song was chosen to highlight this similarity, but I would not be terribly surprised if it was the case. But now let me move on by moving backward. I'd like to speak for a moment on something related to comments I made regarding the first scene. I said that Hugo Weaving's delivery of V's alliterative introductory exposition was terrific. While there seems to be a general consensus in reviews I have read that the performances in the film are quite strong (supporting players including as Stephen Fry and Stephen Rea are notably praised), every review has made a complaint about the mask. Yes, wearing an unchanging mask for the entire length of the film precludes the use of facial expressions to convey any kind of communication, but this should not be seen as an insurmountable impediment to the character's portrayal as James Purefoy seemed to think. Rather, it is a challenge for the actor to bring life to his role by other means, a challenge that I think Weaving rose to admirably. It's in the voice. Of course body language is going to be important without use of the face, but with a character like V, who is prone to Shakespearean quotation and dialogues with statues, the voice is paramount. Anyway, enough about V for Vendetta. Alan Moore's true masterwork has not yet been adapted to the screen. And for good reason. Watchmen is a story of such depth and complexity that Terry Gilliam (who was at one time considering directing a film adaptation) decided it was unfilmable as a feature length. He has said he would consider directing it as a twelve hour miniseries. And he's right. The first ten episodes of the twelve part graphic novel are packed with material that, if not critical to the unfolding of the epic plot, would be a travesty not to include in any adaptation. It all leads up to a cataclysmic ending of such shocking originality that it would never see studio approval without unthinkable modification. You may be thinking, "Come on. It's just a comic book. Sure, a movie version may suck, but Hollywood can adapt anything. After all, they made Elektra." If you think that, you'd be wrong. Watchmen is like no other comic book. Read it. It'll change your mind about what a comic book can be. If you've read it already, fuck it's awesome isn't it? Yes. So how 'bout it, kiddos? Was it long enough. I sure as shootin' hope so. This has turned out to be the third longest email I've ever written, surpassed only by the Fifth and Eighth Words from B.C. And the Eighth Words quoted Terence McKenna pretty extensively, so I can't really take credit for the length of that one. But this one was all me. Hopefully more than two people have been able to read it.

Tony Hawkins is geekier than thou