You could hear the buzz of the microphone; that current of electricity just waiting to be used, humming to get attention. The camera panned the crowd as they murmured to containing themselves as they awaited resolution and justice. When one of the main characters finally walked forward with the microphone, I couldn’t help but wonder what substance his words would have. I was confused then, when he deferred a speech and passed the microphone off to a peripheral character. “I am not the hero here, someone else is.”
And the crowd went wild.
I thought, “Oh, that’s nice of you, but I was kind of looking forward to what you had to say. Besides, I don’t care about this other character – who, by the way, isn’t even central to the story.” Mr. Peripheral grabbed the mic and said, “I’m not the hero here, someone else is.”
And the crowd went wild.
“At least the microphone is going to a substantial character again”, I thought.
When the main character took the mic and said, “I’m not the hero here, someone else is”, I almost threw up. He was referring to the dolphin.
And the crowd went wild.
And then I did throw up. Right there. Right next to the couple who didn’t like moving their legs and had too much butter on their popcorn.
When the main character deferred a heroic speech for the third time, there was no one left to take the mic. The substantive speech I was waiting for… the interpretive meaning and moral… the agenda of hope was passed off in the name of humility until there was no one left to speak.
My disappointment was ushered in by the sounds of applause in a room of thick emotional soup.
What were we celebrating? What were we so excited about?
No one knows. But, dammit, everyone got a chance to be celebrated.
It reminded me of our desire to occupy. What are we occupying? No one knows.
And the crowd went wild.
Years from now, this movie will serve as a wonderful example of what we dream of and hope for… and it breaks my heart. I think of good ‘ol Jack saying,
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
