So the other night I watched �Requiem for a Dream� again. Man, why do I keep doing that?? Didn�t I swear as I walked out of the movie theater in Regensburg, Germany 7 about years ago, that although it was a great movie, I�d never be able to watch it again?
Well, with multiple viewings in the meantime, I suppose I can consider that another broken promise due to my movie addiction. I guess that even if the movie is absolutely disturbing, you still have to admit that it�s just excellent in so many different ways (Could we get another close-up of that infected arm, please? Thanks). This time, I borrowed the DVD from my friend from work, Roberto �Robby� Monterrosa. I watched the special features, which include a short interview where Ellen Burstyn, the brilliant actress who played Sarah Goldfarb, interviews Hubert Selby Jr., the author of the novel upon which �Requiem for a Dream� is based. The interview is insightful for a few reasons.
The first reason I enjoyed the interview was because I could see with my own eyes that Ellen Burstyn is actually a normal person; I guess her performance as a widow addicted to weight-loss uppers was a strong testament to both her superb acting abilities and a great on-set makeup and wardrobe department. The second interesting thing was Hubert Selby Jr. himself.
Selby is a pretty strange guy�you almost have to be a bit off-kilter to write something like Requiem for a Dream--and he looks even stranger when you see him (see picture above). As my wife Angela said, �If I were that guy, I�d be sure to never open my mouth when I smiled.� But all horrid teeth aside, Selby seems to be a very fascinating guy with quite a few perceptive things to say about writing in general.
When recounting how he decided to become an author, Selby says: �I knew the alphabet, so I figured I could write. See, sometimes distortions and insanity and arrogance; all these things can work to your advantage.� He explains this a bit, saying, �I�m probably the most untalented person that�s ever lived. I don�t have natural abilities; none whatsoever.�
Replying to this statement, Burstyn asks, �How can you be a writer and not have natural ability to write?�
Selby replies: �By sitting down and writing every day of your life, until you�ve learned how to write.�
For me, this was an enlighteningly simple thought. Despite having written around a hundred essays and term papers in my college and grad school career, as well as having created multiple websites dedicated to things I�ve written, I still would hesitate to call myself a writer. I guess that because I�ve never been paid for doing this, or because I�ve never been �published,� then I almost feel like I�ll be mocked if I say that I�m a writer. Maybe I feel that Shakespeare and Joyce will come out of their graves, shove me around a bit, and call me a big pussy. So, I always qualify any such statement by saying that writing is something I enjoy doing in my free time, along with walking around, rearranging my books, or drinking while trying to bake bread.
But when I heard Selby say the quote above, a sort of light went on in my head, and I thought, �Hey, I guess I�m a writer, too!� I further identified with this intuitive fellow with the goofy exterior when he said: �I had this obsession to do something with my life; I didn�t want to waste it. And so I came home every night and I wrote and wrote��
This quote inspired me. It told me to keep going, to continue writing, and in the end, maybe I�ll get good at this whole �writing� thing. And who cares if no one reads any of this? In the end, there�s always going to be a chance that someone will read and/or enjoy it, and hopefully something good will come of this whole pursuit.
In the meantime, I�ll leave you with another Selby quote from the interview, although it�s a bit tangential. He talked a lot about the hard times that he�s gone through in his life, and how they�ve influenced his writing. He mentions, though, that those experiences also helped him become a more effective and inspiring writer. As Selby says near the end of the interview:
�Unless I can relate to the suffering of people, I cannot offer a solution to the suffering.�
Well, with multiple viewings in the meantime, I suppose I can consider that another broken promise due to my movie addiction. I guess that even if the movie is absolutely disturbing, you still have to admit that it�s just excellent in so many different ways (Could we get another close-up of that infected arm, please? Thanks). This time, I borrowed the DVD from my friend from work, Roberto �Robby� Monterrosa. I watched the special features, which include a short interview where Ellen Burstyn, the brilliant actress who played Sarah Goldfarb, interviews Hubert Selby Jr., the author of the novel upon which �Requiem for a Dream� is based. The interview is insightful for a few reasons.
The first reason I enjoyed the interview was because I could see with my own eyes that Ellen Burstyn is actually a normal person; I guess her performance as a widow addicted to weight-loss uppers was a strong testament to both her superb acting abilities and a great on-set makeup and wardrobe department. The second interesting thing was Hubert Selby Jr. himself.
Selby is a pretty strange guy�you almost have to be a bit off-kilter to write something like Requiem for a Dream--and he looks even stranger when you see him (see picture above). As my wife Angela said, �If I were that guy, I�d be sure to never open my mouth when I smiled.� But all horrid teeth aside, Selby seems to be a very fascinating guy with quite a few perceptive things to say about writing in general.
When recounting how he decided to become an author, Selby says: �I knew the alphabet, so I figured I could write. See, sometimes distortions and insanity and arrogance; all these things can work to your advantage.� He explains this a bit, saying, �I�m probably the most untalented person that�s ever lived. I don�t have natural abilities; none whatsoever.�
Replying to this statement, Burstyn asks, �How can you be a writer and not have natural ability to write?�
Selby replies: �By sitting down and writing every day of your life, until you�ve learned how to write.�
For me, this was an enlighteningly simple thought. Despite having written around a hundred essays and term papers in my college and grad school career, as well as having created multiple websites dedicated to things I�ve written, I still would hesitate to call myself a writer. I guess that because I�ve never been paid for doing this, or because I�ve never been �published,� then I almost feel like I�ll be mocked if I say that I�m a writer. Maybe I feel that Shakespeare and Joyce will come out of their graves, shove me around a bit, and call me a big pussy. So, I always qualify any such statement by saying that writing is something I enjoy doing in my free time, along with walking around, rearranging my books, or drinking while trying to bake bread.
But when I heard Selby say the quote above, a sort of light went on in my head, and I thought, �Hey, I guess I�m a writer, too!� I further identified with this intuitive fellow with the goofy exterior when he said: �I had this obsession to do something with my life; I didn�t want to waste it. And so I came home every night and I wrote and wrote��
This quote inspired me. It told me to keep going, to continue writing, and in the end, maybe I�ll get good at this whole �writing� thing. And who cares if no one reads any of this? In the end, there�s always going to be a chance that someone will read and/or enjoy it, and hopefully something good will come of this whole pursuit.
In the meantime, I�ll leave you with another Selby quote from the interview, although it�s a bit tangential. He talked a lot about the hard times that he�s gone through in his life, and how they�ve influenced his writing. He mentions, though, that those experiences also helped him become a more effective and inspiring writer. As Selby says near the end of the interview:
�Unless I can relate to the suffering of people, I cannot offer a solution to the suffering.�
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