Life is Almost Real

I was watching one of my favourite films the other night. The Shawshank Redemption. Have you seen it? Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman enduring a life of extreme hardship from which they eventually escape to an idyllic beachfront setting where they live out a life of freedom and ease. (And repair boats).

Anyway, the point is, on my way to work the next morning, I still had this film in my mind. And I was thinking, that film, The Shawshank Redemption is just like my life. I'm slaving away in some dead-end job, living a life of extreme hardship in the hope that one day, I'll finally escape to some idyllic beachfront setting to live a life of freedom and ease. (And maybe repair boats).

And that got me thinking. Isn't it the case when we thoroughly enjoy a film or a book or any work of art, that sometimes we carry it around in our minds with us for days, if not years to come? Particularly if we can relate to it. It becomes like a soundtrack to our lives.

See, it's an obvious statement, (but one worth repeating I think), that culture, what we experience as art, can influence our daily thoughts and subsequently our daily lives. We relate our lives to stories and characters we see on television, or the cinema or read in books.

Hence, the next morning I was walking to work, thinking I was Tim Robbins.

And then, still walking to work, I see a postman. And it reminds me I was turned down to be a postman not long ago. And I'm thinking that could have been me. A Postman. I could have been a postman. You know like Marlon Brando in 'On the Waterfront' where he says "I could have been a contender Charlie Well Charlie I could have been a postman. That could have been me.

Though maybe that's just the way it is. It does seem that the point of life sometimes is just to show you time and time again, that life isn't fair. Personally, a lot of the time I feel as if it's me against the rest of the world. Fighting a one-man battle. You know like Henry Fonda in 'Twelve angry Men' ? That's me, by the way, Henry Fonda in Twelve angry Men.

You might think I'm crazy but I almost expect people in the street to throw stones at me. You know like they throw stones at Gerald Depardieau in Jean de Florette? That's me. Gerald Depardieau in Jean de Florette. OK, maybe I'm being a bit paranoid. Maybe I should get out more. Meet a girl. A woman. But who? How? The ones I like always seem to be taken. You know like Michael Caine in 'Hannah and her Sisters'? Where he falls head over heels for a married woman called Hannah? That's me, Michael Caine in Hannah and her Sisters lusting after a married woman called Hannah. Ok, maybe I will eventually get the girl, maybe it just wont be the one I expect. You know like John Gordon Sinclair in Gregory's Girl? That's me. John Gordon Sinclair.

I know what you're thinking though. Whatever happens, maybe I should just accept my fate. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should be like Bob Hoskins at the end of The Long Good Friday. Just have a chuckle at the way things eventually turn out. Even if it means being part of a concrete pillar holding up a bridge. Maybe. Or maybe I should just keep fighting. Fight madness with madness, like The Marx Bros do in Monkey Business or any of their other films.

Whatever, I still find that life overall, is like my favourite film of all, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It's cheers me up just to think of that film and all my other favourite films I've mentioned. I guess that brings me back to my original point. That culture, what we experience as art influences our daily thoughts and therefore our daily lives. Especially if we can relate to it in some way. I mean, I'm walking to work and I'm thinking I'm Tim Robbins. Life is almost real.