I know. Poor, poor pen.
There is a reason, though - unconvincing as it may be.
Let me try to explain. There was a line in "The Good Shepherd" film (2006, with Matt Damon) where one of the characters said something along the lines of "You are afraid to go through life following the plan that was put for you". (I did say something along the lines of, didn't I?:)
I've always shared this fear. The number of things that we "should" do -- go to these schools, hang out with these people, work in these jobs, marry someone fitting this description, live in these places.
It's somewhat heartbreaking (and a little depressing) to see my once free-spirited friends walk this path, resigned to their fate, one after the other. Working jobs they hate, having children they're not ready for. Effectively, following the plan drawn up for them by society, customs, family, religion, and every other societal control mechanism.
No. No. Shit, no. I don't want to do that.
And for a split second, this quiescent, boring, resigned pen seemed to personify all this: it has, since its creation, been just a pen. It has failed to rebel against the 'plan' that was put for him, and was set on the course drawn up for him. The pen was us.
So I smashed it against the wall. My small, insignificant mini-revolution.
Don't get me wrong - it isn't a question of maturity or lack thereof. It's about the molds we're supposed to grow into. It's a society Matrix. It's the choices that are already made for us, the decisions we'll never get to take.
But is destruction - or self-destruction - the only way out of the status-quo? I hope not.
I think I'll take my chance anyway.
8 comments:
Not sure if I'm with you in the pen-revolution (I love my pens ;)), but good to know I'm not the only one that has these fears...
please, PLEASE: dont smash yourself against the wall to check it!
:-P
un besito,
R
I steal them at work, I can send you a bunch of them so you can smash a few more if it prevents you from melting in the mold.
Great post, and I'm excited to read the rest of them.
I must point out that even the lowly pen does, indeed, rebel against being a pen from time to time.
May I offer the example (from another Matt Damon movie, The Bourne Identity) in which a pen is more than a pen ... a weapon! http://www.moviestamper.com/screenshot.php?f=f83943aae8e78bd039bea29c1f089bca0ae1780f
If a pen can break the mold, then can't we all?
:)
Seg: Yes, I would be grateful if you could steal me some -- I've actually been taking my smashed pen to meetings to take notes, and have been getting dirty looks from the chief. :)
R: I'll try. In any event I'm unlikely to find someone big enough willing to throw me against the wall this hard, so we're safe - probably.
Waldo: thank you -- and this scene from the Bourne identity always makes me cringe and rub the back of my hand.
I love the 'if a pen can break the mold'... hell, why can't we alright? :))
Mali: I sometimes wonder, too. People sometimes just feel too content going taking the easy way I also wonder if anyone really cares. I guess it's a question of priorities, and perhaps individuality isn't very high on everyone's list.
Read Søren Kierkegaard! :) I am also in the same boat.
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