Memory as Tribute, in a Cosmic World

Written a  year ago…

This post is a tribute to Edward Albee, in the wake of his death, and to Ron Perrier, who was my Professor of Theatre at University of Wisconsin at River Falls, in 1974.  The two converge in my life. The course I studied with Ron, was related to the American Theatre. We read the greats, like Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O’Neil, and yes, Edward Albee, who was just coming out as a very controversial playwright in the ’70’s. Mr. Albee was famous for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf”, “Zoo Story”, “A Delicate Balance” and many more. Ron directed “A Delicate Balance”, (now one of my favorite plays), for the RF summer theatre that same year.

Dr. Perrier opened my eyes to many facets of the world of the stage, but something very memorable was when he brought Edward Albee, en persona, as artist in residence, to River Falls, the same year I took the American Theatre course. We were to have read all of Albee’s current works, and to be ready to respond, when our visiting artist came to our very small class to speak. For me, as a small town 19 year old, Albee was pretty Avant-garde, and even though I participated in a limited way, I was aware something very important in the Arts, was going on.

Now that Albee is gone, Ron remains, as an emeritus professor at the university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, writing books, loving his students, and still involved in the theatre, as I understand it. I’m sure he’s touched many lives and opened the eyes of many students, other than myself. I’d like to remember him here, and show how cosmic the world really is, when memory is jogged, and to give credit to two very accomplished men.

May Edward Albee Rest in Peace.

“Looper” A Summary

If you have seen the movie “Looper”, and aren’t quite sure what was going on, perhaps this summary will help to make some sense of it.  Some viewers have criticized it for having too many holes in the plot.  This may be true, but part of the intrigue in watching “Looper” is the challenge of tracking what is going on and trying to figure out, how characters and events relate to each other.  I am rather happy with my synopsis but open to remarks, so if you have already seen the movie, read this and let me know if it sounds about right, or not.  If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t mind a spoiler, I also recommend my summary.

“Looper”, extremely violent, is nonetheless an enlightening film of self- discovery and redemption. The excessive depiction of violent acts and pervasive drug addiction which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, is necessary for transmitting the ultimate message that mankind must put an end to destruction and replace it with love, kindness and the preservation of innocence. The main character, Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is a heartless killer  – a looper, working for an evil leader in control of sending his foes back from the future to be assassinated by his entourage of hired murderers. Joe, like his friend Seth, fails to carry out his duty when he is faced with assassinating himself as he emerges out the ground from the future of 30 years later.  In botching his own assassination, Joe, and his future self, played by Bruce Willis, become fugitives running from the thugs controlled by the leader of the Ring.  When Joe realizes that his older self is out to destroy three young boys born on the same day in the same hospital because one of them could grow up to be the evil Rainmaker, he schemes to thwart the killing of one of these boys.

Bruce Willis, as Joe, tries to prevent the horror facing the future, which would be committed by the little boy Sid, if he’s allowed to grow into being the ultimate evil force in the world. In the final scene he is about to shoot the child’s caregiver, a beautiful intelligent blonde, who is blocking the boy with her body, so he can escape into the sugar stocks.  The younger Joe, arriving at the scene, envisions his older self Willis, shooting the blonde, who is really the sister of the boys mother, and sees the little boy in the future as he escapes through the fields and rides on a train, free to grow up to be a terrorist and assassinator. Instead of shooting his future persona, the younger Joe turns the gun on himself in order to break the vicious cycle and prevent the evil of the future from occurring.  Upon killing himself, the older Joe played by Willis, disappears into thin air and the young woman and the boy are saved. In his sacrifice, evil is restored by goodness and the cycle of destruction ends.  Joe, the heartless killer, in spirit, saves himself from committing future evil deeds and reinstates innocence embodied in the little boy.  For the audience, especially for the girls, he becomes a savior and hero to humanity.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives an Academy Award winning performance.  The humorous and playful actor that we know from Saturday Night Live, shows he is able to portray the evil villain and the loving nature of Levitt-Gordon’s character in 50/50 is again unveiled when Joe finds his true self in “Looper”.