With an election year upcoming, Obama faces a tough battle. Despite passing landmark legislation (DADT) and handling tough foreign policy choices (Osama bin Laden), the economy in the US has lagged and with it his prospects for second term. The critics are cutting him little slack and even loyalists are questioning strategy. To win the campaign, the President will need to renew his image from an outsider driving hope to an insider creating opportunity.
But how do any of us really renew ourselves? Let’s look to the arts for some ideas.
The reimagining of the Broadway musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever has an inspired premise. In the original production the tension, where a psychoanalyst by conducting hypnosis falls in love with the past life of his client, was firm but not taut. The revival with Harry Connick Jr. as the physician changes the patient’s gender to a man and heightens the inevitable love triangle. The doctor’s self-confidence is shaken professionally by falling in love with a patient, personally by questioning his attraction to a man, and spiritually by throwing out his academic knowledge in the belief of an after-life.
The first step to renewal is a crisis of confidence whether it be in oneself, our support network (family/ friends), or in the institutions surrounding us (work, state, government). The quandary provides the catalyst for change. In the case of On a Clear Day, Connick’s character must choose either to end his career or change his beliefs. While the production’s revisions are clever and the actors are terrific, there is not sufficient charm to lift the material. By the end we feel we feel pleasantly hypnotized but can’t seem to remember what was so enjoyable.
John le Carre’s novel Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy has a new film adaptation that wipes away the veneer of the seductive Bond stereotype to reveal the rotten underbelly of espionage. The head of British Intelligence is forced out and then killed after he suspects a mole lies at the top levels of his team. His protégé George Smiley played in silent awe by Gary Oldman is brought out of retirement to create a secret group outside of British Intelligence (“the Circus”) to find the mole. Smiley was forced out of the Circus at the same time as his boss and since his life has been interwoven with work the ousting was his crisis of confidence.
His secret to renewal though is not revenge but reflection. He persistently, methodically, unemotionally, replays the information to find the mole. Oldman is glorious as a hyper-rationale man in the midst of chaos. His face barely quivers a sentiment as he step-by-step reclaims what was taken. Especially fascinating is how the film maker portrays this period of reflection. The scenes are quiet tension with a pervasive dread that the plans will be revealed. There are no heart-pounding action scenes, or special effects dazzlery. The director films the scenes as if they are an optical illusion. Like Smiley, we observe the action through windows, glasses, or bars never participating but always a voyeur. This film is a must see for any Bond, Bourne, Mission Impossible fan. It calmly wallops them away.
In the French movie, The Artist, renewal comes not just to the protagonist but to an entire genre of film. Jean Dujardin is George Valentin, a silent-movie era hero who is brought down by the advent of talking pictures. Luckily, the hero has a supporter who watches over him through his mistakes, downfall and eventual redemption. This is not a new plot line (see Sunset Boulevard or Garbo Talks), but the revelation is that the story is told as a silent movie and the audience forgets that there is no dialogue.
Having lost his career Valentin, faces a crisis of confidence and passes through years of reflection for not choosing to move into the Talkies. His renewal occurs once he overcomes his pride and recognizes that he needs the help of others to be successful again. When one has been on top, swallowing your self-importance is not easy, but is likely the hardest step to renewal. Dujardin is charm and light in the show, and he along with the film, director and production are easily the ones to beat at the Oscars. Silent movies are on top again this year.
Obama has already encountered the first two challenges to renewal – facing a crisis of confidence and reflecting on his actions and judgments. To ascend in the polls, it is the final challenge of pride, which will be the toughest. In his case, pride comes from a belief that multi-lateral negotiations are the key to success. On the international landscape this noble intention has borne out well. In the domestic field, he will need humility to recognize that he needs to drive some agendas unilaterally, e.g. job creation. Although he does not like playing in the mud, he will need to get his hands dirty for the good of the country.
Happy ReNew Year everyone.
December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 31, 2011
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