Thursday, August 26, 2010

Touching the Hem Never Works Out Right.

Admiration is a tricky fiddle to play. 

I have seen a ton of celebrities from afar. But I have only approached a few.

With terrible results.

These two Eugenes have given me equal short shrift, making me re-question my interaction with the world. 

Eugene Hutz
Eugene Mirman






Both encounters were painful incidents that were preceded by myself talking myself into stepping outside my own comfort zone and initiating a conversation with both men.

Similarities in both engagements were:

1. Despite their reputations as entertainers, there was an extreme lack of smiling.
2. There was very little eye contact.
3. The animal in the situation was unclear. Were they cornered creatures or was I an escaped beast?

These were not just celebrities that I happened upon and were fascinated by the novel nature of their celebrity. It must be said that these men have produced work that I have loved and have pondered.

But these interactions left me irritated and, consequently, put me in a state of revision towards my feelings for them.

As I mulled over their rude actions, I gradually realized the source of the nature of their coldness. It was an unbalanced relationship.

Relationships succeed when both parties give and take.

A non-celebrity confronting a celebrity is always on the taking side of the relationship with no giving to balance it out.

As a fan, I knew far too much about both these men that they had not personally given me. I made the mistake of only talking about the very things that made them both famous, placing us squarely in that imbalanced situation.

I should have just talked about something else, like Ray Harryhausen or the incredible Tsar Bomb. (hmmm...maybe not. They're both ex-Soviets.)

There is one celebrity I know, though, that transcends all this.

You guessed it.

Andrew W.K. - Honorary Plebe

2 comments:

  1. Or you could do like i do ( did ) and that's to get up on stage and dance with E. Hutz.

    That was all in all give and take baby!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good point. I will do whatever it is that they are doing. That will work. Right? Whatever they are doing, I will also do.

    ReplyDelete