I’ve just been re-watching Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V and was reminded of a great realization I had watching it the first time, back 20+ years ago. Back then I didn’t like Shakespeare, I found the archaic language difficult, the monologues everlasting, the subject matter distant … I can’t even remember how I came to watch the movie back then, as it would be pretty far out of my comfort zone.
But there was one moment, in the very first scene after the prologue, that then and forever after changed my perception. The “Lord” (archbishop?) of Canturbury was droning on and on about dispute between England and France, and running through this dull history of who begat who, etc. And I was bored half to death wondering how I got there. Then I suddenly realized that Henry’s court was also bored half asleep and probably wondering when it would all end, and what really sold it was was the lord at the end of the line, who gave Canturbury this look that said, “Drop the droning bullshit and cut to the fuckin’ chase, man.” At that moment, I knew I was going to really like the movie. By the end of it, I had a whole new perspective on Shakespeare, and have seen just about everything done on film of or about Shakespeare since. And I’ve read a number of his plays with a new understanding and a greater appreciation. And I still think that nobody can connect a modern audience with Shakespeare like Branagh does. I’ve seen all his films since, and I will always be grateful to him for that eye-opening experience.
So, did you ever have an epiphany-like experience with an artwork or artist?
I’d say Justin Timberlake’s first time hosting Saturday Night Live qualifies. Up to that point, he was nothing more to me than yet another disposable boy-band twerp. I figured he would just bumble his way through 90 minutes of sketches, looking completely overmatched like many of the hosts who aren’t comedians by trade. Afterward, I was fairly shocked to admit that he had some actual comedic chops. He did a great job. Now, of course, I tend to think of him as an actor who, uh, didn’t he sing or something back in the day?
I never cared much for A. E. Van Vogt until I read an interview where he said all his stories were dreams, and followed a dream logic instead of a conventional narrative logic. I won’t say it made him a favorite, but I leaned to enjoy his stories much more after that.
I agree. I saw him in something, can’t really remember what (some acting role), and had exactly the same expectation, and was quite pleasantly surprised when he was actually credible in the part.
Edward Hopper seemed to me to be a fairly, well, boring artist, and I never gave him much thought until I saw an exhibition of his work at the MFA in Boston a few years ago. When I saw all of his work strung together end to end like that, I was struck by how lonely his work is. If he happens to include a human being in a painting, he or she is almost always alone in the scene and caught in a private moment of interior thought. (Two typicalexamples) Reconsidering “Nighthawks at the Diner” made me aware of how lonely these people are, too – they’re sitting under the same roof but not engaging with each other.
I really hated Alanis Morrisette when Jagged Little Pill hit the scene; I just despised her vocals. Then I caught a rerun of SNL with her performing and it completely changed my perspective. The live performance made it clear to me the true passion and personality she put into her music. I don’t like all of her albums, but Jagged Little Pill is definately on my desert island playlist.