Sunday, January 29, 2012

above and below the radar

.
Is it true or am I wrong: Great ideas that gain traction and wider applause tend to devolve into mediocrity. Great ideas that are largely overlooked or held within remain bright and compelling.

Today I read a story about the Sundance Film Festival winners. It made me happy to think that someone, somewhere was addressing gritty, imaginative, heart-felt projects and not just relying on cookie-cutter love stories or action-adventure. And simultaneously, I knew I would be unlikely to search out these movies and be wracked by their truths. I like to be entertained, to find small jets of light within what is big and bossy and, overall, pretty mediocre.

Above the radar is the Catholic Church.

Below the radar there is an individual's love of God.

Above the radar is democracy as a political label.

Below the radar is a tender love of kindness and consideration.

Above the radar is the snazziness of education.

Below the radar is all the stuff anyone might not know and yearn to know.

Above the radar, a person or event becomes famous.

Below the radar is that which the fame is premised.

The limelight is compelling, but the shadows remain. I guess everyone makes up his or her own mind whether walking into the shadows is warranted. I am happy to know that Sundance takes a swing at whatever shadows -- the world of imagination, the facts behind the bravado, etc. -- it sees. Big and brassy and mediocre can drag anyone down.

The world below the radar is not for sissies, but I, like a lot of others, I imagine, am a sissy.
.

No comments:

Post a Comment