Salinger turns to the Dark Side

Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@geocities.com)
Tue, 22 Jun 1999 10:36:59 +1000 

Actually despite all, this *does* have some relevance to Salinger. Believe
it ... or NOT! 

I was thinking the other day about the idea of geniuses working in vacuums,
and thinking what a terribly dangerous way it is to work. I used to work
for a drama company whose artistic director was talented and visionary and
had a heart that was very much in the right place. However, as time went
on, she became more and more engrossed in her own activities and wild
schemes to the point when the things she was turning out were awful, but
working in such a vacuum she was unable to judge for herself any longer
what is good or bad.

I thought exactly the same thing of `The Phantom Menace' (yes, I got
dragged along to see it(: ) There's no doubting Lucas is a visionary. But
the movie had the distinct tang of an artist working in a vacuum in the
manner that I said. Without any blinkers an artist soon believes they are
capable of anything, and what's more, everything they produce is by default
worthwhile. Without the mechanisms of criticism in place we can't improve
ourselves. I was shocked when the aforementioned drama director hid a
terrible (but totally valid) review from her cast and went to amazing
lengths to conceal it from them.

Relating this all to Salinger - the later works have this same aura, of one
whose communication is becoming a self-replenishing circle rather than a
two-way exchange from which we the reader can gain something; we get the
feeling we're overhearing a telephone conversation on a crossed line. I can
think of no person working in a larger vacuum than Salinger and can only
hope that he is one of the minority of cases, like William Blake for
example, whose isolation lets them focus their brilliance rather than
dissipate it.

Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
@ THE ARTS HOLE http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442
@ THE INVERTED FOREST http://www.angelfire.com/pa/invertedforest

> DARTH VADER'S THOUGHTS TO THE CLASS OF '99
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen of the Vassar College class of '99...
> 
> embrace the Dark Side.
> 
> If I could offer you only one tip for the future, the Dark Side would be
> it.
> The long-term benefits of the Dark Side have been proved by the Dark
> Lords
> of The Sith, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
> than
> my own meandering cruelty and conquests. I will dispense this advice
> now...
> 
> Enjoy the power and beauty of your planet.
> 
> Oh, never mind, you will never understand the power and the beauty of
> your
> planet until after the Empire has destroyed it in a futile attempt to
> find a
> Rebel Base. But trust me, in twenty years, you will look back at photos
> of
> your home and recall, in a way you can't grasp now, how blissfully
> ignorant
> you were, and how fabulous your planet really looked before it was a pile
> of
> burning space rubble. Your planet is not as dull as you imagine.
> 
> Don't worry about the Rebellion - or worry, but know that worrying is as
> effective as trying to make the Kessel run in a landspeeder. The real
> troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your
> twisted
> mind. The kind that fire a direct hit into your reactor core at 4 PM on
> some
> idle Tuesday.
> 
> Do in one Death Star officer every day.
> 
> Scheme.
> 
> Don't disobey the Emperor's orders; don't put up with people who disobey
> yours.
> 
> Hate.
> 
> Don't waste your time on Stormtroopers. They can't hit the broad side of
> a
> barn.
> 
> The battle is long and in the end, it's only with yourself. And your
> idiot
> son. Remember the prophecies of the Emperor; ignore the whinings of your
> bratty upstart farmboy of a son. If you succeed in doing this, tell me
> how.
> 
> Keep your old lightsaber, but change your costume slightly with every
> sequel.
> 
> Destroy.
> 
> Don't feel guilty if you have no misgivings about joining the Dark Side.
> 
> The most interesting people I know didn't have any respect at 22 for
> their
> victim's lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year olds I know still
> don't.
> 
> Have plenty of minions.
> 
> Be kind to your right hand, you'll miss it when it's gone.
> 
> Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe your son will join you, maybe
> he
> won't. Maybe you'll convince your daughter to become a dark Jedi and
> assist
> you in your campaign of hatred and destruction; maybe she'll become a
> rebel
> leader and marry a scruffy-looking nerf herder. Whatever you do, don't
> congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your destiny
> is
> guided by the Force. So is everybody else's.
> 
> Enjoy the Force. Exploit it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or
> what
> other people think of your "sorcerer's ways." The ability to destroy a
> planet is insignificant next to its power.
> 
> Kill. Even if you have no one to kill but a meaningless extra.
> 
> Listen to what the Emperor has foreseen, even if you don't follow his
> prophecies.
> 
> Do not take your mask off, it will only make you feel ugly. And
> vulnerable.
> 
> Get to know your parents. You'll never know when they'll turn out to be
> your
> arch enemies. Be nice to your siblings. They are your best link to your
> Jedi
> lineage and the ones most likely to become Jedi in the future. Understand
> that lackeys come and go. But with a precious few, you should keep from
> crushing their tracheas. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
> lifestyle, for as the more desperate you become, the more you will need
> to
> send bounty hunters to do your dirty work for you.
> 
> Live on Dagobah once, but leave before you get foot rot. Live on
> Tattooine
> once, but leave before you get heat stroke. Travel. Preferably in your
> own
> custom TIE Fighter.
> 
> Accept certain inalienable truths: rebellions will rise, the Imperial
> Senate
> will have to be disbanded, you too will get old. And when you do, you'll
> fantasize that when you were young, rebels were easily crushed, the
> Imperial
> Senate was subservient, and citizens respected their Emperor.
> 
> Respect your Emperor. Don't expect your son to rule the galaxy with you.
> Maybe he'll give in to his anger, maybe he'll strike you down, but you'll
> never know when he'll whine pleadingly and you'll find yourself turning
> to
> the Light Side and saving his sorry butt. Don't strike down your old Jedi
> Master, or he will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
> Be
> careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it, or
> I'll crush your throat. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a
> way of fishing your humanity from the depths of sin, wiping it off,
> putting
> black body armor over the ugly parts and redeeming it for more than its
> worth.
> 
> But trust me on the Dark Side.
> 
> 
> Jim Rovira
> http://members.aol.com/antiutopia/main.htm
> 
> 
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