Let the Inner Fire of Discontent Burn Brightly
By Richard de Bruin
Contrary to what you might have thought this is not an interview with Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon. Although Blankfein in particular certainly looks the part of some unclean nosferatu, let us not glamorize these banal criminals with alluring lore and myth. When it says ‘interview with a dung beetle’ or something like that you may assume I have gotten hold of one of them thugs.
No, surprising as it may seem I am actually referring to the movie with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Yes yes, I know, but please bear with me. As a first-time writer I have to start somewhere and for some reason this presented itself to me. It looks as good a starting point as any. In particular because this movie happens to be one of my all time favorites. Before I explain let me say I am not a moviegoer – at all. Sitting through the average movie is near impossible for me. I suffer from what’s known as ‘getting extremely annoyed and aggravated when spotting propaganda or indoctrination and subsequently unable to watch a second longer’ syndrome. Considering what today’s film industry generally churns out, the list of watchable movies becomes somewhat small. In addition, also scrap movies that seem to have no other purpose then to endlessly show off the latest special effects and very little remains indeed. Most of my friends do not understand. “Can’t you just overlook it and just enjoy?” I am sorry, I cannot. “Humph, you think too much.” Needless to say, I don’t get many invitations to go watch a movie much anymore.
So it is a little ironic to start off writing about a movie of all things. Seems kinda trivial when our world is in such a tumultuous and dismal state. I do have a strong fondness for storytelling though. And in the pile of toxic waste that our entertainment industry produces there are still a few rare gems to be found. Interview With The Vampire is one of the most beautiful.
The movie tells the story of a character named Louis de Pointe du Lac, played by Brad Pitt. Louis is a young, wealthy plantation owner in 1791s New Orleans. Tragedy strikes when Louis loses his wife in childbirth, both his wife and the infant die. He plunges into a deep mourning that seems infinite. Brokenhearted to the point of self-destruction. As the stages of grief and loss have Louis teetering on the very edge he catches the eye of a vampire named Lestat. Attracted like a moth towards the light Lestat, played by Tom Cruise, makes his move and bites Louis with the intention of making Louis his partner. He succeeds and Louis transforms into a vampire. Very pleased with himself Lestat is confident he and Louis will have blast together. Every pleasure and the world itself is theirs for the taking. To Lestat’s great frustration however Louis remains in a state of bereavement, remorse and misery. Instead of having a party, Louis burns down his mansion. Despite Estates best efforts Louis is above all else utterly discontent, with everything. Louis in the meantime also wants answers about his new existence that Lestat is unable to provide. After the inevitable falling out between the two, Louis sets off to old Europe in search of answers, hoping to find knowledgeable elder vampires.
Louis doesn’t have much luck finding any elderly vampires. There seem to be none at all. The few somewhat older vampires he does come across are all halfwits, anything but wise. In fact the older they are the more moronic they seem to be. He is about to give up his search when in Paris he finally meets Armand. A 300 year old vampire and perhaps the oldest still alive. Louis immediately captivates Armand, for reasons that will become all too clear. In addition, Armand is able to partially answer questions for Louis and it is this one moment that makes the movie phenomenal.
Armand explains that although vampires are in effect immortal beings, who they were at the moment they became vampire, their mental state, that is who they will remain. The instant they become vampire, they are frozen like a snapshot. Stuck in the moment forever. This makes them utterly unable to change and keep up with the times. Thus as time goes by they are left behind, becoming silly characters who increasing lose touch with the world and eventually just whiter away. What makes Louis unique is that his transformation happened when he was going through a deep process of grief. At the very moment of wholeheartedly rejecting the present. Welcoming and desperately wanting change, in whatever form it comes. Discontent is his attribute and trait. This sets him apart from all other vampires that cannot handle change. He has beaten the catch, found the loophole. He is the embodiment of transition. Able to keep up with the changing times, indefinitely.
Louis himself can only partially appreciate this. After all everlasting melancholy is the price he will have to continue to pay. However, when Armand offers to help Louis ease his burden, Louis rejects, understanding the value of his pain.
Whilst the movie in itself good entertainment it is this one aspect that makes it exceptional. Discontent as the solution, the means for the unchangeable to change and adapt, it is simply brilliant. Moreover, it has to do with us.
At the core of what drives and binds us, stripped and undone from all the layers, in its most elemental from, it is discontent that is burning fiercely in our hearts. If we want to start at the beginning, we should begin right here. Not blind or random discontent, and for the answers we need only to ask the Five Ws, discontent it is nevertheless. Raw and powerful. Discontent that neither the rulers nor those people that seek to stay in their comfort zone like or welcome, and that is putting it mildly. Many times it is simply the expression of discontent, not the articulated grievance that is criticized and attacked. It is a destabilizing force, dynamic, always seeking change and challenging the state of affairs and by nature, it will be met with great resistance. For those of us that are unwilling or unable, which amounts to the same thing when you live by and uphold higher principles, for those unwilling or unable to capitulate and accept ‘the way things are’, discontent will be a travel companion. Cherish and appreciate this mighty consort, let no-one pressure or tempt you to chain it, as others will always seek to diminish this searing fire only to preserve their own complacent comfort. Let it be your source of strength and tap from its primal power when you find it hard to press on. Let the inner fire of discontent burn brightly.
Great opportunities may be awaiting us in the near future and discontent will position us to not only be on the lookout but to also take full advantage of those chances. In this late hour it is paramount we do not let any go to waste.
Like Armand foresaw, Louis had no trouble keeping up with the changing times. Tackling the industrial revolution without a hitch. In the end, after centuries had passed and cinema came into being, he even got to see the rising sun again.
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