On snarky energy
A couple of months ago, I saw Mary Poppins for the first time in a while. As often happens when I read a book or see a movie that I haven't, uh, exposed myself to since little kid-hood, I saw Mary Poppins on different levels than before. Despite the fact that it is named after the eccentric nanny, I think, in some ways, the story is really about Mr. Banks; how he is changed from a cold, rather self-centered man to one who finally sees what's important in his life, namely, his family. What causes this change in him? Mary Poppins, and the more than slightly crazy world she brings with her.
Mary Poppins is a true nonconformist. Who else would fly around via umbrella, or have tea parties on the ceiling, or bring a troop of tap-dancing chimney sweeps gallumphing through an upper-class British neighborhood? Someone who really doesn't care about what is typical, or "normal," or even sensible; in other words, a nonconformist.
See, a nonconformist is not someone who slashes their clothes or sings political protest songs or pierces their eyelids. People who do these things are conforming just as much as the rest of us; they're conforming to the expected patterns of nonconformity. Hahahah, the finger of irony doth point. Anyhoo...
Another example of a nonconformist is someone who would walk through their high school in a sweeping white pioneer dress, carry a rat named...uh, I forget...with them, and sing "Happy Birthday" to people while playing the ukelele. This person is known as Stargirl Caraway. She laughs loudly, gives greeting cards to total strangers, and carries a flower and vase with her to put on her desk throughout the school day. And she just so happens to enchant the rather uninteresting Leo Borlock, who, like Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins, is given a new perspective on what's important in life thanks to his relationship with Stargirl.
This sort of nonconformity should be called, I think, "snarky energy"(I didn't coin this term, Opus did, on the last page of his 25th Anniversary Collection). Snarky energy is an impulse we all have to do something totally out of the ordinary, to do away with caring about "normalcy," at least for a little while. Does it mean losing all aspects of civility and civilization? No. Humans are social creatures, and we have society for a reason. But I think our snarky energy is an important resource that is there to keep us from getting swallowed up in society. It keeps us from losing our identity.
Snarky energy is one thing we all need, and all have, but also have a chronic tendency to ignore. If we payed more attention to it, we'd care less about waging war and lawsuit and would get a much bigger kick out of (literally and figuratively) stopping and smelling the roses. Snarky energy helps to ignore the supposedly important things (such as being accepted by the world) and, though it may seem silly at first, will eventually show us what's really important. Ultimately, I think it will help us connect with ourselves and then we will be able to improve ourselves. Isn't that somethin'?
Mary Poppins is a true nonconformist. Who else would fly around via umbrella, or have tea parties on the ceiling, or bring a troop of tap-dancing chimney sweeps gallumphing through an upper-class British neighborhood? Someone who really doesn't care about what is typical, or "normal," or even sensible; in other words, a nonconformist.
See, a nonconformist is not someone who slashes their clothes or sings political protest songs or pierces their eyelids. People who do these things are conforming just as much as the rest of us; they're conforming to the expected patterns of nonconformity. Hahahah, the finger of irony doth point. Anyhoo...
Another example of a nonconformist is someone who would walk through their high school in a sweeping white pioneer dress, carry a rat named...uh, I forget...with them, and sing "Happy Birthday" to people while playing the ukelele. This person is known as Stargirl Caraway. She laughs loudly, gives greeting cards to total strangers, and carries a flower and vase with her to put on her desk throughout the school day. And she just so happens to enchant the rather uninteresting Leo Borlock, who, like Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins, is given a new perspective on what's important in life thanks to his relationship with Stargirl.
This sort of nonconformity should be called, I think, "snarky energy"(I didn't coin this term, Opus did, on the last page of his 25th Anniversary Collection). Snarky energy is an impulse we all have to do something totally out of the ordinary, to do away with caring about "normalcy," at least for a little while. Does it mean losing all aspects of civility and civilization? No. Humans are social creatures, and we have society for a reason. But I think our snarky energy is an important resource that is there to keep us from getting swallowed up in society. It keeps us from losing our identity.
Snarky energy is one thing we all need, and all have, but also have a chronic tendency to ignore. If we payed more attention to it, we'd care less about waging war and lawsuit and would get a much bigger kick out of (literally and figuratively) stopping and smelling the roses. Snarky energy helps to ignore the supposedly important things (such as being accepted by the world) and, though it may seem silly at first, will eventually show us what's really important. Ultimately, I think it will help us connect with ourselves and then we will be able to improve ourselves. Isn't that somethin'?
posted by James at
2:49 PM
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