THE PROFESSOR PART 2
October 7th, 2008 | Published in Scripts, Videos
THE PROFESSOR PART 2
There are certain films that define a generation. That’s certainly the case for us Boomers. Now your list may vary slightly from my list, but there are certain films that resonate like no others. Here’s my top three. Number One: The Graduate. I think I saw it five times when it came out. It captured the generational schism. It expressed the frustration of us all, politically, sexually, perfectly. Number Two: Deer Hunter. An epic tale of the war that forever stamped it’s mark on baby boomers. It’s the story of those who went, those who stayed, and those who died. Every performance was a gem. It was and is a masterpiece. Number Three: RoboCop. It was just so cool. And he had that huge gun.
IN ROBOCOP VOICE: Stop in the name of the law. Stop. What are you crazy? I’m RoboCop.
NORMAL: Okay, so obviously, I know my films, right? Well, like I told you last week, I’m teaching a screen writing course at the local university, and I’m not getting along with the kids. They think I’m a hack because I worked in television. And they worship the guy I’m filling in for; this “film maker,” Ivan Pedlosky. You never heard of him, right? I bet you never heard of his most famous film either. It was entitled, “Light Bulb – Water – Germans Moving.” They talk about it as if God made a movie. It sucks. Rent it some time, you’ll see what I mean. Here, I’ll show you a clip.
THE MOVIE
Light Bulb on – Ein licht.
Light Bulb off – Nacht
Light Bulb on – Ein Licht.
Light Bulb off – Nact
Light Bulb on with glass of water – Ein licht und vaser – Acht du libe!
Back to Marc
I don’t get. I’m not sure there’s anything to get. I asked the class what they think it means.
IN CLASSROOM
MICHAEL – You don’t get it because it’s art, man. Without light you have darkness. Without darkness you have light.
MARC- And the water?
MICHAEL – Well, you have to have water. You’re just incapable of understanding the metaphor.
MARC – I’m incapable of understanding metaphor? Do you remember last time when I showed you the Laverne & Shirley episode where they tag team wrestle? Remember when Lenny and Squiggy were in the ring and Carmine didn’t want to box with Squiggy. You didn’t get that that was a cry for world peace? When Laverne asks Lenny why he’s throwing bacon to the crowd and he says, “Gee, Laverne, everyone loves bacon.” That means we’re all brothers. We’re all the same. We all love bacon. Even those who are kosher secretly love bacon.
MICHAEL – I guess I really didn’t think about it enough. Sorry.
MARC IN ALLEY – Kids. It’s so easy to mess with their minds. But the important thing is to teach them values. Like, I think maybe five hundred people have ever seen Pedlosky’s film. Four hundred of those were Germans. Twenty million people a week used to watch Laverne & Shirley. You know how much money he made? Zero Deuchmarks. You know how much each episode of Laverne & Shirley made. Values. That’s the important thing. At least that’s what I think. Let me know what you think. I’m Marc at Boomer Alley dot com.
