Tonight I attended the screening of the movie "Get Out" (fitting for Halloween weekend) but with a twist: the music was played by a symphony orchestra, one of those unique experiences where the live orchestra (and in this case, live singers) sang during the musical parts of the movie. I was pretty into the movie and barely noticed the orchestra was there, but that's probably a compliment on the orchestra's ability to blend in without any hiccups! I hadn't seen Get Out in its entirety before, but in a live audience you realize how much of an important role the "Rod" TSA guy is in the movie as comedic relief.....and the actor is not Hannibal Burress! Someone named Lil Rel Howrey. Hilarious. I do think the social messages in Get Out have a bit of risk in inflamming racial tensions, whether intentionally or not, but.......I was able to just enjoy the movie. A very very good movie taken just as a movie.
Jordan Peele is one of these crouching tigers, hidden dragons of Hollywood: a hidden talent on MadTV and comedy sketch shows that really broke out into the mainstream with Get Out. That is, for anyone who wasn't aware, what the title phrase of the 2001 movie with lots of Chinese people doing martial arts: in the "Jianghu" times of ancient China, there are people with hidden talents who can come along with great powers, and just when you think you're the best, someone comes along and shows they are better than you (and in many cases, kill you, like in the movie). So don't underestimate anyone.
My problem in most competitions is actually the opposite: I kind of overestimate others and get intimated, psyching myself out and losing the mental battle before the battle even begins. This is likely because in every competition in my life, I've known going in that I'm NOT the best. Every violin recital, every spelling bee, every chess tournament, every tennis tournament, every dodgeball tournament, I've gone in with the conscious knowledge that there's undoubtedly somone better than me, and I shrink back and feel inferior. I also have this weird tendency to attribute strong abilities in people just by looking at their faces, like "oh man that guy looks smart" or "wow they're tall and athletic, they're going to crush me." Sometimes those fears are confirmed, but sometimes they're not; it's an irrational concern. I wish, really wish, that one day I could walk into a competition knowing for sure that I was the best in the room, the best in the competition, the best in the world at something. But sometimes I've got to remind myself: "Maybe I'm the crouching tiger here. I've prepared, I've done what I can," and even if it's not true, it can only help my confidence and clear my mind of all the doubts and get myself to think positively. And maybe I AM selling myself short: In 2017 I do think for a small window of time (maybe like a couple hours) I was one of the best dodgeballers in the world value-wise, a true hidden dragon.
This past weekend on jeopardy showed that there are some serious hidden dragons in the Jeopardy world: Rowan Ward really came on strong in the second week of the Second Chance Tournament, earning her shot at the upcoming Tournament of Champions starting this week (could not be more excited about a tournament, and likely more engaged in this than any sports match I've watched because I'm invovled in it and can compare my own skills to the competitors') Rowan cruised through her first game Matt Amodio-style by ripping through the bottom (hardest) clues first, ironic because she was beaten by Matt Amodio in her first chance, betting big on DD's despite having a big lead, and holding it on her way to a lock game before Final Jeopardy. That's intimidation, and if I were her competitors I'd have been intimated, like, "oh I thought I had studied for a whole year and was ready for this, but there's someone else more ready and more prepared than I am. What now?" That would be a huge psychological blow to recover from, but it's important to remember that all Jeopardy champions have weaknesses, even the best (Rowan got a relatively easy literature question wrong about Ralph in the Lord of the Flies, I've seen Matt get something like "Kickstarter" wrong), and there's ALWAYS someone who's smarter than you or better than you at trivia. I know that in this lifetime I will never be the best at trivia, but you know what? You don't have to be. You just have to be better on one day, one game, one question. Or in my case, FJ: Rowan's closest competitor Jack came roaring back in the second day of the 2-day total point affair, and it all came down to the FJ question in Artists, one of my stronger categories thanks to our whirlwhind around-the-world Art Museum tour. The clue came up and I was sure immediately: Rene Magritte, a special artist for both MJ and I, but a triple stumper for the 3 contestant. One of the better feelings I've had watching Jeopardy, a satisfying end to a great tournament.
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