"Aw, man. You made friends with them. See, friendship is the booze they feed you. They want you to get drunk on feeling like you belong."
Lester Bangs
-Almost Famous 2000
A young journalist's dream takes him on the ride of his life... as a groupie, an "in-the-action" reporter, and a boy introduced to music, drugs, fame and fortune. Almost Famous showed us the pitfalls of stardom, the downside to uncontrollable circumstances,and the passion of a 15yr. old boy, William, with a dream to become someone; at any cost.
Given the opportunity on a whim; would you go along for the ride without realizing what you've signed up for, just to chase your dream?
I found this film to depict the way stardom, being on the road, and perception, come to play in the industry of fame. When William desires to write for Rolling Stone magazine, he stumbles upon a band called Stillwater. The journey ahead of him appalls his mother; tests his boundaries, and un-covers the harsh realities of being on the road, being amidst the perceptions, and finding the intrigue with passion, for the words and story he seeks to write.
Do we all hope to become famous?
What comes with fame? Is it really fortune? Are there real groupies? Are rock journalists a threat to the band?
"We are not Groupies. Groupies sleep with rock stars because they want to be near someone famous. We are here because of the music, we inspire the music. We are Band Aids." - Penny Lane
What inspires a man? How can one raise such awareness to the inspiration without letting the inspiration come to them? I often think about fame and fortune. I think about how it would be to live your life feeling invincible and un-touchable. I think about the go go go lifestyle, the image perception, the philosophy that someone has value in you for ways in which you will never know.
If being famous evokes a numerology to infamous exposure; can someone be separate from the world of egotistical nature without falling into shock stardom?
If all rock stars, movie stars, actors, etc are highly driven ego influencers in the world of entertainment; when do you find the silver lining between the fame and the fortune? Doesn't fortune make the fame, and fame makes the fortune? Take William the character in this film again for a second, he didn't want to be in a band, or be a groupie, or even be caught up in the moment; he just wanted to write. He wanted to be a rock journalist; tracking the story from the road. When fame falls into the laps of people because of their passion; are they different to the popularity of the stardom, then the people seeking their 15 minutes of fame?
Are journalist out to break into the story first, or to tell the story through the eyes of the public's image?
This film touched on truth a lot. The truth of the life of exposed personalities, and hardships while being on the road. The drugs, the sex, the egos were just a side dish in a 7-course meal. The meat of the film was about desire. The desire to embark on a dream journey, and survive the hype of the road; while uncovering people in their weakest and highest moments.
If we as the "un-famous" are groupies, or band aids as Penny claims; to the industry of film, music, rock and roll and even journalism; is it safe to assume that we make those famous; irreplaceable?
To house a fake reality is like living in a closed dark room. We must get creative to see the world alongside the potential it actually evokes. I recommend listening to your dreams, seeking the fame; and getting a great advisor for the fortune. You never know how close you've come to fame until you start seeing the fortune.
"I didn't invent the rainy day, man. I just own the best umbrella." - Dennis Hope
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Comments
You damn skippy~~
Well, some just live vicariously and others I guess just write about it. No pun intended ;-)
Thanks moviegeekjn!
Very cool.
Rated.
Thanks again for the rating!