Sunday recap: The End of Love

OK, so it's Sunday. And I'll begin a habit of recapping the week. Work, love-life and all the rest in between.

This week has been about my web presence. Getting the blog up and running. Tuning my applications for optimal browsing and stuff like that. Getting into the habit. And then it has been work. I'm reading two projects at the time being.

Constantine Giannaris' new film, which is so far titled "Welcome Aboard". I do a little experiment of surveying how that title sits with people by using a poll on this blog. Giannaris and I have been working on and off with the script since august 07. Before that he has worked with it for, what? 2-3 years I think. It's becoming more and more tight and it's a really good process. My role is as a collaborative consultant. It means I'm not really a writer, but also that I'm not 'just' a consultant. It's in between, with a lot of hands on and concrete, detailed suggestions to Giannaris, it's on all level of the process - discussing the major idea(s) propelling the story, incorporating the fruit of those discussion in detail - it's editing, trying to cut not-so-necessary stuff, re-arranging material for greater effect and so on.

And then a new project has landed on my desk. "The Mountain", which I have been invited to write for a Greek director, whose name I don't really remember yet - George or Yorgos something. The boss of Highway Filmproductions, Yorgos Lykardopoulos, tells me he is talented and has made a very good short film. They've had other scriptwriters on the project, but none of them have been satisfactory for the director. He is clear about the fact, that he doesn't want to write himself - which is good because it makes the rules of collaboration well defined. The idea is his and according to Lykardopoulos he is very flexible about it - maybe this is a problem. Sometimes, although its very rare, people are too flexible, which means it's very hard to find out what satisfy them, and so you can continue doing rewrites. Anyway, it's too soon to pass any judgments on this project. All I want to say now is: It's a kind of supernatural psychological thriller. I'm meeting the director in the coming week to find out what the core of his mountain-idea is. And if we can develop a working chemistry.

On the personal level the week hasn't been too bad, relatively. It is the first week after me and my girlfriend broke up (again - but this time it seems final). I catch myself almost sending her a sms to share a feeling or experience or thought and then I realize that we have broken up. I feel awful lonely at moments and miss her intensely. And she is very adamant of cutting the connection completely. I'm more a softy, who wouldn't mind a little ongoing post-break-up contact. Well, I try not to think about it too much. Last time we had a serious break up I was really in the deep end, where I constantly felt and thought about it, and was sure I would never find love again. That this was it. The end of love. I still feel like that, but I don't obsess about it. If it is the end of love, then I will accept it.


Read more!

Vikings behind Scandinavian happiness

A team of scientists in my native town of Århus has concluded that the historical background for the famous Scandinavian trust (see also this post) has it's origin in the society of the Vikings. Because they didn't have a legal system (not really, unless you count blood-revenge as a legal system) and they had a small empire stretching from Scotland to Volga, they had to trust each other in dealings. Science has documented a link between trust and general happiness in a population. And again and again Scandinavian countries grab the top spots in international "how happy are the nations"-surveys. Personally I also believe the climate plays a role. Traditionally we say that the darker and wetter climate in Scandinavia breeds depression, which is true in many cases, while the sunny climate of the Mediterranean brings a more light mood. But if you consider that the Scandinavian people in the middle ages and before that had to struggle to survive the hardship of winter, to work constantly, this might have put their threshold for happiness quite low. They are in rough generalization a hardworking, realistic people, who don't expect a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (the Vikings knew well you had to fight for the gold;-)). So don't expect the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians or Finns to dance in streets to reggae (Although the Finns dance a lot of tango, it's their own version, mainly written in minor key - to give a taste of it here is a clip from Finnish tango competition:
)

In conclusion, the Scandinavians rate as a happy people, partly because trust is a historical tradition. Its worth also noting the absence of great violent revolutions in Scandinavian societies - mostly the transitions between different government forms has been reletively peaceful.

Again, if you read the exotic language, here is a newspaper report from JP. Read more!

David Mamet: I'm no longer a "brain-dead liberal"

I didn't even know he used to be a leftist. He reveals his new orientation in a Village Voice essay in his typical prose, digressions and anecdotes. I like his style.

It really surprises me that he has been a staunch leftist. All his writing seems beyond politics, focused on character. Everything he talks about in "True and False, Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor" seems so beyond the blind idealism of the left. The whole book's philosophy is based in pragmatism, in a no bullshit approach, think for yourself, do it yourself - don't trust prophets, demagogues, authority-figures.

Reading his new essay I'm a bit worried that he now embraces the right like the newly converted he is, instead of doing his own pragmatic thinking, which I believe he is better at. Why play this label game anymore. Liberals. Conservatives. To me it doesn't really make sense. The big ideologies are now only ghosts haunting us, infecting politics and society with a time-wasting name-calling. We most rid ourselves of them. This is one of the reasons I like Obama. He thinks beyond the divisions created by the ghosts. He is pragmatic and idealistic. As Mamet himself express the link between the two in this quote: "There’s nothing more pragmatic than idealism". The idealism of Mamet has always been pragmatic - focused on the matter, on creating good theater, films - pleasing the audience by challenging them to be their best.

Bottom-line: Even though I'm happy he is not a "brain-dead liberal" anymore, I fear he trying out for a new role as "seen-the-light-conservative", while I much would prefer him to be himself, which I find much more interesting. Read more!

David Mamet told me to make a workshop

Today I went to the office of Highway Filmproductions down in Psiri to finally set up and begin the workshop on scriptwriting. This has been in the pipeline for a long, long time. I really want to do it. As one of my old teachers said in a paraphrase of a Danish saying: "You learn as long as you have students". I like the interaction, the meeting of other writers, trying to focus and distillate my knowledge and experience in scriptwriting to help them overcome their challenges.
There are two long term ambitions of this project - to stimulate the Greek film industry, where the major weakness is the script - and to eventually write a book about scriptwriting. Personally I like only two of the many book I have read: Lajos Egri's "Dramatic Writing" and Syd Field's autobiography "Going to the movies" - no not really his books on scriptwriting - more this one, as it narrates his own experience of finding the building blocks of his 'system'. It is much more educational and exciting to read. Then I like the website called wordplay.
Essential is David Mamet. His book on acting is a must for any writer. The writer and the actor are intimately linked. Or, the better they are connected, the better for the drama (the film, the theater, the tv-series). The history of their relation goes all the way back to ancient Greek drama - which was a writer and a bunch of actors - no producers, no directors, no middlemen. And by the way, TV-series are gaining ground as the major format for contemporary drama, and I believe one of the reasons is exactly the intimate relation between writers and actors.
David Mamet also informed me of the fact that instead of keep looking for a mentor, we should become our own. And it was this which initially set me on to creating the workshop. Read more!

Danish Beauty

During and just after the Easter in Denmark one of the Socialdemocrats young and promising politicians damaged his career seriously. How?

He slept with a 15-year old girl. After appearing as a guest lecturer at the Socialdemocrats youth organization's easter course, he attended the following party with all the young, eager Socialdemocrats. Oh, the allure of youth. Jeppe Kofoed himself is 34-year old, and even though he hasn't reached the midlife crisis Lester Burnham, the Kevin Spacey character of the film American Beauty, he fell victim to the same need for youth. And obviously he didn't have the character or the luck of Lester, who at the last moment, when he realizes the girl is still a kid, can't go through with it.

On Danish blogs some people are discussing to what degree his action should cost him. He has done nothing illegal as such. Some people find it worse than driving under influence. To me, this just show how taboo sex still is. Even in Denmark. And how much childhood still is romanticized as innocent. Yes, she was 15, and yes, he should not have done it - let alone for his own self-respect. But come on, to say it is worse than drunk people driving and perhaps killing people?

So far he has himself resigned from all political offices he held, and is said to consider even withdrawing from parliament. This before it became a news story. He has talked with the girl and her family to apologize. This either shows he has some character, or just that he is a clever politician, as it may be the only way to save the remains of his political career.

I became disillusioned with politics at a very young age. Stopped believing in any kind of ideology. Or party. To me it all boils down to character, and especially the non-narcissistic kind, which is sadly rare in politics, as it has become so much about the game and the power.

Maybe Jeppe Kofoed has character and a weakness in it, or maybe he has no character at all, and is just an inflated ego, who likes the adoration of young girls. This is what I would like to know, but the newspapers don't inform me.

For those who can read the exotic language, here is a link to one of the articles of the Danish newspaper Politiken. Read more!

Obama fever

These days I constantly check for news about Barack Obama. This is kind of weird for me. Not my usual behavior. I have never followed American elections closely before. I have caught the fever. In my recent period of depression, it was one of the few things I could mobilize myself to do. Because in that hopelessness of depression, as weird as it sounds, Obama was a person who gave me a little hope. This almost sounds sick. To project your own hope onto a person you don't know in real life. It isn't. It is natural psychology. And Obama does it so well. Being a symbol for the projection of hope. Don't misunderstand me. This is not in anyway to diminish Obama. I think it is an important aspect of the job description for the head of state. Kings, presidents and the like should in best case be symbols of inspiration and hope. And I think it is an ability and a question of character fortitude. Obama has the ability and it seems he has the character, which can take the massive projection from people without getting his ego inflated. Most modern day people suffer from a variety of narcissistic disturbances. To my observation it seems that Obama has his under control. Obviously the symbol-making is also an exchange between him and the crowd. Commentators say that Obama has developed through the campaign, become a better debater and talker. A part of this is the energy he receives from the crowd, that has been growing in number and enthusiasm.

So here I am. Watching Obama, reading what people say of him and hoping intensely that he will be elected not only as the Democratic nominee, but also president. He has the potential to become a true symbol of inspiration. He understands this part of the job description very well, as almost no one else I have seen. The powerless heads of state, like kings and queens of democracies, and in some cases also presidents, know it because it is their only job description, but Obama knows it even better because he found out for himself.

Here where I live, in Athens, Europe, there is a radical lack of hope in political figures, and that is demoralizing for a country. It breaks down the social fabric, as everyone more and more only look out for themselves. It is also happening in my home country of Denmark, though to a lesser extent, as a certain trust in the 'system' and the professionalism of the politicians remain. But there is no hope or inspiration from the politicians there anymore. And the funny thing is that it is eventually going to cost Denmark money. The social fabric of Denmark has been created throughout hundreds of years by a string of inspirational leaders, not true greats most of them, but still. This has created a strong economy in a country with almost no natural riches. Social scientist have described how the 'trust' of a population saves a lot of money. Compare fx. Denmark and USA, and you will find that Americans spend much more money on lawsuits, protection against lawsuits, security and so on - things that are not productive. If you look at the financial situation of Denmark, it is very, very good. Minimal unemployment, low debts, low poverty and so on. If America with Obama as president could begin the long journey of weaving the social trust, healing the racial divide, healing the divide between rich and poor and all the other divides, then they would not only be happier, but also financially richer for it. Read more!