Great Expectations
In the Flaming Lips' song "What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [In Our Brains] By Which We Are Able To Experience the Sensation Of Being In Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the 'Big Bang' That Was the Birth Of the Accelerating Universe)," Wayne Coyne croons, "'Cause if it's natural / Something glowing from inside / Shining all around you / Its potential has arrived."
Anyway, that last line got me thinking: does anything arrive at its potential? In the human mind, I don't think it does. People always have expectations for other people or other things, whether they're fair or not. When you see a movie trailer and think, "Hey, that looks good; I'm going to see it," you're disappointed when it turns out the movie sucks complete ass like most Hollywood movies. Back when Forrest Gump came out, my friend Sean hated it. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and my friend Sean hated it. He might be the only person I know who feels that way. But he had (somewhat) good reason--the commercials marketed the movie as something of a comedy, or at least a film with a humorous edge to it. The catch phrase for the movie was popularized in trailers before it even hit screens: "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get." The combination of Tom Hanks' comical attempt at an Alabama accent and his mouth full of chocolate made light of a cautionary statement.
When Sean saw the movie, being a 9-year-old boy, he didn't find it funny. Therefore, he was ultimately disappointed by the expectations he had for the movie and grew to dislike it. It's the same thing that happened with me and Wedding Crashers. It got great reviews from critics and my peers alike, but when I saw it I found it underwhelming. I thought that--outside a stunning cameo from the amazing Will Ferrell--after the crashers decide to stay with the Cleary family for a weekend, the jokes become predictable and forced. I like the movie, but I don't love it like everyone else seems to.
But expectations can go the other way, too. Somehow, despite all the hype surrounding it, Sufjan Stevens's 2004 release Illinois absolutely blew me away. I discover something new to fall in love with every time I listen to it. But ask me what I think of Sufjan's next album when it comes out, and at first listen I'll probably be disappointed. The only way I can be genuinely overwhelmed by an artist's greatness is if I've never been to exposed to them. Once I fall in love with a past work, nothing can live up to my (or anyone else's, I think) expectations.
So what happens when people reach or outdo their expectations? They're rewarded by getting higher and harder expectations heaped onto them. Believe me--as a life-long Philly sports fan, I know. It's been said that Julius Erving is the only Philadelphia athlete never to get booed, thanks to his MVP, high-flying performances and bringing an NBA title to the city. On the other hand, Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt is famously quoted as saying "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day." Schmidty was the best third baseman in baseball history, a three-time National League MVP, and the 1980 World Series MVP--but his memory of Philadelphia is tainted because he was not protected from to the boo-birds. Another former Phillie, Del Ennis, was said to be booed more than any Phillie ever, perhaps because he was born and raised in Philadelphia. Ennis wasn't the same caliber of a ballplayer as Schmidt by any means, but it just goes to show you that Philadelphians hold nothing back when it comes to players who fall short of expectations. Aaron Rowand has already made a name for himself by running into the centerfield fence just to catch a ball--but if he swoons this summer, watch how fast Phils fans turn on their new favorite player.
In Cameron Crowe's classic Say Anything, Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) is an underachieving high school graduate who isn't expected by anyone around him to amount to anything. His passion is kickboxing, which is enough information to confirm that public sentiment. His sister (played by real-life sister Joan Cusack) doesn't think much of him, even though he's pretty much the coolest uncle in the world to her son. His girlfriend's father (John Mahoney) certainly doesn't think much of him, since Diane Court (Ione Skye) is too good for him in pretty much every way. She's beautiful, she's the valedictorian, and her father would do anything in the world for her. It's a fitting juxtaposition that Lloyd's parents are never mentioned or seen in the movie.
Not even Lloyd's friends have much faith in him, evidenced by their response when they find out he's got a thing for Diane. His friend Corey (Lili Taylor) tells him that "Brains stick with brains." In other words, "Lloyd, don't even think about it." But most importantly of all, Lloyd decides that he has no expectations even for himself. By the end of the movie, his only passion outside of kickboxing is loving Diane. He has no goals other than to be the best boyfriend he can be, which obviously doesn't go over well with Mr. Court. But the telling line of the movie is not one from Lloyd to Diane, but one philosophical line that Lloyd learns from Corey: "If you start out depressed everything's kind of a pleasant surprise."
So is that the secret? Can you really only be satisfied if you have zero expectations for something? If you have expectations, and they're not reached, that's a letdown. But if you have low expectations and they're exceeded, man, that's great. But boy, is it depressing.
I'm at a crossroads in my life, or at least I will be this fall. I guess the old cliche is "three strikes and you're out." I have a full count. I think it's partly (or mostly) because of expectations that have been made for me. Don't get me wrong; I'm not making excuses for myself. But it's kind of tough being Del Ennis and living in a house with 40,000 frustrated Phillies fans.
Anyway, that last line got me thinking: does anything arrive at its potential? In the human mind, I don't think it does. People always have expectations for other people or other things, whether they're fair or not. When you see a movie trailer and think, "Hey, that looks good; I'm going to see it," you're disappointed when it turns out the movie sucks complete ass like most Hollywood movies. Back when Forrest Gump came out, my friend Sean hated it. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and my friend Sean hated it. He might be the only person I know who feels that way. But he had (somewhat) good reason--the commercials marketed the movie as something of a comedy, or at least a film with a humorous edge to it. The catch phrase for the movie was popularized in trailers before it even hit screens: "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get." The combination of Tom Hanks' comical attempt at an Alabama accent and his mouth full of chocolate made light of a cautionary statement.
When Sean saw the movie, being a 9-year-old boy, he didn't find it funny. Therefore, he was ultimately disappointed by the expectations he had for the movie and grew to dislike it. It's the same thing that happened with me and Wedding Crashers. It got great reviews from critics and my peers alike, but when I saw it I found it underwhelming. I thought that--outside a stunning cameo from the amazing Will Ferrell--after the crashers decide to stay with the Cleary family for a weekend, the jokes become predictable and forced. I like the movie, but I don't love it like everyone else seems to.
But expectations can go the other way, too. Somehow, despite all the hype surrounding it, Sufjan Stevens's 2004 release Illinois absolutely blew me away. I discover something new to fall in love with every time I listen to it. But ask me what I think of Sufjan's next album when it comes out, and at first listen I'll probably be disappointed. The only way I can be genuinely overwhelmed by an artist's greatness is if I've never been to exposed to them. Once I fall in love with a past work, nothing can live up to my (or anyone else's, I think) expectations.
So what happens when people reach or outdo their expectations? They're rewarded by getting higher and harder expectations heaped onto them. Believe me--as a life-long Philly sports fan, I know. It's been said that Julius Erving is the only Philadelphia athlete never to get booed, thanks to his MVP, high-flying performances and bringing an NBA title to the city. On the other hand, Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt is famously quoted as saying "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day." Schmidty was the best third baseman in baseball history, a three-time National League MVP, and the 1980 World Series MVP--but his memory of Philadelphia is tainted because he was not protected from to the boo-birds. Another former Phillie, Del Ennis, was said to be booed more than any Phillie ever, perhaps because he was born and raised in Philadelphia. Ennis wasn't the same caliber of a ballplayer as Schmidt by any means, but it just goes to show you that Philadelphians hold nothing back when it comes to players who fall short of expectations. Aaron Rowand has already made a name for himself by running into the centerfield fence just to catch a ball--but if he swoons this summer, watch how fast Phils fans turn on their new favorite player.
In Cameron Crowe's classic Say Anything, Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) is an underachieving high school graduate who isn't expected by anyone around him to amount to anything. His passion is kickboxing, which is enough information to confirm that public sentiment. His sister (played by real-life sister Joan Cusack) doesn't think much of him, even though he's pretty much the coolest uncle in the world to her son. His girlfriend's father (John Mahoney) certainly doesn't think much of him, since Diane Court (Ione Skye) is too good for him in pretty much every way. She's beautiful, she's the valedictorian, and her father would do anything in the world for her. It's a fitting juxtaposition that Lloyd's parents are never mentioned or seen in the movie.
Not even Lloyd's friends have much faith in him, evidenced by their response when they find out he's got a thing for Diane. His friend Corey (Lili Taylor) tells him that "Brains stick with brains." In other words, "Lloyd, don't even think about it." But most importantly of all, Lloyd decides that he has no expectations even for himself. By the end of the movie, his only passion outside of kickboxing is loving Diane. He has no goals other than to be the best boyfriend he can be, which obviously doesn't go over well with Mr. Court. But the telling line of the movie is not one from Lloyd to Diane, but one philosophical line that Lloyd learns from Corey: "If you start out depressed everything's kind of a pleasant surprise."
So is that the secret? Can you really only be satisfied if you have zero expectations for something? If you have expectations, and they're not reached, that's a letdown. But if you have low expectations and they're exceeded, man, that's great. But boy, is it depressing.
I'm at a crossroads in my life, or at least I will be this fall. I guess the old cliche is "three strikes and you're out." I have a full count. I think it's partly (or mostly) because of expectations that have been made for me. Don't get me wrong; I'm not making excuses for myself. But it's kind of tough being Del Ennis and living in a house with 40,000 frustrated Phillies fans.
posted by Kevin A. Doran at 12:20 AM
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