Philippe Petit, a name that not many people from our generation of millennials may know. This is a French tight rope walker who's dreams and ambitions took him to the top of the world literally. In 1974 Philippe walked across a wire connecting the twin towers in New York for 45 minutes. Philippe said in the movie Man on Wire, he had "a dream not of conquering the universe, but as a poet conquering beautiful stages."
For both the Man on Wire and Hand on the Hard body, the question of why comes up. Why did Philippe walk on that wire 450 meters above the streets of New York? Why did the individuals stay there for 78 hours with their hands on that truck? Sometimes there is no reason. It is about being in the moment and taking in what is truly around you. In Hand on the Hard Body, there is a comment about being aware of the people around you that otherwise you would never have been aware or understand a person so well without being around them in that close of an environment.
The movie was great about showing the progress of following your dreams even if they are not available to be attained at the time. Even through all of the things that went wrong, it still managed to happen. The people who saw were in awe and it gave them a great show that none of them would forget. Herzog talks about the act of creating a prefix and back story. They did a good job of this interviewing the people who helped Philippe attain his dream. When they all spoke of him they broke down with happiness and amazement remember this great memory. It inspired me to go out and accomplish something amazing for no reason at all, but just for the sake of doing it.
I was astounded by this documentary. I had no idea that this would be such a romantic experience for each individual.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of "The Walk" - it's a new movie about Philippe's journey. It looks great.
I am excited to watch this documentary and potentially "The Walk" as well. I have always been impressed with people who have the bravado to hunt down their ambitions. Stories like Philippe's are highly motivational and encourage others to challenge the limits they have accepted for themselves. I love this section of the class, because documentaries so beautifully reveal human truths in the midst of stories of human conflict.
ReplyDelete"it is about being in the moment and taking in what is truly around you," that alone can be the single most important reason for this positively bizarre events. Sometimes, we tend to do the most exotic things, because there is hidden beauty in it, and only through the experience can we truly understand it. When you're in that moment, nothing else matters, nothing except achieving what you have set yourself to do, and finding all the hidden meanings of life in the process. Perhaps Philippe then understood many things about life, how being at the top of the world didn't necessarily make you a king, instead it humbled him in a way no other person had been before. He was able to see how small we really are and how big and broad life itself can be.
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