At face value--on the level of the content--the Man of LaMancha
is a subtle call to unfaith. Only it is issued from 'another worldly
stance which makes it even more enticing and dangerous--especially
for this body. It calls men to live out of the fact that they
create reality, but rejects the "nevertheless" that
reality is also given. This "other world'' cannot stand in
the midst of this world, but must reject it. Don Quixote comes
out and announces himself in effect as "I am I, the master
of imagination, wherever I am, I make it what I want, Oh what
glory this is." He wants adventure; presto--the next thing
a windmillbecomes the challenge. He wants a castle; prestothe
next buildingan innbecomes one. What is Dulcinea?
She is his ideal of the way life ought to be. His whole life is
dedicated to serving this 'noble' piece of life and ignoring the
other parts of life. And the quest, the impossible dream? It matters
not the context, nor the comprehensiveness, not the relevance
of that quest, it matters only to dedicate oneself fully and passionately...that
is the epitome of humanness. Hitler himself could have written
that song. He poured himself without question or cause, in the
face of the world forces against him into the dream of the pure
race', the Fatherland. The denial of this world is most clearly
revealed in the confrontation with the knight with the mirrors.
Don Quixote's 'either/or' stance breaks him; he cannot say the
''nevertheless'' word, so he acknowledges reality as given by
deciding to die. In the last moments of his lifeat the words
of encouragement of his friendshe reverses himself and pronounces
the chasing of ghosts as the glory of his life. Following any
impossible dream no matter what it is for the sake of dedicating
oneself to a reduced ideal part of light is the last thing in
the world that genuine humanness is about.
Yet when looked at symbolically, the Man of LaMancha portrays
the experience of the man of faith. This man lives out of the
giveness of reality that is 'nevertheless' always created. This
other world is in the midst of this world. He announces to the
world that "I am I, the man of sorrow; the one for whom everything
becomes my destiny and I live the glory of laying down my life
for all. He takes the tangential indirect line of attack on the
depth problems. For a thisworld man, our whistle points,
especially the myth, seem the actions of a crazy man. He figuratively
sees a scrawny, illequipped man of bygone ages attacking
a windmill! The man of faith sees through the refusal of life
to the depth affirmation of life. He knows an inn to also be a
castle, for he knows a deep secret. He knows that no matter how
much man may try to refuse life or put it on his own terms, the
mysterious power always claims victory--that all things finally
serve and glorify the Lord. Hence, he can see the virtue in the
whore and call upon that in his relationship to her. His Dulcinea
is the Lord of all creation, which he perceives in every creature.
The impossible dream of the man of faith is the carrying the burden
of responsibility for all of creation, for history itself. He
knows that only in submission to the fate of creation and in giving
his life for it, can he save the world. He knows that to be authentically
human is to live in self-conscious service and love of God. Yet
the man of faith is no ideal. He is real flesh and blood, and
often takes the wrong direction in serving the Lord. And in such
circumstances, the Lord is not subtle. Everything becomes a mirror
to reflect the error; and the man of faith is crushed by the revelation
and weeps with pain. He is faced with a life and death decision:
do I right myself or follow my path that I've set? And he does
both, for the path he has set in the broadest context is serving
God by caring for the world, and this enables him to change directions.
The life of such a man transforms the world and brings forth authentic
humanness.
Kathryn Convey
Symbolic Centrum Fall Quarter, 1972 Movie Conversation December 30, 1972 | |
1. What scenes struck you? 2. What lines do you recall? 3. What major characters do you remember? Minor characters?
4. What music and songs do you remember? | |
| 1. What scenes did you like? Dislike? 2. What troubled you about the movie? 3. What intrigued you?
4. What was the mood of the group? |
| 1. What was this movie about? 2. What did Cervantes see as the indicative? (as reality, the given) 3. What Don Quixote see as the indicative? 4. How did each of these operate relative to the indicative?
5. What happened in people's lives? |
| 1. Where did you see universal benevolence? Integrity? Fulfillment? 2. How did this occasion a shift in your consciousness? 3. What souvenirs will you take away from this movie?
4. What might be the use of the movie? |