Every Man for Himself and God Against All

If The Sopranos follows any number of its characters to an early grave thanks to self-deception, miscalculation, and bad ideas, Fat Dom's recent quick demise reinforces the most powerful idea of all -- be careful what you say and how you say it. Always with the mouth. How many characters have gone down in a jiffy just because they mouthed off to the wrong people in the wrong place? We operate in the world with multiple personas, crafting our phrasing to suit the needs of different people, not swearing in front of young students, for example, and shifting our diction and inflection as we feel necessary. Our audiences come to expect this, so any sudden shift into unfamiliar territory tends to alarm them. We have to be aware most of the time. Attention must be paid. My friend Evan Farris and I used to amuse ourselves thinking about how people might respond if we suddenly said utterly crazy things -- our social network could instantly evaporate with one powerfully deranged (or brutally honest) statement. It's good to remember: all that seems solid can melt into air. And words, words, words mean something.

How many people know the story of Kaspar Hauser (1812-1833)? The poor guy was found wandering in Nuremberg at the age of seventeen, hardly able to utter any words at all. Up to that day, he'd been apparently kept in a locked area with three toys and fed bread and water. He had not even realized that other people existed. Can you imagine?

In 1974, Werner Herzog (the awesome, often disturbing German filmmaker who most recently brought us the bear film that I still haven't seen because I'm not sure how thrilled I am about seeing or hearing a guy get eaten by his bear friends in the sticks, especially since it's real) came out with his version of the Kaspar Hauser story. As with all Herzog films, nothing is easy about it, starting with multiple movie titles. The best English title (which is how I saw it at Temple University's Cinemateque in Center City Philadelphia in the early 90s) is Every Man for Himself and God Against All. These days, it's available in DVD format with the more palatable title, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. The film is another of Herzog's many works of genius -- he is clearly a most stubborn visionary who marches to his own drum. The character of Kaspar, played aptly by Bruno S. (who in real life is also a bit touched), finds some solace in music, but despite the well-meaning efforts of some to "civilize" him, he ends up dead by the age of twenty-one.

Much more to come about Herzog, I suspect, but for now, here's a link to his budding website:
www.wernerherzog.com

Given that his short documentaries are every bit as fascinating as his feature-length films, I'm delighted to see that he's releasing a new box set of them on DVD.

As for Kaspar Hauser and similar unfortunates, here's another most informative site:
www.FeralChildren.com

Its creator cautions readers that "it isn't much fun to be a feral child, wolf boy or wild girl." And I'm sure he's right.

Tchuss! The Bird is the Word. Ewige Blumenkraft und ewige Schlangenkraft!