Me

This is the title of her autobiography.

As she says:

What are you saying?  Who am I?
Well I’m me — I’m what is called the power behind the throne. I’m your — your character. Isn’t that what they call it?

Yes, Kate.  That’s what we call it.  Character.  You were certainly an interesting Character.

Character:  a configuration of habits.

Oh, but Kate, we have another word that you never knew much about.  The word is Temperament.

Temperament + Character = Personality

What you didn’t know was your Temperament.  But I doubt if you would care.  You had an interesting and full life anyway.  However, you might have understood yourself and others a little more.

Continue reading Me

Superlative Quaternity

Yes, Quaternity is in fact a word.  It’s like a fraternity, but with only four members.  Congratulations to Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants on being Super Bowl Champions.  Along with ‘the big game’ came a plethora of ridiculously expensive commercials, one of which was a fresh new trailer for Marvel’s blockbuster superhero ensemble franchise The Avengers.  The four main characters of Marvel’s the Avengers happen to closely correlate with the four basic personality types.  What a strange coincidence.  Let’s go right on ahead then and take a look at Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Captain America is the stalwart, stoic, and commanding ‘first avenger’ who defends justice with his iconic and indestructible shield.  The Sentential of Liberty is characterized by his tough-minded demeanor, his unyielding physicality, and his disciplined mindset.  Dutiful, authoritative, and highly dependable with a strict code of ethics Captain America is a classic Guardian.  A born leader, Captain America ‘lead’s by example’ and is the back-bone of the Avengers, much like Guardians are the back-bone of society.

The Hulk is a wild, ferocious, raging humanoid monster that comes out when Bruce Banner gets excited.  The not-so-jolly green giant was inspired by the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and is characterized by his instinctual nature, his overpowering physicality, and his fearless disposition.  Impulsive, audacious, excitable, and highly physical The Hulk is representative of an Artisan.  Indeed The Hulk is often called in for serious jobs that require a creative solution, much like Artisans are in many organizations.

Iron Man is an intelligent, inventive, and ingenious engineer who created a mechanical suit to save his life.  The Armored Avenger is characterized by his mechanical aptitude and inventive genius, being a billionaire industrialist Stark is constantly tinkering with and improving his mechanical suit.  Innovative, scientific, analytical and systematic Tony Stark makes for a wonderful example of a Rational.  Certainly Stark is the brains of the Avengers and uses his cold, analytical mind to keep him and his super-friends on the right track.

Thor Odinson is a mystical, altruistic, brave and mighty warrior from another world who fights primarily for his native realm of Asgard.  The God of Thunder is characterized by his noble demeanor, his humble yet high-spirited attitude, and his selfless acts of valor.  Diplomatic, enthusiastic, empathetic, and highly independent Thor makes for a great example of an Idealist.  Thor is the glue that holds the Avengers together, and is always sacrificing himself for the greater good.

Quote1.png I’m loyal to nothing…except the American DreamQuote2.png

— Steve Rogers  

Quote1.png My kingdom for a Radio Shack. Quote2.png

Anthony Stark

Quote1.png You won’t like me when I’m angry! Quote2.png

Bruce Banner

Quote1.png Even the life of a Thunder God can offer no greater satisfaction than this! For I have helped a fellow man! Quote2.png

Thor Odinson

Directive Diplomacy

Awards Season 2012 is rolling full force ahead as the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards kicked off this past sunday unbeknownst to many.  The SAG Awards are in fact a special occasion for actors and actresses however, as the awards are chosen by the actors themselves.  Big winners in the feature film department included The Help and The Artist, while TV’s big winners include Modern Family and Boardwalk Empire.  Mary Tyler Moore was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Bridesmaids trio (Melissa Mccarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolph) lightened the mood by inventing a SAG awards drinking game in which ‘you have to drink every time you hear the word Scorsese’.  Actor Steve Buscemi (after winning Best Actor in a Drama Series) capitalized on such a joke by mentioning the iconic filmmakers’ name in his acceptance speech, as Scorsese was an executive producer for Boardwalk Empire.  Although his film Hugo didn’t take home any SAG Awards, he and his film are very much in the Oscar race so let’s take a look at the man himself, legendary director Martin Scorsese.

Martin Charles Scorsese (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian.  Scorsese was raised in New York City by two devout Catholic Sicilian actors.  Martin had asthma, and as a result wasn’t able to play sports and engage in outdoor activities like many of the other children.  Marty found other interests however, as his passion for cinema developed at a very early age.  Enamored with the stories that the films of his time were telling, Scorsese went to NYU film school, and after graduating started making films of his own.  After becoming friends with the ‘movie brats’ of the 1970sFrancis Ford CoppolaBrian De PalmaGeorge Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, Marty was ready to make his mark on Hollywood.  He went on to make such films as Mean StreetsTaxi DriverRaging Bull, and Goodfellas– all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro.  He is a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema, and has won OscarsEmmysGolden GlobesBAFTAs, and DGA Awards.  Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemptionmachismo, modern crime and violence.  Scorsese is hailed as one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of all time, and is known for his uncanny ability to create a warm, positive, and encouraging environment on-set.  Indeed Marty values “harmonious relations” and “can handle people with charm and concern”.  Sweet-hearted, charismatic, highly nurturing, very expressive, and a natural leader of groups Martin Scorsese is undoubtedly a Teacher Idealist.  Certainly Marty is arguably the best director of his generation, and has an incredible ability to put himself in the shoes of the people he is making a movie about:

Teachers have a highly developed ability to empathize by introjection, that is, taking into themselves the characteristics, emotions, and beliefs of others—even to the point of unconsciously mimicking others.  But this unusual ability to relate to other with empathy can also pose a danger for them, because they can easily over-identify with others and pick up their burdens as if they were their own, actually putting at risk their own identity.

Please Understand Me II, p. 151

Quote1.png Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.Quote2.png

Martin Scorsese

That Relational Thing

What is life?

That was the question he posed to himself.

No, he wasn’t asking the simple, vague, ill-posed, question: what those fuzzy, sloppy thinking Philosophers often try to talk about in volumes of words.

He was, in his mind, asking a precise question.  A scientific question. For to answer this question, he had to ask the immediately deductible question: What is life, Not?  Both questions are difficult to answer — precisely.

But he wanted to answer, What is life?, precisely, and he did give an answer: in his last book before he died.

But, there were critics of his work, although the vast majority are ignorant of his work.

An unnamed critic remarked: “The trouble with you, Rosen, is you’re always trying to answer questions that nobody wants to ASK!

Continue reading That Relational Thing