There’s a lot going on out in the world today. 2020 has proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it’s an absolute shit show.
People are losing their homes, their jobs, their very sense of security as wealth inequality, disease, social injustice, and corruption within politics – literally all of the things happen all at once all around us this year.
I try not to talk about any of those things, that isn’t the point of this post anyhow… what is the point?
Sometimes, during major periods of unrest like now, something else tragic, or even something uplifting happens and the whole world stops for you.
All of the noise, all of the arguing, the screaming, the fighting, the gnashing of teeth and wailing just stops and you’re simply trapped in the echoing silence and all you hear is the sound of your own breath in your ears as you draw it in and hold it and just breathe for a second before the next wave of emotion hits.
Tonight’s bit of news that was like that for me was the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Most people know him as the Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but he was much more than that actor that played a superhero that one time…
If you look at the rest of his catalog of work, you can see – yes, he took several different roles for the money to feed his family etc. but he also took them so that he could play roles of importance. Roles he was passionate about. From bringing that superhero to life for millions of children, that who, to date, didn’t have a superhero that looked like them; to bringing forth stories from history that hadn’t otherwise been told by way of stirring drama.
Stories like 42 and Get On Up.
He was an extraordinary man and he was also extraordinarily young at only 43 years old.
The world lost a great today, and I sometimes wonder – will I be remembered like him? I certainly hope so. I hope that my body of work leaves a positive impression in my wake and leaves me remembered fondly.
I hope, that I too will be remembered as a force of good and I really hope that his example inspires others to do the same.
In that way, he becomes legend more than just the roles he played.
My heart goes out to his wife and family during this difficult time… there are several movies that I haven’t watched by the man and I think I am going to settle in with a glass of wine and watch one and remember not the actor but the principles he so valiantly and successfully tried to express through the roles that he chose to act out.
We lost a great man with an amazing ability to bring stories to light and to life tonight.
Rest in Peace and in Power Mr. Boseman. You will be missed. Thank you for your inspiration.