The Great Acting Blog: “The Power Of Idealism”
Idealism is an extraordinarily powerful thing. It can inspire us to undertake great works, overcome enormous obstacles, and provide our lives with meaning and direction and energy – we all know the feeling when we do something which we truly believe in. And when I talk about idealism, I’m not talking about the phony political kind which is so prevalent these days, you know the sort, trendies who go round spouting off generalised “ideology”, and claim the moral high-ground for doing so, harassing those of us who don’t share their “beliefs”. The equivalent in cinema, would be filmmakers who go around shouting things like; “support independent film”, or, “support British filmmaking”, propounding an apparently idealistic call to arms, when the true object is to get us to part with our cash. These SOS filmmakers forget that cinema is art and entertainment, and each film should be judged as such, allowances should not be made for brownie points accrued via do-goodery.
The idealism I’m talking about is inexplicable. It bursts forth from within, as a torrent, and creates belief, belief in a sudden, envisaged action. We know that the action is correct, that it should be acted upon immediately, and that should we see that action through, then something truly remarkable might be achieved. So, we begin a journey fuelled by idealism. Our new found exuberance sees us through the early challenges, the early obstacles, but somewhere along the line, our fire begins to dampen, the resistance to our efforts seems to grow ever stronger, we begin to question our earlier certainties. If this resistance continues for long enough, our original idealistic fuel might become spent, our idealism lost. This is the point when most quit their journey, they stop believing anymore that what they want to do is good, they no longer think they are making a positive contribution, and draw the conclusion that the world does not want what they have to offer. Afterall, what other conclusion can they draw, after being met with so much resistance? In acting terms, this is the actor who cannot get work, or cannot get the work he wants, and so quits, becoming a cynic who sneers at those who remain steadfast, or, they submit to being treated like a piece of meat.
So, how can we prevent a loss of idealism in the face of adversity? Well, firstly we can store, in our minds, an image of our exuberance when we decided to set out on our journey, as this will help to reinvigorate, and keep the present moment in perspective. Alongside the image, we may remind ourselves of the thinking which lead us to start our journey. Further, we must develop the strength of mind to not be drawn in to another person’s way of thinking, as this will drag us away from our own ideas (and usually toward something safely mediocre), and our goal will be lost. From another angle, perhaps we simply need to refine and improve our offering, and so must look upon what we are doing with honesty. Poor preparation can lead to loss of idealism too, because it usually means we are ill-equipped to deal with the difficulties which can arise in any undertaking, we get too wrapped up in the moment. And finally, sometimes we are met with resistance because we are presenting to the wrong people, people who are never going to be interested in what we are doing, and so we must adjust accordingly.
In the end, idealism gives us something to refer to in the face of adversity, without it, we might quit or become a piece of meat. Idealism is the elixir for remarkable accomplishments.
