In Memoriam
A few days ago, the world lost a brilliant and creative mind. There isn't much to say about David Bowie that hasn't been said already (and probably better). The first time I remember David Bowie being a thing was when I first saw The Labyrinth as a kid. The character of Jareth the Goblin King was fascinating and terrifying. He made the character into a real person and made us feel for him even though he was probably a sociopath. And the soundtrack to that movie is still one of my favorites of all time. All anyone has to do is walk up to me and say "You remind me of the babe," and I go into full Bowie mode.
His music has been an inspiration to musical artists the world over and will continue to be for generations to come. He has been called avant-garde, outlandish, Bohemian, and even vulgar. But these are all just synonyms for creative, unique, daring, audacious, futuristic, need I go on? His sound is so distinct and recognizable! It has heart and emotion while still being fun and dance-able. Anyone who doesn't get up and groove when "Let's Dance" or "Golden Years" comes on is dead inside. He collaborated with all the greats. Or should I say, they collaborated with him? Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Bing Crosby, even Trent Reznor! And that's just scratching the surface. He was behind some incredible songs that have gone down in musical history. And he's been immortalized in the film industry, too. His music has found its way into hundreds of films including, Moulin Rouge!, The Life Aquatic, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more recently, The Martian.
As the nerds that we are, we owe a lot to this courageous man. He lived the way he wanted to live without any regard for what the world thought of him. He made being weird cool and we all have benefited from his mere existence.
And then, just today, we have lost another nerd icon, Alan Rickman.
Perhaps known best in our society as the man who brought to life the conflicted character of Severus Snape, Alan Rickman was a well rounded actor. He performed on stage and screen in many different facets. His first major role was in one of the best Christmas movies of all time. That's right, Die Hard. OK, so his German accent was a bit spotty, but man was he able to make the audience hate him! He really knew how to play the villain. He was the badguy in Robin Hood: Prince of Theives as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Sweeney Todd as Judge Turpin, and I would even consider his character in Love Actually to be a villain. But this wasn't his only medium. He has been in several nerdy cult classics like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dogma, Galaxy Quest, and Alice in Wonderland. (I don't really consider that last one a "classic" but he was in it).
And then there's Snape. I can't think of another actor in the world who could portray that character with as much emotion and tragedy as did Alan Rickman. I remember when I saw the first Potter movie for the first time. When we first see Snape in the Great Hall, I remember thinking "Yep. That's him!" He was perfect. Everything from his beak of a nose to the drone of his voice were nearly exactly what I pictured him to be. And after that, there was no going back. Even as I read the last books, the part of Snape was played by Rickman in my imagination. He was able to show Snape's full range of emotion and he made it look so effortless! That character is a rollercoaster and Rickman made it believable.
On top of his laudable acting carreer, it has been said that he was a charming and joyful person to have on a set. Directors and actors alike have gone on record to say how genuinely personable he was.
Here again, he has been ingrained into the nerd subculture. He will forever be a part of our society. And he will be sorely missed.
Here's to the rest of 2016. Let it not be so filled with loss as this first two weeks! I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it.
Bowie 1947-2016 Rickman 1946-2016
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