Behind the curtain

For the first time in a long time I re-watched Singin' in the Rain and realized a common theme behind it, and my sleep eating. Both portray a monster in front of the curtain. In Singin in the Rain it's Lina Lamont, silent film's biggest starlet who's facing an imminent wake up call- talking pictures are invading and Lamont's shrill Jersey accent negates her regal screen persona. As a temporary fix for Lamont's (most) repelling attribute the film studio hires Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynold's) to dub all of Lamont's audio work. In the film's finest scene Lamont lip synchs to a packed house as Selden sings the film's namesake, hiding behind the curtain Lena is in front of. The irony of course being that even though Lena is in plain view, the curtain serves to hide her more so than it does Kathy.

In Singin' in the Rain's scope, the curtain serves to hide a bitter truth or remedy to the false. But what's interesting is that the remedy is actually more appealing than what's presented in front of the curtain. (Is this why My Fair Lady sucks and why I've always assumed The Matrix sucks?) Most obviously, Debbie Reynolds' Kathy Selden (cute) is the vocal stand in for Jean Hagan's Lina Lamont (thick). But we also see this in the film's positive portrayal of talkies (to the extent of it's presentation being a hyper-talkie- a musical). And then there's the great, abandon sound stage scene in which Gene Kelly's activates every gimmick a sound stage has to offer (fog, mood lighting, backdrops), just to tell Kathy how much he likes her.

A classic line dissecting the appeal of Hollywood is how "the extraordinary impersonate the ordinary" but films like Singin' in the Rain throw that dichotomy for a loop by doubling it; and when the fog threatens to clear around the façade, it reveals an even more savory Real. Gene Kelly is extraordinary impersonating the extraordinary (Don Lockwood). Musicals work best under this kind of doubling because the act of singing and dancing relies on an extraordinary skill. Les Girls, a Cukor directed Gene Kelly movie, relies on the same strategy- a performer is simply performing.

How all of this correlates to sleep-eating, specifically my sleep eating, is simple. I hate the act of falling asleep and attempt to fend it off nightly. This is not to be me mistaken with insomnia; I've always been envious of those who suffer from insomnia. It's not that I can't sleep, it's that I don't want to.

Maybe I should have brought up earlier in this forum (YHTALMM) my fear of death and loathing of sleep. I try to stay awake as long as possible to maximize my living, or wake-time. I fall asleep with a light purposefully left on in the hopes I'll re-awake in the night and start to read or write. I've only succeeded a handful of times but I still believe in my method and and patiently awaiting the day I wake up and read Light in August or write the first draft to a screenplay. Two nights ago this backfired- I left the Cary Grant movie Only Angels Have Wings playing and woke up thinking "If Cary Grant's dead, I'm going to die too." Most nights, however, I just fall asleep peaceful and disgusted with myself.

We never cryogenically freeze anyone good!

More often than the intended purpose, the light left on stirs me (I'm guessing) with the urge to eat. Sleep-eating, however, has provided me with the one topic of prose and a keen conversation starter at my new job (blog about my new job is on its way). What's behind the curtain of my embarrassing habit of slumber- ACTIVITY! Beautiful.

In Zizek's Parallax View he discusses a similar inquiry. As an audience we can see Lina's audience's perception of her and Kathy's persevering sweetness and talent. Or, we can oscillate between the two women (or the one woman and the acknowledgment of the other woman's existence) because of quick-cuts showing us what's in front of and behind the literal curtain.

Ah! Something wild!

As a sidenote, I'm thinking of creating another blog page called "Gave Birth to Monsters" centered on really hot/cute celebrities whose offspring are repugnant beasts like Debbie Reynolds (Carrie Fisher), Janet Leigh (Jamie Leigh Curtis), Tippi Hendren (Melanie Griffith).