[Ansteorra] Why aren't we doing this?

[Hugh & Belinda Niewoehner]

Your Excellency's post reminded me of a movie I watched a couple of 
weeks ago--I can't recall the name, but it starred Christopher Reeves.  
It was about  a man who was in love with the picture of a woman from the 
past.  He manages to travel back in time by dressing in the period and 
removing all modern obstacles from his room and then using a kind of 
self hypnosis (Yeah, I know, but there was nothing else to watch at the 
time).  Anyway everything is going great back in the past until he 
accidentally pulls out a penny from his pocket that has a date from the 
1970's and he is instantly yanked back to modern day.   I will admit 
that I have had a similar experience when scanning the room and seeing a 
very 'period' scene and then running across a plastic cooler.  But in 
all fairness, I, too, have been guilty of forgetting my mug and using a 
coke can in a medieval setting.  It is almost impossible to always have 
that 'atmosphere', but that should not make us want to strive for it.  
I, also, understand the desire of photographers to want to capture those 
moments.  As Robin points out we are each trying in our own ways, but 
not necessarily all at the same time.  Perhaps the fact that these 
'magical moments' when it all works are rare, should just make us 
appreciate them all the more.

Ismet

On 11/4/2010 6:30 AM, Jay Rudin wrote:
> There are moments when it can become real --
> a late-night bardic circle,
> a moving speech by the King,
> watching a tourney,
> a moving ceremony.
>
> All such moments can be broken with the intrusion of something modern.  The bardic circle stops being real when somebody performs the Beatles.
>
> The speech stops being real if the King mentions his computer.
>
> The tourney stops being real when we start talking about the latest movie.
>
> And the ceremony stops being real when the flash goes off.
>
> In all cases, the medieval world we are creating breaks down, and we are suddenly thrown back into the 21st century.  It's like saying "It's only a model," when the knights approach Camelot.  Suddenly the great shining castle on the hill ceases to be a beacon of chivalry and honor.  On second thought, let's not go to Camelot -- it is a silly place."
>
> Of course, this only matters to those people who were caught up in the dream at that moment.  If the bardic circle is just late night fun entertainment, why not do a fun modern song?
>
> If the speech is just a spirit rally, why not mention the modern items?
>
> If the tourney is just hitting people with sticks, the movie isn't a problem.
>
> And if the ceremony is just a congratulations for working hard, then the flash pictures are great souvenirs.
>
> Everybody has times when they are just playing, and most of us have times when it's real.  As Count Jan once said, "You can play the dream, or you can play the club, or you can play the joke.  And we all do all three.  The real arguments aren't between the people who always play the dream and people who always play the joke, but between people playing the dream right now vs. people playing the club right now (or dream / joke or club / joke).
>
> The people taking pictures are playing the club right now.  The people caught up in the ceremony are playing the dream right now.  They will not agree about the best thing to do, because they aren't playing the same game.
>
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
>
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