Stepping Stones and Entitlement

It is part of the job of commentators, bloggers, columnists, etc. to look for deeper meanings in everyday events and controversies. Sometimes we stretch things a bit and find depth in a situation where none exists. Sometimes the faithful reader has to be the judge of whether or not we are on target.

Consider the story on the very periphery of the legitimate news, actress Megan Fox's blowup at Transformers director Michael Bay. The 23 year old actress claimed that she did not want to dump feces (she, of course, used a more vulgar word) on her own movie, but went on to say how the emphasis was on special effects rather than acting.

Well, duh. You are in a movie based upon a cartoon originally conceived to market a line of Japanese made toys, not Richard III. I was impressed that the first one had any depth at all.

This is a director known for smash 'em up, big budget, big audience blockbusters. He introduced Nicholas Cage, Ben Affleck (for better or worse) and others to mainstream audiences. You want depth, there are plenty of graduate school film students out there looking to give you a big break. Might not pay as much as a Bay film, though.

The deeper issue is this belief by many young folks that they are entitled to what they want, when they want it. Many young people, even in their early 20s, just do not have a proper perspective to make mature judgments. Bay has made a gazillion dollars over the last decade and a half making a certain brand of movie. At the end of the day, it's less about art and more about capitalism. Expecting him to make something different so one actress can explore her artsy side is ridiculous. Nicholas Cage makes some movies for art and others for a pay day. Stephen King writes in the same way. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was art, much of the rest of his writing is for cash and fun.

Megan, it's called a stepping stone and almost all of us do it. We take a job to help develop ourselves even though it means not getting all we want. You build a resume and strike out afterwards for more ambitious roles. Young people naturally think that youth and energy entitles them to anything. They should be taught that paying your dues and working hard is the way to get what you want.