Comedy or Tragedy?
February 27, 2007
"This may sound like jibberish to you, but I think I'm in a tragedy." -Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), Stranger Than Fiction
If you were to survey the events of your life for one week or month, would you come to realize that you are living a comedy or a tragedy?
That question stems from a movie which remarkably starred Will Ferrell entitled Stranger Than Fiction. There aren't any keggers or tanks, trivia questions or even cowbells! He played a too normal IRS agent whose life has become a work of fiction as fantastically narrated by Emma Thompson. The film features sincere yet witty dialog between Harold Crick (Ferrell) and his tattooed, edgy love interest, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), that is coincidentally juxtaposed with the next written masterpiece of author Kay Eiffel (Thompson). Eiffel is supposed to be a famed novelist who has been prolonging the completion on her latest tale about IRS agent Crick for years while waiting for the perfect moment of inspiration for its ending.
Not only did the writers of this movie produce a film with an interesting plot and better-than-average acting by the cast, but it also begs to ask the question of whether one's life is or is perceived to be a work of comedy or tragedy as asked by Professor Jules Hilbert's character (Dustin Hoffman) as he and Crick were trying to narrow the list of authors by way of writing styles.
Here's my quick retrospective survey for comedic happenings today:
- Brother's visiting cat defecated on the carpet
- Sending the instant message, "did u watch heroes?" in all its capitalization and spelling error glory to a company vendor instead of a friend
- Subsequently signing offline immediately afterward in a state of panic
- Listening to the radio using earphones in the storeroom—a horror movie trailer had me partially creeped out when I turned around and saw my coworker standing there with an awkward smile. I screamed, then I had to explain why I was so frightened.
- His English is marginal so I'm not sure if he understood all of what I said.
- A billion birds defecated on my car after I thought I was crafty enough to park under a tree
Tragic moments:
- Mother had minor cosmetic hand surgery
- Recently replaced vehicle brakes are squeaking and grinding. Parts and service should still be under warranty, but I must take at least a half-day off from work to have it serviced. Weak.
- Being underpaid
- Being in debt
- Having to commute for one hour in an avian feces encrusted vehicle
I wish I could say my life is a comedy since I do love a good episode of 30 Rock, but it's just too early to tell. Many of those bullet points could fit into both categories depending on one's sense of humor. I'll update you as my life unfolds into someone else's masterpiece.
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