An Actor’s Life For Me
Stick with me on this one :)
“An actor’s life for me”
That lovely little song in Disney’s Pinocchio
The story of a puppet becoming a real boy
A real boy?
An autonomous Individual
No longer a puppet to certain ideologies, believe systems, institutions etc
To think for yourself, have a healthy criticism of authority and to no longer be bound to the strings you were born into
Beautiful
After Geppetto “wishes upon a star” (aligns himself to a clear and honest goal & surrenders to the divine)
The Blue Fairy (representing fate, divinity, Mother Nature) descends
Pinocchio is granted a soul, a consciousness and the ability to begin thinking for himself
Yet, Pinocchio is still a puppet
He's still made of wood
Not bones, flesh and blood
The Blue Fairy outlines a condition before Pinocchio becomes a real boy
“Prove yourself brave, truthful and unselfish and someday you will be a real boy.”
Brave.
Truthful.
Unselfish.
Mmm
Night blossoms into day
And Pinocchio knows what he must do
Go to school
Apply himself
Contribute wonderful things to society
But
On the way to his first day of school
Pinocchio is enticed by a fox
This is where our song comes into play
The fox, Honest John (yeah, right) whispers deceitful things into Pinocchios ear
He tempts Pinocchio with the lure of fame
Despite Jiminy Cricket (representing Pinocchios conscience) pleading for Pinocchio to turn around and go back to school
Pinocchio follows Honest John along with the lure of a catchy song:
Hi-diddle-dee-dee
An actor's life for me
A high silk hat and a silver cane
A watch of gold with a diamond chain
Hi-diddle-dee-day
An actor's life is gay
It's great to be a celebrity
An actor's life for me
Hi-diddle-dee-dum
An actor's life is fun
An actor's life for me
Hi-diddle-dee-dee
An actor's life for me
A wax moustache and a beaver coat
A pony cart and a billy goat
Hi-diddle-dee-dum
An actor's life is fun
You wear your hair in a pompadour
You ride around in a coach and four
You stop and buy out a candy store
An actor's life for me
Hi-diddle-dee-dee
An actor's life for me
A high silk hat and a silver cane
A watch of gold and a diamond chain
Hi-diddle-dee-day
An actor's life is gay
It's great to be a celebrity
An actor's life for me
An actor’s life?
Huh?
Why is the life of an actor being used to steer Pinocchio away from a good and honest path?
Well
Time for some brutal honesty
Disney is using an actor’s life
To represent taking short cuts in this world
And the repercussions that come from chasing rewards over fulfilling work
Don’t work hard, just become an actor!
You will be rewarded, receive love & validation, for doing very little
Reward for little effort?
Mmm
That actually does sound yummy
Roughly speaking… some people see the instant success of celebrity & reality television and assume that the hard work and discipline involved in being a true artist is not a necessary factor
I assume, to some degree, we all know this
So what’s my point?
This song, to me, acts as a cautionary reminder
Bring it back to bliss
Remind yourself of the joy, love, play and freedom that came with getting involved with acting in the first place
Let go of the short cuts, hacks and pleasurable distractions
And… on top of this
Remind yourself of the responsibility to be Brave, Honest & Generous
I get it... Reward for little effort does sound delicious
But to me
What sounds even better than that
Is putting my head on the pillow
Feeling grateful and proud that I tried
Tried to align myself with a goal I believed to be clear and honest for me
And then convert that desire into brave, honest and generous behaviour
God…
I have some work to do :)
Hope this helps
X