Chauncey Gardiner Not Enough to Save This Economy
Feb 5th, 2009 by MPC Press
If you’ve never seen Being There, rent it now; fans of the film may be in disbelief that it has been 30 years since it hit theaters. And, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1980 and was one of Peter Sellers’ last films. Why am I bringing up a 30-year old film today, besides the fact that it is celebrating three decades of existence? Well, my reasoning is simple, just like the reasoning of Chauncey Gardiner. Sellers’ character, “Chance the gardner”, becomes Chauncey Gardiner when his name is misunderstood by a wealthy couple who invite him into their home after their car hits him. Chance had previously lived in his own extremely sheltered world, tending to a garden and watching a lot of t.v., which were the only sources of his education. Wonderfully simple and serious but amusing chatter is uttered by Chauncey, with most of it gardening jargon. Still, his host, Ben Rand (the wealthy businessman) actually believes that Chauncey’s comments are coming from a well educated man, and he interprets these views as important relating to business and politics. Chauncey is introduced to Rand’s friend, the president of the United States. A slew of simplistic quotations follow and they remind me of Rhyme the pig’s platform, particularly Rhyme’s slogan: “Dirt Doesn’t Hurt“. When the president asks if the country “can stimulate growth through temporary incentives”, Chauncey replies that, “As long as the roots are not severed, all is well, and all will be well in the garden…In the garden, growth has its seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter, and then we get spring and summer again.” The president applauds Chauncey’s comments by stating that, “I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we’re upset by the seasons of our economy.” The president and later the country take a strong liking to Chauncey’s fresh and simple “intellect”. I’m not really sure where I’m going with this but I loved the movie. And Rhyme is just a pig, yet he also has fresh and simple intellect. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if fresh and simple intellect is enough to solve our country’s current financial mess. We’ll see what happens with the banks next week. Until then, rent Being There, and pick up a copy of Rhyme.
