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Hair - 1979
by Milos Forman
In its seemingly ordinary structure,
it unfolds from a place,
and not actually from individuals.
For the 'Central Park' of that time, was a boiling pot
of mixed cultures and
of recreational endeavors.
Where both, rich and poor found some sort of refuge.
Its opening scene is a delight, as true [and fogy]
as perhaps our own private memories are.
A father and a Son, two conflicting
generations interacting at
its best. The fraternal love is so well explicit and moving
that it makes us - the spectator - feel gratitute for the 50 bucks given,
such was the tie of our complicity
in such a short time frame.
When the country boy (Claude hooper Bokowski)
gets down to New York City, he appears
cut out of context, as if coming from another planet.
There amid the hippies in the park
and the good looking [and rich] ladies on horses
- to whom he unceremoniously offered a marveled gaze -,
he, the self conscious misfit,
reveals himself to be an extension of ourselves;
an spectator inside the picture
the normal, regular kid in his first day of classes.
In spite of being a musical,
Hair, is sharper
than any documentary on the matter.
Its commitment with the facts [the Vietnam war/ the hippie lifestyle/.../] are as reliable as
any non fictional source can be;
meaning that this work
thou clearly fictitious and (due to its musical language)
much similar to a dream, transmits that which
'dates and names can´t describe'
aspect of history;
for it, in reality, translates the heartache
of a generation, and that by being as faithful to the given atmosphere as the facts themselves, in their own sphere.
Its a trajectory much like a river flow, mysterious and unexpected,
from the shyness of the country to the confluences of the cities.
For, after all, the country boy
only wanted to enjoy his youth before
having to die for a war
he never fully understood,
as (in a peculiar and curious way) did our little 'hippie crew'.
The mesmerizing element of the story is
George Berger (Treat Williams)
he is so inspiring, so clever,
so self conscious,
never fainting in his beliefs,
a minister of the Carpe Diem lifestyle. so to say;
never worrying, never shrinking,
never lowering his principles.
In fact his attitude was one
of complete independence,
which proved to be quite a paradox,
since he at times realizes
his symbiotic dependence
towards his parents, towards the state, and ultimately
towards the very context and time. His actions have always
being altered or limited by the established
'rolling river' of society , regardless of his poetical denials.
In the end of the day, Liberty and Freedom are here
the undercover themes, its real agenda.
For while the hippies were preaching against the system,
against the mass murder of innocent youthful lives
in Vietnam [for both sides] "Hair" documents
the unavoidable destiny of such
understandings [perspective] in our world,
and it is cruel and extremely blunt
when somewhat infers:
"-Hey bro! nice songs and outfits, but
you´re screwed anyways. It ain´t gonna change a degree in its course, and it´s
going to swallow you whole..." - Bam!
This shocking alert is the concluding
plot of the picture, but absolutely not from
a paranoiac stand point,
it is far stronger than that. For It displays
the fact from an ''Alien'' perspective,
almost as if an extraterrestrial entity
where looking down on us at that time
and being marveled by such purity
and potential being wasted by this heartless engine (in the sense of it not possessing human virtues) that controls things
in our society [no conspiracy nor chaos theory intended here.
it´s simply stating the system as a self-fueling device].
In "Hair" the individuals [the characters] are
dissonant from the collective, and Music (Art/Free Expression/love) is
the only tool that can overpower
the control of such engine, even if solely in an individual level.
The inference here is that we´ve been doctrinated to accept
generic [3rd party] instructions on how to live and die
simply for not having
a boom box playing
loud enough to overpower
its sayings.
Thus the hair and the Youth;
As in a roar of individual self affirmation,
knowing it may be the only form
of [self] expression in a world
of outrageous prejudice and
violently arrayed plots.
Innocence such that invites
and hosts melancholic feelings
in its viewer, from an imposed
cinematic almost extraterrestrial look
upon the grandness
of what was being wasted off - youth and its innocence amid the international colorless agenda -
coupled with
the presage of a new and less believing
generation to follow.
The sad narrative of Samson - the biblical account of
a fighter whose cutting of his hair meant his defeat - is here, twice as tragic.
by T Augusto Pereira
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