Monday, February 25, 2008

O Brother, There Art Thou

I did not watch much of the Academy Awards telecast. In years past, there were times when I was most excited to see the awards show, cheer on my favorite movies and actors, comment on the dresses, & perhaps, be moved by that one perfect acceptance speech-- the kind that was truly sincere & heartfelt where the actor tended to thank his/her mother and/or high school English teacher. This year I just wasn't feeling it. Between questions of the telecast going on at all due to the writers' strike and the fact that I saw so few of the nominated films (only Juno & Atonement), I was not particularly drawn to watching the show although I have great affection for Jon Stewart's humor & hoped that some of his good jokes made their way to YouTube the next day.

I did end up catching a bit of the show late in the telecast. Watching the Coen brothers win one of their multiple Oscars, I suddenly had a moment. I don't know much about Ethan & Joel Coen. I've seen a few of their movies over the years, understand why P is particular to Raising Arizona, enjoy the O Brother.. soundtrack, & know that one is married to Frances McDormand, which makes me think he is cool because it is clear that she is exceptionally cool. When I saw the writer-director duo get up & walk to the stage together, I thought, "Wow~ they're brothers."

Now this epiphany certainly is not earth-shattering given that they often are referred to as the Coen brothers, but seeing them up on stage together made me think how unique & wonderful it is that these siblings are a team. They work together & they are really good at it. Sure, I know nothing of their dynamic, but I have to believe that they like one another, at least enough to keep at it.

It made me flash-forward to thinking of my boys as grown men. Will they like each other enough that they could work together? Would they even want to? It's not that I aspire for them to become film directors (although I may have once had dreams of making socially-conscious, relevant & inspiring documentaries). I certainly don't wish great fame & fortune upon them --think creepy Olsen twins. I just had a flash of what it might feel like to be the Coens' parents & how proud they might feel to see that their sons are good at their work, but even more-- they are good at it while working with one another.

I want my sons to be individuals. P & I purposely chose names for all three of our guys that were distinct & certainly didn't want anything alliterative or rhyming for the twins. We dress them differently & try to be attuned to their individual needs & wants. As they grow older & get in to school & out-of-school activities, we are most open to them pursuing their own interests & will support them doing 'their own thing.' However, I did get a warm, gooey feeling this weekend when C came out of his bedroom after lights out looking for his brother who was hanging for a bit in our bed. "Where's S? I can't sleep without S in the room with me."

Yes, I want the boys to be individually strong & independent. However, I do hope when they grow up, they like each other. And when they see each other daily or monthly, or maybe even just annually, they all feel with a degree of excitement/ happiness: "Oh, my brother, there art thou!" (OK, maybe not in those words).

2 comments:

Andrea said...

I just want mine to live to adulthood. Just kidding--it really is amazing with twins how they are so constantly alert/aware of each other's presence/absence and how they may go from throttling each other one minute (but yours don't do that, do they?) to taking care of each other the next. It will be interesting to see how it plays out as they grow up, and where the third brother will fit in to all of it.

Anonymous said...

Oh, there is nothing more you could hope for your children, is there?