How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that-for that-I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!"
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Grey, (1891), Oscar Wilde’s only novel, gives an account of a beautiful youth who keeps his good looks while his portrait changes to reflect its subject's every vice.
Artist, Basil Hallward, paints a portrait of a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. During the last session Dorian, who has until this point been completely innocent both of his beauty and of the world, meets Basil's friend Lord Henry Wotton, who has beliefs about a new Hedonism-the search for pleasure, not morality-which should take over the world. Wotten inspires him with a vision of life in which the pursuit of beauty through sensual pleasure is valued above ethical or moral concerns.
Dorian, upon seeing the completed portrait of himself, declares that he would give his own soul if he could remain eternally young. He gets his wish. He remains handsome and youthful but the portrait ages and changes.
Under the encouragement of Lord Wotten, Dorian finds a certain joy, over the next years, in committing sinful or pleasurable deeds and watching the painting change; he loses none of his beauty or youth.
But with each transgression, lie, or sin the painting becomes slightly more cruel-looking, older, and uglier. The picture shows the gradual disfigurement of his soul as he sinks into a life of degradation and crime.
Eventually the painting fills him with fear and he has it locked up in a room in his house.
When Dorian is thirty-eight, he runs into Basil, having not seen him for a long time, and finally shows him what has happened to his portrait. Basil is horrified and tries to make Dorian repent, but Dorian kills him, and has his body burned.
Dorian becomes increasingly anxious and fearful that someone might discover his secret. He decides that from this time on, he will be good; and to do this, he must get rid of the constant worry and fear he has been feeling-he must destroy the portrait. He stabs it, with the same knife he used to kill Basil, and when the servants enter they see the portrait as it was when it was new, and a horrible, old, ugly man lying dead on the floor.
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Grey, (1891), Oscar Wilde’s only novel, gives an account of a beautiful youth who keeps his good looks while his portrait changes to reflect its subject's every vice.
Artist, Basil Hallward, paints a portrait of a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. During the last session Dorian, who has until this point been completely innocent both of his beauty and of the world, meets Basil's friend Lord Henry Wotton, who has beliefs about a new Hedonism-the search for pleasure, not morality-which should take over the world. Wotten inspires him with a vision of life in which the pursuit of beauty through sensual pleasure is valued above ethical or moral concerns.
Dorian, upon seeing the completed portrait of himself, declares that he would give his own soul if he could remain eternally young. He gets his wish. He remains handsome and youthful but the portrait ages and changes.
Under the encouragement of Lord Wotten, Dorian finds a certain joy, over the next years, in committing sinful or pleasurable deeds and watching the painting change; he loses none of his beauty or youth.
But with each transgression, lie, or sin the painting becomes slightly more cruel-looking, older, and uglier. The picture shows the gradual disfigurement of his soul as he sinks into a life of degradation and crime.
Eventually the painting fills him with fear and he has it locked up in a room in his house.
When Dorian is thirty-eight, he runs into Basil, having not seen him for a long time, and finally shows him what has happened to his portrait. Basil is horrified and tries to make Dorian repent, but Dorian kills him, and has his body burned.
Dorian becomes increasingly anxious and fearful that someone might discover his secret. He decides that from this time on, he will be good; and to do this, he must get rid of the constant worry and fear he has been feeling-he must destroy the portrait. He stabs it, with the same knife he used to kill Basil, and when the servants enter they see the portrait as it was when it was new, and a horrible, old, ugly man lying dead on the floor.
With Dorian Gray in mind….let’s look at Mel Gibson with new eyes. It is always interesting to me how people sabotage themselves. Mel Gibson had everything. He had good looks, extreme talent, a long marriage, seven children, and had achieved great wealth.
Yet, he is a black hole…none of it was enough to quell the rage and sick need within himself.
After being exposed many times to his extraordinary temper, reckless behavior, and abusive actions I begin to wonder what kind of hell his wife and children lived in behind the well guarded walls of their home.
It is obvious that, like Tiger Woods, his true self was expertly protected.
“The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception necessary for both parties.” Oscar Wilde
Mel Gibson ranting at his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, is most terrifying when he’s just being mean.
He himself seems to know it. Several minutes into the tirade, the Oscar-winner roars: “This is MEAN! Get it? You get it now what mean is?”
"The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Yes Mel…. All of us get it! Unfortunately, this unhinged, unrelenting storm of hatred and degradation perfectly captures why you are an abuser and a very dangerous man.
"I keep a diary of my life from day to day, and it never leaves the room in which it is written. I shall show it to you if you come with me."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
I found most disturbing the moments when Gibson was not saying anything at all, but simply panting in great heavy breaths into the phone. How better to demonstrate he is capable of carrying out all of his horrific threats, such as burying the mother of his child “in the rose garden.”
“The harmony of soul and body,—how much that is! We in our madness have separated the two, and have invented a realism that is bestial, an ideality that is void.” ---Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Despite the characters he has played in movies Gibson appears to have a very pervasive hatred of women,
He rages…. threatening to physically hurt her…. he doesn’t listen to anything she says…he does all the talking....he makes disgusting sexual comments….and accusing her of all the things that are so obviously present in his behavior….. ‘You have no f------ soul.’ Yet it is his behavior that is soulless.
"There were opiates for remorse, drugs that could lull the moral sense to sleep. But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mel Gibson needs to have control and exert his control via threats and physical harm. The debate over what he has done is not about his ability as an actor or any talent he may possess as a director. I would bet that this is how he treats his peers, and what he thinks of his co workers. This is how Mel acts when he’s not acting…. when he thinks no one is listening.
In the end he has plummeted to the depths of disgrace. He has become Dorian Gray in reverse.
All his movies, his portraits, reflect men of character, humor, and compassion. All have a respect of women, children, and family. Each character has a strong core of courage, and manhood. The face of Mel Gibson’s onscreen persona has clear blue eyes, an infectious smile, laugh lines, and an inner light.
Yet, he is a black hole…none of it was enough to quell the rage and sick need within himself.After being exposed many times to his extraordinary temper, reckless behavior, and abusive actions I begin to wonder what kind of hell his wife and children lived in behind the well guarded walls of their home.
It is obvious that, like Tiger Woods, his true self was expertly protected.
“The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception necessary for both parties.” Oscar Wilde
Mel Gibson ranting at his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, is most terrifying when he’s just being mean.
He himself seems to know it. Several minutes into the tirade, the Oscar-winner roars: “This is MEAN! Get it? You get it now what mean is?”"The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Yes Mel…. All of us get it! Unfortunately, this unhinged, unrelenting storm of hatred and degradation perfectly captures why you are an abuser and a very dangerous man.
"I keep a diary of my life from day to day, and it never leaves the room in which it is written. I shall show it to you if you come with me."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
I found most disturbing the moments when Gibson was not saying anything at all, but simply panting in great heavy breaths into the phone. How better to demonstrate he is capable of carrying out all of his horrific threats, such as burying the mother of his child “in the rose garden.”
“The harmony of soul and body,—how much that is! We in our madness have separated the two, and have invented a realism that is bestial, an ideality that is void.” ---Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Despite the characters he has played in movies Gibson appears to have a very pervasive hatred of women,
He rages…. threatening to physically hurt her…. he doesn’t listen to anything she says…he does all the talking....he makes disgusting sexual comments….and accusing her of all the things that are so obviously present in his behavior….. ‘You have no f------ soul.’ Yet it is his behavior that is soulless.
"There were opiates for remorse, drugs that could lull the moral sense to sleep. But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mel Gibson needs to have control and exert his control via threats and physical harm. The debate over what he has done is not about his ability as an actor or any talent he may possess as a director. I would bet that this is how he treats his peers, and what he thinks of his co workers. This is how Mel acts when he’s not acting…. when he thinks no one is listening.
In the end he has plummeted to the depths of disgrace. He has become Dorian Gray in reverse.
All his movies, his portraits, reflect men of character, humor, and compassion. All have a respect of women, children, and family. Each character has a strong core of courage, and manhood. The face of Mel Gibson’s onscreen persona has clear blue eyes, an infectious smile, laugh lines, and an inner light.
But, the reality of his true face is a ravaged visage… with clouded eyes, sagging skin, and, a debauched smirk. He is a coward with an angry, vicious little boy self. There is no MAN there…
Mel Gibson will need all the money he has made. I doubt that he will be trusted to work again. It may be that he lives out his life without his family, without his work, surrounded by empty bottles and fawning whores. Doomed, like the character of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, to sit in the dark watching reruns of his movies while his face continues to degrade in rage and loss.
I have never missed a Mel Gibson movie. He was my favorite actor. I have enjoyed and admired his work for many years. But now.....
"You have killed my love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you don't even stir my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid."
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
wow. very very astute.
ReplyDeletePoor Mel. Mental illness knows no boundaries. It is sad to have a hero fall to disgrace. I do pray he will get drugs/therapy and that his family is protected from his rage. He's a pretty amazing actor to be able to cover such flaws.
ReplyDelete