As I'm sure most of you have already heard, actor Heath Ledger died on Tuesday. He was 28 years old. I have been a big fan of his for many years and am sorry to think there will be no more movies from him after The Dark Knight. But most of all, I would like to send my love and prayers to his daughter, Matilda. I could write an entry (as I'm sure many of my peers will) about how sad and confused I am to lose someone who is really a contemporary of mine. Instead, I'd rather thank Heath Ledger for being a part of a major cultural awakening in my own life.
Back in 1999, I saw Heath Ledger for the first time in a movie called 10 Things I Hate About You, which is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. I love this movie. I've seen it more times than I care to count -- it's a great one to watch if I'm ever having a bad day. My sister and I quote lines from it all the time like, "I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed? [reply:] I think you can in Europe." Anyway, after seeing 10 Things in the theater, I went home and read Taming of the Shrew before going back to see the movie again. It was really that film in combination with Shakespeare in Love, which came out in 1998, that opened my eyes to the joys of Shakespeare. I've been reading the plays, seeing the movies, and best of all seeing live productions whenever possible ever since. So, Heath Ledger, wherever you are, thank you for introducing me to the bard. I've never been the same since.
"There's a divinity that shapes our ends"
~Hamlet, V.2.10
2 comments:
that's because you don't have a prada backpack.
i'm down, i've got the 411, and i don't want you getting jiggy with some boy, i don't care how dope his ride is
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