6 Faces of Bob Dylan... I'm Not There

Just finished watching the first of the two DVDs I bought today, in celebration of my streak of A's in all 3 summer courses I took (GPA shoots up now!!).

I'm Not There is the story of the singer-songwriter/protest singer/folk-rocker/modern poet ----- Bob Dylan. However, instead of presenting his legacy chronologically, Bob Dylan is portrayed by 6 different actors and the story happens in parallel to , but separate from, each other. Just like Richard Gere's character said in the ending monologue, "it's like yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all in the same room."

I love Cate Blanchett's portrayal of the substance-abusing, diva-attitude rocker side of Bob Dylan (during the mid-60s). Her imitation of his incoherent answers to dumb questions from the press was truly humorous.

Heath Ledger, who plays the "family-man" side of Dylan who ultimately fails to keep his family together was also satisfying to watch. There's something about Heath Ledger that I feel familiar with personally, don't really know how to put it into words.

I first got to know Bob Dylan's music in an American Pop Music elective course I took earlier this year (which I got an A+ in, haha). I wrote my essay on Folk music of the 60s and how it tied in with Vietnam and Civil Rights movement of the time. Of course, Dylan was a major figure at the time because his lyrics and music very bluntly points out the current situation and people's emotions, which connected with the young generation who overwhelmingly opposed the war and unfair treatment of Black Americans.

My favorite song of Dylan is The Times They Are A-Changin':

Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't criticize what you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin'.

Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'.

Basically, it tells the old generation to fuck off and let us take over cuz their ideology is wrong and outdated, causing people to suffer at home and abroad. I think young people of all generations and backgrounds should listen to Bob Dylan's songs. During our rebellious years, these are words of wisdom. Perhaps I'm still a teenager, perhaps I still got that flame of anger in me, perhaps.