Reflections on Authenticity

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Oscar Wilde was masterful observer of human nature and had a wit par excellence.  But I'd like to add that we are all inevitably authentic.  We cannot help but be ourselves, whether we like it or not.  I may try, from now to the rest of  my life, to be Michael Jordan and Albert Einstein.  Not be like, but actually be, Michael Jordan and Albert Einstein.  Ultimately I will come to realize that I am still Ron Villejo.  In this case, any exhortation to be real, be ourselves, be authentic is silly and redundant at best and naive and meaningless at worst.  To quote Agent Smith in `The Matrix, it is inevitable that we are who we are and absolutely not anyone else.

The thing is, who we are - for example, our personality - is not a simplistic, narrow or unified matter.  There are many different aspects to who we are, and any given situation, encounter or interaction may bring a particular aspect to the front.  Consider how we are at home vs at work; or with our spouses vs our friends; at church, synagogue or mosque vs at the ballpark or in front of the TV.  Someone who sees us only in one setting may be entirely surprised, even baffled, at how we are in another setting.  This constellation of 'selves,' if you will, ranges from ones we like more to ones we like less.  

Moreover, in the face of stress or anxiety, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or perhaps in the midst of illness, we may say things and do things that we are embarrassed about, and regret terribly, afterwards.  Some of us may blurt out that wasn't me or that was the alcohol talking.  But external context or internal condition, however we behave and whatever we say are inviolably our own.  

Counselors often encourage and advise candidates to be themselves, when crafting their CV and interviewing for a job.  If they stumble or stammer and if they over- or under-sell themselves, they may come back and bemoan I just wasn't myself.  "Myself" in their mind is articulate, confident and capable.  Nervous and unsure aren't "myself."  But obviously there is no one else but they themselves who applied and interviewed.  So if the former is in fact what we prefer to present in such a situation, and of course it makes sense to genuinely and confidently present that in order to secure a job, then we have to work at it, learn and develop, and perhaps visualize and practice beforehand.  

Finally, how about an actor portraying a character?

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What I love  about Johnny Depp is he is so versatile, so talented, and often so funny.  He brings his acting prowess to bear, and fashions characters that are quite memorable for scores of moviegoers.  Art as autobiographical is part of  my Art Manifesto, more specifically, but it speaks to the very points I make about authenticity.  The fact that Depp can pull off a compelling Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka or Captain Jack, I argue, speaks more to who he is than what these characters are.  

Suppose Keanu Reeves, or Jude Law, or Leonardo DiCaprio were to have played in these movies, instead.  We'd see very different characters getting played out on the big screen.  Why?  Because the Edward we would see is more the stylization that Keanu, Jude or Leonardo brings.  Movies are an ultimate fantasy.  The best of the lot persuade so well that the characters are in fact true-to-life people and that the plot is a plausible experience in our life.  But that fantasy is not drawn from thin air, rather they're grounded on the actors who allow us to engage in it.  

So my thought exercise aside, the characters above are in their true essence Johnny Depp, and no one else but Johnny Depp.