In American Beauty*, we watch Ricky’s video of an empty, wrinkled plastic bag tossed about in the wind. We follow the bag as it whips about violently, spiralling skyward and then floating to the ground.
'And this bag was like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that’s the day I knew there was this entire life behind things." - Ricky, American Beauty
Have you ever opened your calendar to find nothing but other people’s priorities staring back at you? Look at it now.
It happens quickly; your calendar is just the tip of the iceberg. You're not alone if you’ve ever felt swept up in the rhythm and frustrated by the lack of space for stuff you care about. Many well-intentioned people feel a bit like Ricky’s plastic bag. Pulled and tugged in all directions, they find themselves at the mercy of other people’s choices and priorities.
But you're not a plastic bag; you have agency. You can’t control the wind, but you can control yourself.
Til next week,
AM
*On a rewatch with my teenagers a few months ago, this film has not aged entirely well. Still, it's probably on par for anything made at the turn of the millennium. 4 stars.
Alicia McKay