Which is better- the devil you know or the devil you don't? I watched the original film Bedazzled last night (the one with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, not the Brendan Frazier remake). The charming 1960s comedy left me a lot to think about.
An adaption of Faustus, the story is about Stanley, a short order cook who is in love with his coworker Margaret, but has never told her. He has no family, a terrible job, and no matter how much he prays God will let Margaret notice him his prayers are unanswered. He goes home to hang himself and is interrupted by the Devil (who calls himself George Spiggot.) George offers him 7 wishes in exchange for Stanley's soul. All Stanley has to do is make a wish; George snaps his fingers and says "Julie Andrews!" and it is done.
Stanley's goal in each wish is always the same- winning Margaret's love. He wishes for intelligence, for wealth, for allure and every time the Devil finds a loophole, leaving him more miserable than before, and without Margaret. Stanley wishes for intelligence, and George makes sure Margaret is not sexually attracted to him. When he wishes for allure, George makes him a pop star but his 15 minutes of fame dry up quickly.
Stanley gets frustrated, saying this game is cruel. George never gives him what he really wants. George says he's given Stanley so much more than God ever has- he gives him what he asks for. It's not his fault if Stanley is not specific. He says God won't grant such wishes because that would interfere with freedom of choice.
Stanley asks why he didn't get a choice in who his parents were, where he was born, what kind of job he got, and how he looked? How was any of that his choice?
The whole film made me think of Jaxx's recent post. She wanted to be a woman in an Austen novel. I pragmatically pointed out the problems with that plan. I played George Spiggot; she played Stanley.
I cannot think of anyone who is truly satisfied with his or her life, especially now. Everyone wishes for more money, for love, for better looks, for a different job, for success. Part of the problem with Stanley's wishes in Bedazzled and indeed our own wishes is we never specify. We just want to be happy, but often the things we think will make us happy do not. Money, fortune, fame- in every Faust story there is a price to pay for having these things.
Stanley tries one last time to outdo George. He specifies that he wants he and Margaret to be in love with each other and only each other, forever, totally faithful. He wants them to be somewhere away from the material world, somewhere simple, quiet, peaceful, with everything they need to live.
George grants his wish and turns them both into nuns. He says "You should have specified the sex part."
So what is the lesson? Is it that money and beauty will never make us happy? Or simply that the things we fantasize will never be as good as they were in our imaginations? That our lives are really not as bad as we think they are?
What have you wished for that was granted, but not in the way you wanted?
It reminds me of when my junior high science teachers would make us write out instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as if it were a science lab experiment. Then they'd make the sandwich exactly as our instructions specified. It was the rare set of instructions that produced the sandwich as intended. So maybe the real problem is that we take too much for granted.
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit upon a very good point here. I've been struggling with finding a career or goal in life that will magically make me happy. I'm not unhappy now per say, but I'm certainly not ecstatic most of the time. C'est la vie.
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