It is the dilemma the innovator must face when starting
out, whether that person is a musician, painter, sculptor or (Heaven forbid) a
writer:
The chorus of disapproval from the paternalistic and
patronizing Pod People that call themselves your parents, coach or guidance counselor
is a tsunami: “What you’re doing is crazy.
Sit back, relax and do what we tell you, what we have willfully accepted.
You’re better off. Why waste your money applying to a good school? An actor? Do you want to starve? What are you, afraid
to get your hands dirty?” And so on.
But to you that route is death.
Meanwhile, there are things you desperately need to
say, but no one wants to listen.
In fact, they actively try and shut you up: “What are
you doing?!? It’s so weird!
Stop it!”
But because it is your “family,” you want their love
and respect, and it’s tearing you up inside.
And that’s the same dilemma William Shatner faces in the
1964 episode of Rod Serling’s The
Twilight Zone, “A Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.”
This episode is head and shoulders above the usual
simplistic moral that ends the average episode of TZ for the two parallel truths it presents metaphorically:
A) There’s ALWAYS a gremlin on the wing of the plane;
and
B) The rest of the passengers do not want to hear about it.
But unlike most of us, Shatner fought against the
pressures squeezing him…
Let’s see if we can learn from his example!
