I just can’t keep up with all the neovaudeville stunts pop culture is pulling.
Yet more evidence that the mainstream is catching up to the underground, as it always eventually does …
Ryan Murphy’s always surprising Nip/Tuck on FX launched its sixth season with a tribute to MIME!
Titled "Don Hoberman" the first episode of the season finds recession stressed plastic surgeons Christian Troy and Sean McNamara questioning Sean’s son Matt about luxury charges on his credit card, which is supposed to be for emergency use only.
Christian points out a $450 charge to Emmanuel Delacroix (a nod perhaps to Etienne Decroux?), thinking it’s the name of a men’s clothing designer. Matt explains that this Delacroix is the number one mime in the world in New York offering a rare masterclass opportunity.
"You know how they say when you find your bliss is when the money starts rolling in? Well, I think I’ve found it," Matt says. "Mime is so amazing, man. It takes us beyond our petty egos, beyond language, and unifies us. It’s a great art form. The pure universale language of gesture."
Sean replies, "Is this a joke?" Christian follows: "Listen Boxcar Willie, we can rent your room, so you either kick in or you’re out by the first. So get off your unicycle or whatever the hell it is that mimes drive these days and get a goddamned real job."
Ouch.
Boxcar Willie, of course, was a country music star famous for his celebration of hobo culture – not a mime. It could be said Christian’s confused name dropping demonstrates the blurred line between hobos and clowns in today’s neovaudeville performance aesthetic.
As it turns out however, Matt’s mime (who looks an awful lot like Marcel Marceau) is more of an outlaw than an outcast. Curious to see how the storyline plays out, but I’m guessing it’s along the lines of tragedy.
-ag
Gregarious Expressions 