Last night I watched the movie Man on Wire , with the lovely Miss Violette. It chronicles the tight wire walking career of Philippe Petit, the pinnacle of which was his walk between NYC's Twin Towers. A breath taking feat of artistic disobediance. Even to see it on film was moving.
What struck me about Philippe, and his collaborators (those who helped him to engenier and rig the wire) was their drive, and determination. They had this clarity that it was the right thing to do, that it needed to be done. They all seemed to aggree that the Towers were meant for Philippe to walk between. That desire to live on the edge as well as... a fetishist's fixation on the idea.
The way they spoke reminded me a lot of my friends who are edge players. What compells us to reach for primal fear? To take someone to the edge and force them to look over? Given that what I do is within the context of a safe, risk-aware, environment in which the risks of harm are low, I think it is something very similar to what compelled Philippe and his collaborators.
Definitely worth watching.
Tonight and tomorrow I have some very fun romping around the city in store. I'm off to pack for that. First thing going into my bag: the Access Denied belt!
0 comments:
Post a Comment