Susan Boyle: A Divine Dream In The Midst Of Misery genre: Audio-Philes & Video-Philes
Every now and again, inspiration pushes its way through the mundane and the miserable and into our everyday consciousness. The most recent instance of this all too rare occurrence comes in the unlikely embodiment of a 47 year Scottish charity worker and self-reported virgin...Susan Boyle.
On the latest episode of Britain's Got Talent, Boyle made her way to the stage, endured the cynicism of the audience and the judges, and then proceeded to bring the house to its feet with her spectacular rendition of the acclaimed Les Miserables tune, I Dreamed A Dream.
You can see Boyle's performance in the following YouTube video. As of this moment, the video has been viewed over eight million times...jumping by well over two million views just today. Her story was featured on tonight's national news and you can expect to see her in numerous other interviews and appearances.
I suspect Susan Boyle symbolizes the ray of hope many are seeking in these times of economic uncertainty. Her story also begins the difficult task of restoring our faith that living a decent life will not go unnoticed. While Wall Street weasels wag the dog, the Susan Boyle's of the world serve to remind us that fame need not be flashy...in fact it is far more real when it is authentic. Susan Boyle, thank you for helping us put our feet back where they belong...firmly planted in the solid soil of sincerity.
Having watched this video numerous times, it sent my synapses into overdrive...connecting this event with other inspirational moments long seared in my memory banks. What they all have in common is the simplicity that comes with knowing something is right...even when the darkness seems destined to distort our ability to distinguish it from the demons that surround us.
With that in mind, I've included two videos from a little known 1991 movie, Hear My Song, featuring Ned Beatty as the renowned true life tenor Josef Locke. In the movie, a nightclub owner believes he can save his struggling business by booking Locke, an iconic figure in self-exile from the UK due to pending tax troubles. Locke, in a daring and risky return to the UK, makes his triumphant appearance before an adoring crowd eager for inspiration. Hear My Song is a story of triump reminiscent of Susan Boyle's roof-raising moment. Both are a reminder of the power of the human spirit so often found in song.
Torna a Surriento - Ned Beatty as Josef Locke in Hear My Song
Goodbye - Ned Beatty as Josef Locke in Hear My Song
The final video is from Alejandro Amenabar's 2004 movie, The Sea Inside, chronicling the true story of Ramon Sampedro's efforts to end his life many years after an accident has left him a quadriplegic. In this video, Sampedro (played brilliantly by Javier Bardem) employs the only tactic that has enabled him to endure his dilemma...he imagines himself flying out his bedroom window...across the beautiful terrain on his way to the sea...the singular source of tranquility in his troubling existence. He does so while listening to one of the quintessential tenor arias in opera, Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot.
Nessun Dorma - Javier Bardem as Ramon Sampedro in The Sea Inside
Each of these stories have at their core the unyielding nature of the human spirit...a belief that beauty and bounty can be found in all that encompasses our often exasperating and existential existence. All remind us that this life is precarious at best...but also that a life well-lived and a life well-ended may be the essential elements over which we're able to exert any meaningful influence. When we do either well, all of humanity is enhanced. Susan Boyle may be our most recent protagonist to prove as much.
Tagged as: Alejandro Amenabar, Britain's Got Talent, Hear My Song, I Dreamed A Dream, Josef Locke, Les Miserables, Ned Beatty, Nessun Dorma, Puccini, Simon Cowell, Susan Boyle, The Sea Inside, Torna a Surriento, Turandot
Comments
1 On April 16, 2009 at 6:14 AM, Dale Walker wrote —
Wow,
What a performance by Boyle. Thanks for sharing. The Javier Bardem clip reminded me of another example of the power of the human spirit which is demonstrated in my favorite book "Love in the time of Cholera." , Gabriel Garcia Marquez. While i did not think much of the movie with Bardem, the book I I have red many times.
Been very busy lately. Miss your posts. Will have to come directly to the source.
cheers,
2 On October 20, 2009 at 8:23 AM, Oli wrote —
Ahhhh... good old Susan Boyle. She seems to have totally vanished off the scene recentley which is shame because she was beginning to feel like a national treasure or something! But what a great video, a selection of videos for that matter!
3 On January 18, 2010 at 8:48 AM, Tina Fittor wrote —
The first video isnt working!!? maybe its just with my computer. hmm
4 On January 26, 2010 at 9:14 AM, Elissa Tuniken wrote —
i think her voice is incredible gorgeous!
oh and the videos are working for me
5 On March 12, 2010 at 2:56 AM, Briefgold wrote —
What is the she up to now? I know last year she had an almost nervous breakdown - must have been such a shock having such instant success - and was keeping quiet, but I hope she´s not going to stop performing, her voice doesn´t deserve to be kept in a quiet little town in Scotland!!
6 On October 27, 2011 at 6:18 PM, whiplash compensation wrote —
I do really admire Susan Boyle. She is incredible and I considered her as extraordinary. She is just simply an inspiration to everyone.
7 On January 16, 2012 at 7:10 PM, Tena for Women wrote —
Great talent and wonderful personality are what Susan Boyle's possesses. I truly admire him.
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