On Christmas Day, I found myself watching Steven Moffat’s version of Dr. Who. I watched Matt Smith go through his paces in a typical Moffat-style continuity finale, The Big Bang, and then we continued into this year’s Dr. Who Christmas special A Christmas Carol.
I admire Steven Moffat’s writing abilities. The man is an intricate plotter. He uses elements of his finale in early episodes of the season. In true Moffat style, we don’t know what we’re looking at until we know what we’re looking at. Often these intricacies can be passed off as continuity errors, but with Moffat, everything happens for a reason.
Another theme Moffat employs is people meeting themselves coming and going in time. The Big Bang gives us two Amelia Ponds. No, the universe doesn’t heave a shuddering sigh of entropy and explode. It cleans itself up and keeps going. Similarly, in A Christmas Carol, Kazran Sardick, both young and old, meets himself (themselves?). The theme of exploring who you are and who you will become, evaluated by yourself as you were or will be is a nice theme. It doesn’t consider the physics of the issues, but it does get at the marrow of interpersonal reflection in ways those only considering the science conundrum can’t touch.
Every once in a while, I’d like to sit down and talk to myself coming the other way. What might I say?
1. Don’t waste time worrying about now and thinking about the future. Enjoy what you have going on right now, because some day you’re going to realize what you had now, and you’ll regret not enjoying it.
2. You do come through those times that are grim, and they teach you valuable things you can use later in life. It’s okay to be depressed. You will come out the other side.
3. No one gets anywhere immediately. You are not the artist you think you are. If you keep practicing, however, you’ll eventually grow into the best artist you can be.
4. Others approval does not validate your work. What does validate it is that it produces the effect you hope for in others. Think of teaching a successful class, or wearing your Caterina outfit. You’ll see what I mean. These things happen after hard work, but you grew into the ability to do these things. Seek genuine emotion and reaction.
5. Don’t take yourself seriously all the time. Maybe about 39 percent of it.
What would you say to yourself if you had the chance?
Catherine
