Being There

Last night I watched the movie Being There starring Peter Sellers and Shirley McClain. Except for the scene where McCain truly enjoys herself, it was a very interesting movie. Sellers portrays a man probably in his 50's with a very low IQ. Kind of like a calm Rainman with etiquette. He has no family. He grew up and was taken care of in a nice house in Washington DC. He is in charge of the gardening and knows of nothing else except television. In fact he has never left the property until one day when the old man of the house dies and the attorney of the estate nicely kicks him out with nothing to call his own. The thing I found so interesting about this movie was how everyone around him perceived him. It seemed that everyone he meet only knew what they wanted or needed. He meets a woman, McClain, who has a dying husband. The Husband is a powerful man in government. He sees Sellers as a deep and wise man which comforts him with his thoughts of dying. Through the whole movie only one man looks close enough to see what Sellers' character really is. The president is even fooled and quotes Sellers as an advisor on national television. He attends a large government party. People assume he is someone important because of the media and rumors fly. They think he has degrees to be a lawyer and a doctor and that he knows 8 different languages. I think it is interesting that most people in need see what they want or need in people and few rarely take the time to truly see who people really are. This movie also proves that a man that speaks little is often seen as wise.