What Does Coherence Mean to Me? - Tribesteemup Biweekly Question

As the child of parents for whom imparting an excellent vocabulary was very important, I knew from a young age that coherence was in essence a measure of order.

But as a science geek by nature, I first became really aware of the concept of coherence in college, as a marine biology major, when taking wave motion physics.

In physics, and to a degree in ocean (and other types of) waves, waves are considered to be coherent when they have what amounts to a similar interference pattern, or in other words, a similar shape and frequency. The greater the interference the less coherent; the less the interference, or the better the interference is matched, the more coherent.

Clearly in nature, true coherence of this sort is rare to the point of virtual impossibility, and thus degrees of coherency exist, based upon the degrees to which the shapes and frequencies of waves match one another.

But then, there is also the coherence of an ecosystem, from the interconnected plant and animal life on the sand dune pictured above, to the series of interconnected ecosystems beginning from the surf line, through and past the vast kelp beds, and stretching far into the abyss below Monterey Bay.

It is all interconnected, and when we don't interfere with the natural processes, remarkably coherent.

In film, coherence has a different but related meaning, in that a coherent film is one that follows a logical progression of events, without straying into improbability too obviously or frequently.

In my family we used to joke about it regularly. How was the film? It was pretty good. It only defied the laws of physics three (or four, or twelve) times.

This was partly the result of my dad having worked in film, albeit mostly as a rehearsal pianist for a given film's musical stars, but it did result in my sisters and me having more of a behind-the-scenes viewpoint regarding films than most of our friends.

I remember once as a kid when there was a particularly “scary” film, popular at my sisters' school, and rather than forbid it, my mom sat down and watched it with us. And after the film, we discussed it, and my mom would bring up the scary parts, and if she knew how they did it, which was most of the time, she'd tell us how it was done.

If she didn't know, she'd say something like, “Wow, that was a really great effect. How do you think they did that?”

So no matter how scary a scene may have been, the fear was immediately transformed into interest, because our parents (mostly my mom) would involve us in figuring out how the scariest scenes were accomplished, both interesting us in the process of making the film, and making it absolutely clear that is was pretend, and there was nothing real to fear.

Which brings me to the Tribesteemup biweekly question: What does coherence mean to me?

And my answer is twofold: coherence, to me, means to adhere to a logical narrative, and not to defy the laws of physics unless absolutely necessary. ;-)

More personally, however, it means to be true to myself. Always. Which, like most of us, I took some time to learn.

Then again, as my sister Carol took pains to point out to me, we come from a family of late bloomers. ;-)

My personal motto is not one I can take credit for, as I didn't write it; Shakespeare did.

And even though I've been a Shakespeare geek for ages, and it comes from Hamlet, it did not come from my seeing the play done live (which I was too young to remember), or even from Richard Chamberlain's televised performance of “Hamlet,” when I was . . . eleven, I'm guessing?

And which, by the way, was a stellar performance. Richard Chamberlain, long considered a lightweight due to his popularity on Dr. Kildare, was actually a fine, fine actor.

I saw him on live stage multiple times afterward, and he frigging rocked. He owned the role of Cyrano de Bergerac.

And, on film, he was amazing – and poignant, more than once - as Aramis, in The Three Musketeers, with Oliver Reed, Michael York and Frank Finlay. Best version ever. And no, I'm not prejudiced in the slightest. ;-)

And which is also, in its own way, a film about personal coherence.

My personal motto didn't even come from the time my mom gave me her beloved “Oxford Shakespeare,” in response to my waxing poetic over a play we'd just seen, which I want to say was “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” but I think was probably actually “The Tempest,” which is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays to this day. This rough magic. Absolutely.

My personal motto comes from “Hamlet,” and I've alluded to it in previous posts:

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

And I was most forcefully struck by the quote in perhaps the most unlikely of places; the 1994 film “Renaissance Man,” written, produced and starring Danny DeVito, and thanks to him, one of my favorite films of all times.

The film was directed by Penny Marshall, and has a lot of heart.

And, quite frankly, I think the film should be required viewing for all high school students, especially in junior year, since that is the year that most have to choose what schools and/or trades they will apply to or pursue. Best to have a clear picture first.

The short synopsis of the film is that Danny DeVito plays an advertising exec, Bill Rago, who has become jaded and started phoning in his work, much to his detriment, as he winds up being fired for not doing his job up to his former level.

In the process of filing for unemployment, he has to actually apply for work, and as he has a masters degree, he is offered a job teaching, which he has never done, and doesn't think he is capable of doing.

When he complains to the clerk, “Do you know how many kids these days carry guns?“ She comments (paraphrased), “Yeah, ALL of them. Apparently you didn't get to the where part.”

He's just been tapped to teach for the U.S. Army. His job: to teach a bunch of misfits, likely to flunk out of basic training, enough to keep them from flunking out of basic.

And as he faces the class for the first time, with none of them – including him – wanting to be there, the recruits wind up being interested in what he is reading, which is “Hamlet.”

And, after initially trying to talk them out of it, he finally agrees to teach it to them, as it is one of the things he loves the most.

The casting of the film is top notch, from Gregory Hines, as an Army instructor who thinks Rago is completely out of his element, not to mention out of his mind; to young Mark Wahlberg and Stacey Dash, who play a laconic kid from a small town, and a young woman determined to recover from being abandoned by her mother, respectively.

And Lillo Brancato Jr., who did an excellent job as the radio operator in 1990's “Crimson Tide,” puts in a great performance as Private Benitez, which I'll touch on more later.

There isn't a casting decision I would change in this film, which coming from me, is high praise. The casting director got it right, across the board.

And the above quote does play a large role in the film, from the recruits turning it into a cadence march, which is awesome!!!, to each of the recruits, as a class and separately, learning the truth behind the quote as it applies in real life.

Some more painfully than others.

In addition to creating the above cadence, the recruits also come up with a Hamlet rap, which is great, and a second cadence, which I absolutely love:

Hamlet's mother, she's a queen
buys it in the final scene
drinks a glass of funky wine
now she's Satan's valentine

In a film that alternates frequently between laugh-out-loud funny, poignant and profoundly moving, the pivotal moment comes while the recruits are doing a night exercise in the rain, under the watchful eye of Gregory Hines, as Sergeant Cass, their no-nonsense drill sergeant.

In an impromptu bid to prove that Rago's teaching “Hamlet” to raw recruits is as useless as he considers it to be, Cass orders one of the recruits front and center, and orders him to recite some Shakespeare. Predictably, put on the spot, the kid falters, mumbles, and Cass orders him back into position.

He then selects another recruit, Private Donnie Benitez from the Bronx, and demands to hear some Shakespeare. But while he initially falters, Benitez sees Rago walk up behind the drill sergeant, and finds the strength to continue: unbeknownst to the drill sergeant, Rago took the class to see a live performance of Henry V, and Benitez fell in love with the play, purchasing a copy of it before they left the theatre.

He then proceeds to give one of the finest recitations of the St. Crispin's Day speech that I've ever witnessed, New York accent and all, and it remains my favorite scene from the film. Enjoy.

In the process, Benitez manages to inspire his classmates and fellow recruits, to humble his drill sergeant, in a good way, and to make his teacher incredibly proud.

He also manages to show us, the audience, that perhaps the idea of teaching Shakespeare to soldiers, especially those plays dealing directly with soldiers, isn't such a bad idea after all.

I'll say again, I think this film should be required viewing, as nearly everyone in the film, from Rago and Sergeant Cass, to the recruits, and even some of the other non comms, learn how to incorporate being really and authentically true to themselves, in multiple ways and facets of their lives.

I found it a truly inspiring film, family friendly and intelligently written and acted, and I just rewatched the St. Crispin's Day speech again, with tears in my eyes, as usual. ;-)

Finally, a short poem I wrote a few days ago, on another angle of coherence:

Separation
is not just an illusion
it is a complete and utter
lie

You are separate from nothing.

Nothing,
and no one,
is separate from you.

Everyone –
everything –
is ONE.

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