Posted on by Pat Coakley

Waiting for Godot

waitingforgodotss

John Goodman is acting in one of my favorite plays by Samuel Beckett that I’ve never actually seen, only read:  “Waiting for Godot”.

In the article about the play in the nytimes.com, Goodman appears to be a chronically unhappy man with himself and his work, as well as his weight, which is nearing 300 lbs.  The character he is playing is usually pictured as a thin, rail of a man very similar to the playwright himself.

Yet, the more I think about it, this play may be a turning point in Goodman’s life.  He may be able to fail in the future with a fine sense of purpose.

Samuel Beckett writes about chronic failure repeatedly in his plays and his famous quote on the subject is this:

“No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

I think I’ll read this play again soon.

©Pat Coakley 2009

PHOTOGRAPHY CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION

18 Replies to “Waiting for Godot”

  1. Great article. Since it’s no longer on The Times’ page, here’s the link, in case anyone’s interested: Goodman in Godot

    Pat, like you, I’ve never seen “Godot,” only read it. Of course, it’s the kind of play that reads so well.

    Let’s get one thing straight for those who aren’t sure, John Goodman is a very good actor. He has a range that’s pretty rare, especially nowadays. Unfortunately, as the article points out, Goodman’s weight has always been an issue. Sadly, it’s what’s kept him from really showing what he can do (I’m not talking about self-doubt, I’m talking about Hollywood).

    1. Thanks, Chris, for the direct link. Am glad you enjoyed the article. I think most people who have seen the Coen brother films realize that John Goodman’s range is quite extraordinary. I thought he was great in the Roseanne show, too!

  2. A very atmospheric shot and I like it a lot. Now comes the constructive criticism. To make the man in the shot look like he wasn’t put there in Photoshop I think you need to create a copy of the background so you have two layers. Then you need to put the layer with the man between the background layers. Of course you wont be able to see the man, so what you have to do now is use the transparency slider in the layers pallet, of the top layer. Slide it back and forth until it looks right.

    As for John Goodman, if he’s not happy about his weight and he isn’t able to loose weight through exercise and dieting (so easy to say and so difficult to do) he can always get gastric ring surgery. An Australian TV and radio personality, Mikey Robbins had the operation and he lost 38kg (almost 84lbs) in 3 months. Mikey says the operation has totally changed his life (for the better). I’m certain that the risk of having the operation is minuscule in comparison to the health risks of being so overweight. I love John Gooman as an actor and it would be a pity to see him die early after having an unhappy life.

    1. Ok.Razz…Thanks for your suggestion and the sandwich tip! I did it but will have to wait till tomorrow to see whether I pulled the slider to the right spot. I’ve been looking at it for too long today (it was a long time creating in the first place) and so with this revision, all I can see are “parts”. But, thanks. I especially like the sandwich tip. I use a combo of blending and erasing that is very time consuming with some projects. This appears to be a more efficient way!

  3. Razz, you are bending my brain with this photoshop talk. It’s jargon you know.. sad, kinda when two people are speaking a secret language and you want to join in but you cant! & when people feel left out because they don’t /can’t photo shop! ie (me! with very limited photoshopping crap to work with.

    Any HOOOOO….Yes, Pat would you go and see the play with me? I need a friend with cultured sensitivities and these gurlz, all they watch is the Jonas brothers…I love JOHN GOODMAN!

    1. Renee, this is the sort of feeling that can propel you right into tutorials on line or a course in your local area. Razz, is right, this was very basic stuff and yet even those of use who know much more complicated steps sometimes forget the basics!!! Secret language, indeed. Forgotten language, in my case!

  4. I do love me some John Goodman. And Waiting for Godot is sort of sentimental for my wife; it was the first play she ever costumed in college. Gorgeous . . .

    As for bypass surgery, I’ll be your resident expert. I had an open Roux-en-Y seven years ago and have maintained a 200+ weight loss for almost six years. I’m now an old SKINNY guy. Not that there haven’t been problems. But I’d never go back . . .

    1. Waiting for Godot and sentimental are never seen together, Brian, so KUDOS on an original take!!
      I hope Goodman is able to deal with his demons one way or another. He’s a talented man.

  5. I loved reading that play too. I think Goodman would be a good choice but i didn’t readthe article because i would rather look at your pictures :) I love that it took me a few seconds to see the man walking. very nice.

    1. Ok.Conni girl! I twittered you, I think. I couldn’t even remember my password and had to go to the computer where I originally did it! Then, I had to go to the “HELP” section to figure out how to reply to people. So, you see…I am on the bottom rung of this ladder…a few rungs up on Photoshop, perhaps, but bottom step on Twitter!

  6. Sweetiegirlz

    Jargon? Trust me on this, as far as Photoshop goes, what I had to say about it was as basic as it gets. It’s not a secret language and if you’re interested in using Photoshop, there are plenty of tutorials on the internet.

    1. Who knew, indded. Or, who knows, in my case. I just tried to go to your twitter feed and it says it’s blocked. Now, I know I’ supposed to know what to do with that but what did I do? Left twitter. I’m trying but I don’t think it’s gonna last.

    1. If you look at the photograph in the paper of Goodman, Ross, he appears to be sort of a cartoon of Mary Poppins. Absurd, comes to mind. And, since this is Beckett…what better quality?

  10. As a novice photographer with an awesome new canon eos, I am just so impressed with this photo! The mood, the lighting, the blur, the man (thanks, razz, for taking the mystery out of it for me!!! i had no clue photoshop was involved here!)
    I actually plan to get photoshop just as soon as my nebulous budget permits.
    I am also a very brave novice. I’ve launched a photo-blog even though I don’t know what I’m doing. I so hope you, Pat, and anyone else reading, will visit my new blog: http://psychscribetoo.wordpress.com ….and please be gentle with me!

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