Willy Wonkat
“There’s no earthly way of knowing
what direction we are going…
the rowers keep on rowing
and they’re certainly not showing
any signs that they are slowing”
-Wondrous Boat Ride, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
What’s scarier than the super creepy boat scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? The inevitability of death.
It’s a little weird posting about famous people after they die; I’m not usually inclined to do so. I think partially because it’s awkward in general to talk about death- the speech surrounding it is so full of rosy euphemisms, forced positivity and all kinds of cliches. What else can be said?
There are a lot of really fun moments from Willy Wonka (not to mention other great Gene Wilder roles) that have lodged themselves happily in my memory. The boat scene is actually the only part of that movie I don’t really like. The rest of the chocolate factory is full of wonder and whimsy, and in this jarring scene the characters find themselves suddenly trapped in a tunnel of psychedelic horrors with a man that they have realized too late is completely mad. What exactly is the purpose of this scene? I’m sure many people have lots to say on the topic. For me, I just think, like it or not, it’s in the movie and you can’t skip the scary parts. Terror is an inescapable part of life. And none of us can skip out on death.
I am grateful to Gene Wilder for his contributions to our collective memory. May he rest in peace, along with all the other people we have lost this year- the celebrities that many loved, and the people I know personally that also many people loved, and the people that I never met but maybe you have met and you have loved.