Listening to Marlon Brando’s speech on the Dick Cavett show was humbling. His rejection of the Oscar might have been the single most powerful moment that altered how Hollywood portrays different cultures. Perhaps, it would also become the seeding idea that led to mindless “PC-culture”, as some like to call it.
Of course the world is a different place now. A lot more noisier and a lot more crowded. The same act would perhaps not have the impact. The silence engulfing the world back then was broken at the alter of its largest and most worshiped temple.
It is acts of such courage what distinguishes greatness from intelligence. Kindness and virtue far surpass any gift that nature bestows upon us. On the path to growing up, we forget the hollowness inside us- and learn to live with it. Laughing with the crowd, dancing with the music and moving with the rhythm- all that feeble voice is ashamed to wake us up from the drunken ecstasy.