KRYPTO!

 

De pequeño me fascinó este personaje de Gene Hackman. Me daba miedo, me daba gracia.

¿Cómo podía resultarme un tipo jodido y al mismo tiempo un idiota? ¿Cómo podía vestir así de ridículo y poner en problemas nada menos que a Superman? Que tuviera de ayudante a uno todavía más idiota y ridículo que él no lo hacía menos peligroso, pero sí más patético.

Se notaba a la legua que llevaba una peluca, aún así al quitársela y verlo completamente calvo, ya no hacía gracia y sólo daba miedo. 

Una vez descubierto su verdadero yo y desprovisto de su melena, únicamente se reflejaba su maldad. No era la kriptonita lo que lo convertía en un ser despreciable, eso era un artilugio para sentirse poderoso. Quitarle la kriptonita de las manos o la peluca de su cabeza lo llevaba al mismo punto: un payaso corrupto, viviendo aislado de la sociedad, intentando manipularla y apropiársela desde su cueva de lujo kitch. 

Luego comprendí que eso era actuar y que Gene Hackman era un actorazo.

Hoy estos personajes gobiernan el mundo de la misma manera y cada país tiene su propio Luthor, histriónico, inverosímil, vistiendo como un payaso, luciendo melenas estrafalarias, rodeándose de siervos arrastrados y utilizando artilugios corruptos disfrazados de tecnología de punta a la que llaman kripto-algo, para quitarnos el poco poder económico que nos queda.

No son actorazos, pero son verdaderos malvados mostrándose como payasos, porque así nos hacen más gracia (y nos dan menos miedo).

As a child, I was fascinated by this character of Gene Hackman. He scared me, he made me laugh.

How could I find him a fucked up guy and at the same time an idiot? How could he dress so ridiculously and cause problems for none other than Superman? Having as an assistant someone even more idiotic and ridiculous than him did not make him any less dangerous, but more pathetic.

It was obvious that he was wearing a wig, but when you took it off and saw him completely bald, it was no longer funny and only scary.

Once his true self was discovered and he was stripped of his mane, only his evilness was reflected. It was not the kryptonite that made him a despicable being, that was a device to feel powerful. Taking the kryptonite from his hands or the wig from his head took him to the same point: a corrupt clown, living isolated from society, trying to manipulate it and appropriate it from his cave of kitsch luxury.

Then I understood that this was acting and that Gene Hackman was a great actor.

Today these characters rule the world in the same way and each country has its own Luthor, histrionic, implausible, dressing like a clown, sporting outlandish manes, surrounding himself with groveling servants and using corrupt gadgets disguised as cutting-edge technology that they call krypto-something, to take away the little economic power we have left.

They are not great actors, but they are true villains presenting themselves as clowns, because that way they make us laugh more (and scare us less).