Being There Essay, Research Paper

“Being There is the 1979 film adapted from the novel by Jerzy Kozinski. The movie stars Peter Sellers as a simple-minded man named Chance, who has spent all of his life isolated in a Washington, D.C. townhouse. Chance occupies himself by watching television and tending to the garden. Everything he knows about life has been learned from TV. While watching, he learns small details about interacting with people like shaking hands and verbal expressions. Chance knows what he needs to know for his daily routine: where his bedroom and bathroom are located and how to tend to the plants. He has known only two people his whole life, the old man and the black maid, Louise. Chance appears to be around forty-five but he has the mental capacity of a child. He is content.

As the film opens we see a mesmerized Chance watching television. His face is expressionless and his movements slow. Louise enters the room and tries to explain to Chance that the old man has died. It s not clear if he is Chance s father or his employer; we don t know anything about their relationship. When the lawyers arrive to check the estate and settle the will they are surprised to find Chance and tell him that he must leave the house. He has no money or friends and has never been in public before. Dressed in his master s handsomely tailored suit Chance wanders out into the city, taking along his only possession, the TV remote control.

As he leaves the house, we see that the neighborhood has deteriorated into a slum and Chance sticks out like a sore thumb, dressed in his suit, black leather gloves and hat with his umbrella over his forearm. Although he is simple-minded he doesn t look it. He appears to be a well-dressed proper gentleman.

Chance quickly finds himself harassed by members of a street gang, and reaches for his only means of escape by trying to switch channels on the remote control to tune the gang members out. There is also a funny scene where he approaches a black woman on the street and asks for lunch, having been conditioned by his previous life. He hasn t figured out that, outside his garden life is not television.

Chance continues to be amazed by everything he is really seeing, as opposed to seeing life played out on the small screen. While roaming the streets confused and hungry, he walks into the path of a slow moving limousine. Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine) is the passenger and she insists Chance come home with her to see her husband s private doctor. Eve is the beautiful wife of a powerful businessman, Benjamin Rand. When she asks Chance his name, she misunderstands and thinks he says Chauncey Gardner. As Chance takes his first ride in a car he is again transfixed by a small television in the back seat of the limo.

Eve takes Chauncey to a suite in her mansion where he is happy to find a television. After watching for awhile and then having his wound tended to by the doctor, Chauncey goes downstairs to dinner and is introduced to the powerful, but dying Benjamin Rand (Melvyn Douglas). The millionaire is quickly charmed by Chauncey and misinterprets his comments about gardening and his situation, believing him to be a small businessman who has lost his home and business through foreclosure. The Rand s invite Chauncey to stay with them until his wounds have healed and soon Ben grows to treasure his reassuring friend.

Benjamin is an advisor to the President of the United States and when the two men have a meeting, Rand introduces the President to his houseguest. Surprised by Chauncey s quiet unassuming manner, the President is caught off-guard by his remarks.

He is impressed with what he thinks are Chauncey s opinions of the current conditions in the nation. As long as the roots are not severed, all will be well in the garden, there will be growth in the spring. Mistaking his words for a metaphor about the political climate, the President remarks, Well, that s one of the most refreshing opinions I ve heard in a long time.

Because of his relationships with Rand and the President, Chauncey soon attains fame and the public suddenly becomes interested in his opinions, he is automatically presumed to be an important person. Through one misinterpretation after another, Chauncey becomes known as a financial genius and political insider. We know he is neither, but people read wisdom into his simple, direct statements. They are amazed by his strange comments or questions and are unable to take him at face value because of his appearance and demeanor. Chauncey is invited to be a guest on talk shows and as the public s interest in him grows, the President becomes uneasy and has the FBI and CIA investigate his background, to no avail. Ben s doctor is also suspicious of this man who seems to have come out of nowhere. He keeps silent however, when Ben tells him that Chauncey has made the thought of dying much easier.

While attending a Washington party with Eve, Chauncey is offered a large advance to write a book. The anxious publisher is willing to work out a deal even though Chauncey tells him that he cannot read or write. He is also admired for his mistakenly fluent knowledge of the Russian language because he was nodding knowingly while listening to a Soviet diplomat at the party.

I believe it is Chauncey s sincerity and eagerness to please that has everyone charmed. Benjamin is so taken with him that he encourages a relationship between Eve and Chauncey so that his wife will have companionship after his death. Ben is anxious to leave Eve with some happiness and is hopeful that Chauncey will provide it.

By the end of the film, Chauncey s passive personality has soothed nearly everyone he has met. Though the doctor has by now discovered that he is simply Chance the gardener, Eve thinks of him as a treasured friend.

The film concludes at Ben s funeral. The pallbearers are discussing the possibility of Chauncey as a possible presidential candidate. The final sequence shows him casually walking onto the surface of a lake. We can see that he is really walking on water as he leans over and curiously sticks his umbrella into it. Does this show Chance as a Christ figure or can he walk on water because no one ever told him he could not?

This movie seems to satirize America and television by saying that if you look right, speak eloquently and have powerful friends you can go far in society. I think it also is concerned with the blind acceptance of celebrity and that illiteracy, ignorance and a sweet attitude can lead to riches, fame and a glamorous lifestyle. As Chance says at the conclusion of the film, Life is a state of mind.