Nobody has shared a dream, so I will analyse my own and share it for some reason.
Dreaming of Bowie: My Thoughts
Scene I: A Theatrical Dream Sequence
The following is an account of a dream involving David Bowie. After the dream's description, I've also attempted an analysis, hoping to shed some light on its potential meanings within the context of my personal life and our shared cultural moment.
In the dream, I'm in a space that's a mashup of my local cinema and a theatre. My girlfriend and I are there to see David Bowie perform, it's the present day, and he's in his thirties.
As Bowie's performance became more avant-garde, a woman to my left began to talk loudly on her phone. The conversation was mundane and distracting. Not long after, more individuals start to chat and have phone conversations—the theatre fills with voices that drown out Bowie's performance. I feel a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment at being part of the audience and for Bowie. I also became aware that I had been resting my head on my girlfriend's shoulder throughout this, and I started to feel self-conscious that perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention.
Bowie, however, didn't continue to compete with the noise. Instead, he ceases his performance and sits at the front of the stage—his silent stare an unspoken judgment on the audience, making the noise gradually taper off.
Next, I found myself in a smaller backstage room. Bowie was there with fewer audience members, asking us why we'd stopped paying attention. A man dressed like Bowie suggests that he needs to be more entertaining and less experimental. The man appeared to be unaware of his own image's origin.
A baby starts piercingly crying from inside its pram. But my girlfriend quickly comforted the baby with a Bowie album cover featuring a dog, perhaps a nod to Diamond Dogs, and a two-pronged fork. The baby calms down and somehow manages to walk away.
My girlfriend then shared a thought with Bowie: "Where the legs go, so too will the rest of the body." Bowie seemed to be impressed by her wisdom.
Suddenly, we are back in the theatre. Bowie reemerged onto a now bigger, yellow-lit stage and sang one line before disappearing backstage. At first, I was concerned that he had heeded the advice of the pseudo-Bowie, but then a troupe of dancers pranced onto the stage. They were flamboyantly mundane, much like the 'Vulva' act from the sitcom 'Spaced.'
It became clear that Bowie wouldn't be returning, and this banal spectacle was all we would get. I thought to myself, "Fair enough, Bowie. Fair enough."
Scene II: Deciphering the Dream
The blended setting of a cinema and theatre signifies a transitional space, underlining the shift in societal norms for audience engagement - transitioning from active, engrossed participation to a more passive, often distracted mode of consumption. This amalgamated setting signifies more than just the transformation of our media landscape. It mirrors the ubiquitous presence of media in our daily lives, reflecting the dreamer's real-world experiences.
For the dreamer, the representation of a youthful David Bowie is an emblem of a past era and starkly contrasts the present-day, distraction-laden media consumption patterns. Instead of a retreat, Bowie's silent sit-in amidst disturbances during his performance critiques the emerging norms of modern spectatorship, unveiling an internal conflict within the dreamer. The dreamer's feelings of embarrassment and self-awareness point towards a discomfort with this societal shift and a recognition of his potential role in these changes.
The introduction and advice offered by the pseudo-Bowie emphasize an emerging societal trend that tends to neglect or misconstrue its cultural heritage. This character embodies the societal shift towards favouring the new and instantly gratifying over more complex, thought-provoking art forms, such as Bowie's more avant-garde pieces, which demand deeper engagement.
A significant persona in this dream is the dreamer's girlfriend. With the Bowie album cover, she soothes the crying baby, demonstrating a seamless navigation between past and present. Her ability to employ an artefact from a bygone era to address a current issue exemplifies the dreamer's ideal of striking a balance between reverence for the past and adaptation to contemporary societal changes. Her wisdom also impresses Bowie, underscoring her ability to engage with both past and present effectively.
The conclusion of the dream, marked by Bowie's departure and the entry of flamboyant dancers, symbolizes the dreamer's reluctant acceptance of the shift in performance style and audience engagement. It critiques the perceived depreciation in the authenticity of performance and respectful audience engagement, coupled with feelings of resignation and a keen sense of loss.
03 Apr 2023, 1:08 pm
