Weird Oscars Dream


So last night we had a fun low-key Oscars party – thanks to Hugh, Renee, and everyone who came out! We were happy that Slumdog Millionaire just about swept the Oscars – it’s a great film about inner-city India, despair & hope if you haven’t seen it. (For a much more erudite take, listen to Jet Loe & Gareth Higgins’ The Film Talk podcast – their show in general is really a must-listen if you haven’t heard yet) I don’t pay any attention to when most films are released (for some reason, I can tell you about a ton of 1999 releases, but that’s about it) and know next-to-nothing about how the Oscars process works, so can somebody tell me if City of God would’ve been eligible this year? Ah yes, that’d be 2002. I’m disappointed it wasn’t in the running – (was it in 2002?) it’s Slumdog-esque, but decidely more depressing (though still hopeful at the end). I’ve probably answered my own question as to why it didn’t place.

Anyway, for some reason, I had the strangest dream last night following the Oscars. My wife Jasmin & I were actually there, as well as our little girl Jubilee. http://www.aolcdn.com/ch_kids/kca-2008-jack-black.jpgThere was a minister there too, from my past – though instead of having wiry white hair, he’d died it jet black and hat it nearly shaved. His mustache was dark too – made him look decades younger. After the awards were over, Jasmin & I were separated – I was in the car waiting for Jasmin, then I realized she wasn’t coming so I parked it and looked around. Adjacent to where the awards were was this huge coliseum-like structure, made of clay or grey concrete or something. I went inside looking for Jasmin, and it was some kind of coercive cult disguised as a radical labor movement. Most of the crowd – and there were tens of thousands – were working class people, blue-collar on “up.” From the center of the coliseum the speaker was talking about workers’ rights and organized labor and dignity, but there were blue-uniformed policemen at all the doors, preventing people from leaving. But then it got more bizarre; there were lots of kids in the crowd too, and they were encouraging the kids to make ‘scary’ sounds; I think training them for whatever they might be doing once let out of the structure. While most of the people there were ‘ordinary’ workers, there were Hollywood types in the crowd too (just being the Oscars and all). Jack Black was there, sitting in one of these stone-hewn rows, with lots of kids surrounding him – he seemed to be leading some of the scary-sound-making.

I still couldn’t find Jasmin, but I had Jubilee with me; I wanted to find an escape route, and I’d also left some stuff at the Oscars nearby apparently. so I went up to an exit and asked to leave. “Why should we let you leave?” the security officer asked. “Because I left some stuff out there…look, I’ll back: You see this baby? Her mom’s still in here. You don’t think I’d leave & try to raise her by myself, do you?” This seemed thoroughly convincing to the officer, and he let me go. When I got outside, Brittian Bullock was also there – he had apparently witnessed the bizarre goings-on inside and got out too. We were trying to figure out how to leave the whole complex – and grab my things – when Hugh Grant joined us. He seemed to be in the same boat as we were, disheveled and frazzled by the indoctrination/brainwashing going on inside. He urged us to go back in so we could find Jasmin. Once we got back inside, the ringleader – I think his name was Richard (Gere perhaps? Or Simmons?) – was recounting how this group got its start a decade ago as a role-playing game that went awry; what began with a board and dice and some nerds never actually ended, and it grew into this. Then Richard said that the founding member was Hugh Grant. We looked at him, stunned. He gave a guilty shrug – “I’m afraid it’s true, boys.”

And then I woke up.

12 Responses to Weird Oscars Dream

  1. Lon February 23, 2009 at 3:34 pm #

    this one’s easy… it’s everything you’ve feared… hugh grant’s jesus, and he doesn’t like what he’s started. he wants out just as bad as you do.

  2. Robin V. February 23, 2009 at 3:39 pm #

    Hmmm…. sounds (somewhat) like a dream from Mike Bickle (head of IHOP in Kansas City) that he had recently–in terms of a dangerous meeting that people were prevented to leave from. I read it this past weekend. Might be food for thought:

    http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000044365

  3. tim February 23, 2009 at 4:00 pm #

    I’m afraid I don’t have enough details to work with here.
    Do you remember the “Hotel California” playing in the background at any point?

    I actually thought it was a real good night for the Oscar’s. Ever year they say there is a new format, this was the only one I could tell that they were doing something different. Happy for Winslet, although I too, didn’t see The Reader. I liked seeing Heath win, nice moment there, Hugh’s (uhh, not Grant but the other Australian one – lol), “I’m Wolverine!” was great, and the rest of the night, winners, etc. seemed pretty deserving.

    Anyway, I’ve been enjoying your blogging lately. (I’m sure it’s always been good, I’ve just been reading more lately). See you around.

  4. Liz February 23, 2009 at 4:16 pm #

    Lots of “worst fears” going on there – sounds like an anxiety dream to me. Did you go to sleep worrying about something that you don’t have much (if any) control over?

  5. Davis February 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm #

    If you like Slumdog, you really should visit Mumbai some time in your life. It really is amazing!

  6. Brittian Bullock February 23, 2009 at 5:11 pm #

    I like it that I made it into the dream. This is pretty stellar. Though, I wish I had been the ringleader. That would have made it cooler for me.

  7. Hugh Hollowell February 23, 2009 at 6:20 pm #

    There was a lot of Hugh-ness. I was at the party (the real party, not the dream party), Hugh Grant was at the dream party and Hugh Jackman hosted the Oscars (presumably in both real life and in the dream.)

    Hugh’s of the world, unite!

  8. jason February 23, 2009 at 7:07 pm #

    Robin V

    My thoughts exactly

  9. lisacolondelay February 24, 2009 at 2:05 pm #

    Aren’t all dreams about sex and unfulfilled desire? I have to ask–Do you have a crush on Hugh Grant?

    but seriously…I think dreams are often God’s way of drawing us into deeper relation with him, and pointing something out to us that we can explore. The emotions of the dream, more than the plot are usually important. Things like confusing, fear, etc ( or good feeling s ) the fact you are trying to save your daughter, trying to escape- very interesting. I don’t think this was random… Corny how it played out, oh my yes, but I think God mixes it up, to circumvent our intellect, leaving the symbols behind, so we may still see their import, and be drawn into deeper spiritual journey.

    Lately, I’ve been the subject of dreams myself privately and at my website. All very enlightening! God is so big.

    Dream on, Mike.

  10. Travis Greene February 24, 2009 at 9:32 pm #

    City of God is an amazing film.

    According to Wikipedia, it got 4 Oscar nominations: cinematography, directing, editing, and writing.

  11. linda February 25, 2009 at 4:31 pm #

    ok, here are my thoughts. the structure was clay, a man-made thing that will probably crumble. the coliseum reminds me of the roman coliseum with its games and sport. maybe you see the church services like a performance with actors. it also resembles a cult with its control issues and hypocrisy. they say one thing but do another i.e. how they treat the workers but talk about human rights. maybe you also see the church like a circus or zoo with all the animals and noise. kind of reminds me of the charismatic animal noises thing in the vineyard years ago. nothing is what it seems but you do get outside the structure/institutional church. but you still haven’t found your wife. where is she? trapped inside? you’re concerned about “where” she is.

  12. Alexander Field February 27, 2009 at 3:46 am #

    Mike, this is hilarious. The image of Richard (Simmons?) as the ringleader of a labor union / role-playing gamers in a kind of animal noise making cult is brilliant. What fun that would be! Thanks for the story man.

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