Conversations in Management
Her
fingers desperately claw the rock ledge. A look of horror
flashes across her face as she looks down at the churning river
hundreds of feet below. Glancing upward she sees him—the
dastardly Mr. Koerner! Her grip weakens. Her expression is a
study in both hope and despair. She’s about to fall—and then
the screen goes black. The breathless audience will have to
wait another week to learn what happens in The Perils
of Pauline!
The
Perils of Pauline
wasn’t the first movie serial, but due to its phenomenal
success, it came to define the genre. Released in 1914, the
20-episode series followed the exhilarating adventures of
Pauline. Week after week, Pauline faced dangers that ultimately
included, pirates, rats, sharks, gypsies, burning buildings and
runaway balloons to name only a few! And she gave us some of the
most memorable scenes in movie history. Pauline was the original
damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks with a locomotive
menacingly rounding the bend. She was so frequently in danger of
falling off the New Jersey Palisades, that a new term entered
our language—cliffhanger. Pauline’s perils weren’t all by
chance. Her dastardly guardian, Mr. Koerner, was behind most of
her misfortunes. Through one failed scheme after another, he
sought to finish her off in order to claim her fortune
for his own.
Pauline
was played by 25 year-old Pearl White. White had been acting for
seven years and built up a loyal fan base before The Perils
of Pauline made her one of the biggest stars of the era. She
undoubtedly earned every penny she made. In those days, making
the movie was nearly as perilous as the action depicted.
White performed her own stunts and the various gymnastics
associated with her weekly filming. She also suffered some
serious injuries in the process. But just like the fictional
Pauline, White always seemed to come out on top.
Many of us
lead lives that bear an eerie similarity to The Perils of
Pauline. Our days seem to race by in a pell-mell blur and
are over just about the time we’re warming up. We move from one
crisis to another, put out blazing fires and at the end of the
day feel as though we’re barely hanging on by the tips of our
fingers. Talk about cliffhangers! Some of us might even have a
character in our lives that fits the definition of
“dastardly.” While it can be exciting, most of the time it’s
simply exhausting!
All in all, racing through life
is a joyless affair. So many things are missed or overlooked. So
much of the texture of everyday life is lost. Small pleasures go
unappreciated. Once rich relations become dry, brittle and
barely recognizable. And it’s all sacrificed in the name of
speed and expedience. But we’re kidding ourselves if we
believe that all this hurry is really necessary. We forget that
most of what’s beautiful in our world was created by people who
weren’t on call 24/7. It’s time we slowed down, took a deep
breath and reassessed a few priorities. Make a pledge to keep
free time free—at least now and then. Do something
you enjoy with someone you enjoy. Take time.
—Ebert
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