Life Enough For A Thousand Lifetimes

In the past 24 hours, there have been untold eulogies of David Bowie.  There have been articles written about what he meant to the countless worlds he affected; music, film, art, the LGBT community, Science Fiction, and just general weirdness.  A metric ton of digital ink has been spilled, and while it seems overwhelming, it makes sense.  This was a man who transcended boundaries, essentially for a living.  Since the late 60s, it seems he never met a line he wasn't willing to cross.  He meant a lot of things to a lot of people, and of course he meant something to me as well.  I wouldn't be here otherwise.  But I'm not a Bowie scholar, or even a particularly devoted acolyte.  But on the eve of his death, I think it's appropriate, if nothing else, to appreciate the sheer breadth of an impact the man has had on the world today.

"You know it's one thing to want to change the way that people live, but you want to change how they think, how they feel."

It's odd that perhaps one the of the most self-defining statements of Bowie's career was put in his mouth by someone else, and yet it doesn't make it any less true.  He wanted to alter people's mindsets, show them that things could be different, radically so, and that's alright.  This film (The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese) was honestly the first thing that popped into my mind when I learned Bowie had died, which is remarkable considering that he's got less than five minutes of screen time.  Nonetheless, it's a wonderful example of his propensity for appearing in the oddest places, and at the most unexpected times.

Speaking of which, the David Bowie cameo that probably codified the trope for my generation.  Zoolander's an insane move, but it's also very much immersed in that insanity.  For all its ridiculousness, this is a movie that full inhabits the world of high power, high impact male models.  Two models have a beef?  Well of course they're going to settle it with an extreme walk off.  And Bowie, to his credit, is 100% game, perhaps because this is the kind of thing no one in the audience would be surprised to find him doing.  If anything, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's reactions to his arrival best mirror our own; they simply shrug, as if to say, "Yeah, what'd you expect?"

Now, shapeshifting master of a league of super villains?  That one's a bit more hard to accept, though if anyone could pull it off, it'd be the Thin White Duke.  This one's cheating, I know; technically, David Bowie never voiced himself on The Venture Bros, though there was an incredible fan push to get him to appear on the show.  Nonetheless, it showcases the breadth of his influence, and how much of a culture touchstone he really was, not just for a single generation but for entire groups of them.

From Sandman by Neil Gaiman & Kelley Jones

Enough of a cultural touchstone, at least, that when Neil Gaiman was writing his landmark opus The Sandman, and it came time to portray the devil, there was only one person in his mind that could possibly fit the bill.  Via writer fiat, Lucifer, as he appeared in this small slice of the Vertigo Universe, was essentially played by David Bowie, and for anyone that's ever seen the man perform, it's an easy leap to make.  Nor was it the last time he'd be inked into the role.

From The Wicked & The Divine by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie

This one's a bit more of a deliberate homage, owing to the premise of The Wicked & The Divine: various gods are reincarnated into mortal bodies, and essentially become pop stars.  They all take their cues from pre-existing musical artists (Kanye, Rhianna, and Prince notably), and the above...well, it's Lucifer, and I'll let you guess her inspiration.

Art by Yoshitaka Amano

On the other end of the cultural spectrum, we have an art collection entitled Return of the Thin White Duke, by Yoshitaka Amano, who created the character designs for nearly all of the early Final Fantasy games, including arguably the greatest in the series (FF6) and my personal favorite (FF9).  Bowie, as it's beens aid, was a profoundly unique individual, and his own willingness to cross boarders in the more metaphorical sense also gave his work a profound sense of internationalism.  He was a man too big for one of anything, be it country or style.

From an article on Kotaku by Mark Serrels

And speaking of artists that transcend boundaries, lets take a moment to look in the direction of arguably one of the biggest Bowie fans on the planet: Hideo Kojima, creator of the inimitable Metal Gear Solid franchise.  Beyond his reputation for being off the wall insane, the game designer and aspiring cutscene film director is known for his fascination with the work of Bowie, and his creations are suitably littered with reference.  While the artwork above points out some visual similarities, nothing quite compares to the blatant shoutout in MGS 5, wherein Big Boss names his mercenary company the Diamond Dogs.

And we haven't even approached the profound impact he's had on countless recording artists.  Not even music he created: just people's he influenced, aided, and collaborated with over the years.  I chose the above TV on the Radio song because I think it's fairly classically Bowie-esque, but frankly I could just as easily have gone with this one...

Look at this list again.  This is a man whose life, career and work runs the gamut from Ben Stiller to Martin Scorsese to Hideo Kojima to Bing FUCKING CROSBY.  And again, this is without getting into the fact that the man recorded twenty six albums, starred in a number of films, and was often a standard bearer for the different, the strange, and the weird.  A decade and a half ago, he was voted by his peers as the most influential artist of all time, and if anything the last fifteen years has done nothing but provide further evidence that they nailed that one.

There's a point to all this, though frankly it was fun to simply recap my favorite David Bowie-moments listicle style.  As I said at the top, in the last 24 hours people have poured out their hearts and souls over the loss of Bowie, and I agree; his death is a tragedy, and one that should be mourned.  But let's not forget that in his 69 years on this planet Bowie did more than most people could ever dream.  He accomplished more than any artist, myself included, imagines they could in a thousand lifetimes, let alone seven short decades.  And, in a word, he lived life full-hearted, unafraid to change, to reinvent, to stride boldly forward instead of clinging to the past.  Let's eulogize Bowie; he deserves it.  But let's not lose sight of the example he set while we do so, and let's honor his legacy the way he would have - by striving to do more.  By attempting to be better, to make a better world for those around us.  And by walking forward, unafraid, into a brighter future.