Interpreting 'Rocket Man'

William Shatner's interpretation of 'Rocket Man' must be one of the crowning moments of the 1970s. Here it is:
YouTube&feature=related

How do you interpret this performance?

🙂

Curse you philistines.

Here's the Shat explaining that performance:
http://trekmovie.com/2007/01/24/shatner-talks-rocket-man/#comment-956779

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
William Shatner's interpretation of 'Rocket Man' must be one of the crowning moments of the 1970s. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQwXOCKNLY&feature=related

How do you interpret this performance?

🙂

It's funny, I know, but I can see where he's coming from. He's honestly putting himself in the position of an astronaut smoking a J the night before he goes up in a rocket when he recites (not sings) that song.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
It's funny, I know, but I can see where he's coming from. He's honestly putting himself in the position of an astronaut smoking a J the night before he goes up in a rocket when he recites (not sings) that song.

What's with the multiple versions of himself?

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
What's with the multiple versions of himself?

artistic interpretation...
prolly tossed in by tha producer, not shatner hizzelf...


rookie

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
What's with the multiple versions of himself?

That comes later, after he's been "smoking his J" for a while. He's starting to get intoxicated by then, and the second (and third, Dancin' Shatner), I think, is in his mind, which is why the sitting Shatner gets quiet and looks at the other Shatner...he's not talking any more, he's thinking.

Based on the lyrics, this is taking place in the wee hours of the morning, maybe three AM the night before he goes out in the rickety experimental contraption they're going to put him in.

The second Shatner seems to come in when the chorus comes on. I suspect the real Shatner's remembering himself say those words a few minutes ago and then twisting the image so he's standing or whatever in a muddled, fascinated haze.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
William Shatner's interpretation of 'Rocket Man' must be one of the crowning moments of the 1970s. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQwXOCKNLY&feature=related

How do you interpret this performance?

🙂

Stewie's version of this is 10 times better than Shat's version.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
That comes later, after he's been "smoking his J" for a while. He's starting to get intoxicated by then, and the second (and third, Dancin' Shatner), I think, is in his mind, which is why the sitting Shatner gets quiet and looks at the other Shatner...he's not talking any more, he's thinking.

Based on the lyrics, this is taking place in the wee ho nd then twisting the image so he's standing or whatever in a muddled, fascinated haze.

He might even be playing with the Id, Ego and Superego stuff too. Dancin' Shatner might be the Id, representing one effect of marijuana - euphoria - and the other one that is expressing a little bit of fear or paranoia occasionally (Scared Shatner?) might be one of the other ones, and Sittin' Shatner, the third - or maybe Giant Face Shatner, later replaced by Scared Shatner, is the third.

I could easily write an A paper on this for a film class I bet.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
He might even be playing with the Id, Ego and Superego stuff too. Dancin' Shatner might be the Id, representing one effect of marijuana - euphoria - and the other one that is expressing a little bit of fear or paranoia occasionally (Scared Shatner?) might be one of the other ones, and Sittin' Shatner, the third - or maybe Giant Face Shatner, later re ...[text shortened]... ared Shatner, is the third.

I could easily write an A paper on this for a film class I bet.

After further observation I have decided Scared Shatner and Giant Face Shatner are one and the same, which means Sittin' Shatner would be the third.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Curse you philistines.

Here's the Shat explaining that performance:
http://trekmovie.com/2007/01/24/shatner-talks-rocket-man/#comment-956779

How was it spontaneous and unrehearsed, just playing around when he had obviously pre-programmed holograms of himself performing next to himself?