What I learnt from Robin Williams' death (I was quite emotional)

What I learnt from Robin Williams’ death.

© by Hanan Youssef

From the moment an incarnation of Robin Williams burst out of the magic lamp in Aladdin exclaiming:

‘Ten thousand yeeeears can give you such a crick in the neck’

I fell in love. I knew it was Robin! I had seen previous films of his and later films, but it was Aladdin that touched me. I can’t quite put words to it. The Genie spoke to me; he was kind, warm and had that wacky yet sweet nature that emanated from our dear Robin! A tender moment between the Genie and Aladdin when he points out:

‘You won’t find another girl like her in a million years- believe me- I’ve looked’

was another warm and touching moment. 

         Williams never just acted, he gave of  himself and he always mustered up so much love for every role he played. The only conclusion I can come to about his most self destructive and violent death, is that he simply... gave too much. After all, here was a man struggling with depression and alcoholism, here was a man, with a past riddled with bullying. He was sad and desperately seeking someone to help him stand. He was a man who shone in the spotlight of humor, but retreated awkwardly when talking about serious issues. He so desperately wanted us to take the time out to see the complexity behind his acting. However, it is a sad fact that many of us simply don’t take the time. We are busy with our own lives, and often simply take advantage of those wacky and humorous characters in our lives. They make us feel happy, they make us laugh, and they touch us. However, when it comes to really knowing these souls, many of us are reluctant.  We waive getting to really know the person and appreciate the work, thought, and heart that lie behind that humor and those wacky gestures. Why is that? It is because comic geniuses such as Robin Williams don’t ‘suit’ serious.                

          However, as a mere observer of this incredible man, his character was that of such complexity that given the right frame of mind I for one, could really quite enjoy his more ‘serious’ moments, as it were. I always felt like he genuinely held strong opinions on things (strong morals). His thoughts were his alone of course, so although we all appreciated Mrs Doubt fire and Aladdin, we could never really get into his mind! Maybe in reality, he wanted the real focus to be more significantly leaning towards more difficult to watch movies he starred in such as ‘Awakenings’ (which is a movie I would have never watched and paid attention to until after Robins’ death). I know for a fact that he had some issues with Aladdin (I vaguely remember reading about this) and so always felt a pang of regret after that, watching a film I enjoyed since childhood. Since my father is in fact Egyptian, Aladdin transported me to this idyllic Arab world. Jasmine was beautiful, Aladdin was shy and charming, and Genie was just that majestic side kick that glued it all together. Put simply, it made me feel special. I only later found out that it was in fact based in Iraq or China (This definitely made me feel a little disappointed). So my immediate affiliation with the middle east seemed to make me focus greatly on Aladdin over his other movies, which I feel bad about since Robin himself certainly didn’t consider it his favorite role. This certainly rings true to many areas of life, I feel. When it comes to iconic comedians, be it Robin Williams or a friend, we tend to subjectify them. We see in them what we want to see, when we want to see it to please ourselves. We walk away satisfied within ourselves, but never truly taking the time out to see what this person really needs or what this person wants you to truly see! Sure, they may have hinted at it in the past…but did you pick up on it? Maybe you were simply too wrapped up in your own life to take the time out to look a little deeper. In Robin William’s case, to stop watching ‘Aladdin’ on replay and giving ‘Awakenings’ a watch! Perhaps you could look at all the humanitarian work he has done in the past. Sure, it’s hard to take the Genie of the lamp seriously – but maybe he felt stigmatized by that role? Who knows? 

          I think what I have certainly taken away from Robin Williams’ death is that if someone, be it a wacky comedian, or a good friend means something to us, we should take the time out to analyse all the shades of their personality to satisfy not only our curiosity, but also their right to be truly appreciated! It is also a way of respecting said person. You are not simply taking advantage of the fact that they bring you joy and inspiration, you are valuing them for being them, without for want of a better word ‘using’ them. People like Robin Williams were meek when it came to voicing this kind of sentiment; It was muddled behind his big beard and watering eyes, it is up to us to see his little flounders as not a weakness, but as a beautiful intention not to be forceful and hurt the other. That in itself deserves to be praised and appreciated, lest it end in a most violent suicide as we have all so sadly witnessed. It angers me a little if I’m being honest; that his suicide will in some way overshadow all the joy he brought in to my life. Yet in another way, it really highlights for me humanity, and how vigilant and sensitive I should be towards geniuses, such as Robin.

Thank you for the joy, Robin. I think we both knew that you were a very genuine man.