Sunday, 08 August 2010

• Shaving Face: Five Beard-Shaving Scenes with Unexpected Symbolic Weight

  I know, I know. People are going to say, "Why is this on Datingish? This should be on Mancouch, blah blah."

  But you know what? I don't care. This is fucking awesome.

  Well, strange things amuse me and some weird things amuse a select few as well how visit Datingish. So here it is anyway. Nerve compiled a list of symbolic beards and beard shaving moments. These are my favorites.

  

  Chuck Noland, "Cast Away"

  Winning the award for Most Foreboding Last Name Ever, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) gets lost at sea before washing up on a deserted island, where he’ll remain for many years. On paper, this sounds like a particularly boring episode of Lost. But no paper — not even the fancy kind used for résumés — can translate the insanity of Noland’s beard, which, like the man behind it, only gets crazier throughout Cast Away. Upon his eventual, clean-shaved return to civilization, Noland sadly discovers that shaving his beard won't win back the time it took to grow it.

  Did anyone else adore Cast Away or the volleyball Wilson? When Noland takes out his tooth? This movie was a whole lost of awesome. And the symbolic shaving of the beard? Urgh. Killed me.
  

  

  Richie Tenenbaum, "The Royal Tenenbaums"

  Richie’s unrequited love for his adopted sister, Margot, ended his life as a painter, his life as a tennis pro, and almost his life, period. When Richie learns of Margot’s many sexual indiscretions — including one involving his best friend — he cuts his hair, shaves his beard, and then slits his wrists. His beard — the last remnant from his days as a tennis star — has a Samson-like significance; shaving is the final act of capitulation. The scene is eerily set to Elliott Smith’s “Needle in the Hay,” which, given the circumstances of that singer’s death, retroactively lends the scene further, unintended resonance.

  I have a deep love for Wes Anderson and "The Royal Tenenbaums" especially. Richie's attempted suicide was one of the best parts of the movie and it was beautifully shot. Perfection.
  

  

  Ron Burgundy, "Anchorman"

  Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), the premiere newscaster of ‘70s San Diego, is well-known for his fetching moustache. But not even his famous follicles can stop the tide of feminism; his coveted job is eventually given to a former girlfriend. Dethroned and emasculated, the journalist roams aimlessly around town, chugging a carton of milk that inevitably leaks into his unemployment beard. Fortunately, an imminent panda birth demands the expert news coverage that only a veteran like Burgundy can provide. After ducking into a restroom, he emerges sans beard and triumphantly announces, “Good evening. I’m Ron Burgundy.”

  It's been far too long since I watched this movie. Between sex panther cologne and the zoo, this was endless quotable and somehow still strangely weighty. Well, kind of.
  

  Read about more symbolic beards at the original article here.

  What did you think of the article? Can you think of any other symbolic beard shaving moments?

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