Raymond Carver, Birdman and the American Dream

I never cared for Raymond Carver.

I can’t really explain why, but when I was younger I was asked to read Cathedral (considered by many to be his best work) for purely academic purposes. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like the story. Probably because someone in a position of authority (in this case a professor) told me I had to read it. I did what they told me. I even wrote a report on the piece. I don’t remember what grade I got on that particular report, but as a solid A/B student in college, I can safely say it was a decent grade.

Good grade or not, I didn’t care for Carver. I read that he had a drinking problem (heck, what a literary great, isn’t he). I read that he tragically died at too young an age. Not that it put me off. I still wrote it off as run of the mill.

That changed this year when I saw Birdman. Now I know what you’re thinking. Birdman was not written by Raymond Carver. Only the short story that Michael Keaton’s character has adapted into the game (What We Talk About When We Talk About Love) was written by Carver. And you are right. But the basis of this film is much deeper than the story of a failed actor trying to return to Broadway.

While Birdman itself was not written by Carver, Birdman doesn’t work without Carver. It can’t work without Carver. This movie couldn’t work without Carver’s tale serving as the basis for the entire theme of the film.

I loved Birdman. I think Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone should all win in their respective Oscar categories. I also think the director should win Best Director and he should be named Best Picture.

Although it won’t be. American Sniper will steal various prizes from you. Like The Imitation Game and Selma.

It will be a pity.

Even if Birdman doesn’t win anything during the Academy Awards, he’s accomplished at least one thing: he’s given this reader (and many others) a new appreciation for Raymond Carver’s work.

If Carver were still alive today, I would write him a letter apologizing for quitting his job when he was in college. Or maybe I’d have a Twitter account (I know some of you just cringed), so maybe my apology could be sent in the form of a “tweet.”

In any case, I will read Cathedral again, as well as several other Raymond Carver short stories.

I hope many of you reading this article will do the same.