Between “passionate” and “dispassionate,” why not the latter? Having a “passion” for something threatens to be trite. “Passion” emits heat, and there’s enough heat circulating already. How about “devotion” instead? I’m devoted to the art of mimickry. A bent for imitation, along with a musical ear, is useful for learning aother language. Adopting a foreign language can feel like stepping into a different skin.

Times movie critic Alissa Wilkinson writes a sprightly, sensitive essay about the art of doing impressions on “Saturday Night Live” and in movies. She cites this comment of Jacob Rubin’s:

Writing in Slate in 2015 about Carvey’s Bush take, Jacob Rubin observed that a great impression “helps us imagine the perspective of the imitated rather than calcify him in ways already seen.” It’s as if we’re seeing his point of view. [My bolding.]

But my favorite reference in the article is to Simone Weil:

THIS IS WHERE a great impression or dramatic performance begins. The actor engages in mind-meld, a sense of deep connection that can only come from careful and deeply interested attention to the subject. I can’t help but think, though it might be a little perverse here, of the philosopher Simone Weil’s observation that “attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” [My bolding.]

Weil’s remark crystallizes my philosophy of blogging.

(Alissa Wilkinson, “In a Season of Political Impressions, Why Does Dana Carvey’s Biden Stand Out?” (New York Times, 10-23-24)

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