“Hell is other people” – and their taste in music…

THE FAMOUS EXISTENTIALIST’S OPINION: “Hell is other people.” (“L’enfer, c’est les Autres.”)        Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)        French existential philosopher and writer and Marxist social activist        This is the oft-quoted line from Sartre’s play No Exit (titled Huis Clos in French), spoken by the character Joseph Garcin. The play was first performed in French at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier theatre in Paris in May 1944. It was first performed in English at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City in 1946, using the translation by the renowned Beat writer and translator, Paul Bowles.          Bowles was a bit creative in his translation. “Huis clos” is a French idiomatic expression that’s similar to the English legal term “in camera,” meaning a judicial proceeding or discussion held in private. In fact, the play has sometimes been performed and filmed in English under the title In Camera.        A more literal translation of “Huis Clos” would be “behind closed doors.” However, the play is best known by the title Bowles came up with. Apparently, it was a hellish translation challenge for him. In the biography Paul Bowles: A Life, he is quoted as saying: “I’m not very good at titles. It took me six weeks to get No Exit out of Huis Clos.”        No Exit/Huis Clos is about the three doomed souls: a man, Joseph Garcin, and two women, Inès Serrano and Estelle Rigault. They are condemned to Hell for their sins. But instead of facing flames and torture, they are locked together in a room furnished in the Second French Empire style. (Hellish in itself!) There’s not much for them to do except talk about themselves and eventually deal with Estelle’s attempt to seduce Joseph.

THE DEVIL’S TAKE: “Have you heard the expression ‘Hell is other people’? This is true, especially if the other people are French.”        Satan (as quoted by writer David Katz)        In a humorous “interview” with the Lord of Hell, “What I’ve Learned: Satan,” published in Esquire magazine, January 2007.

T.S. ELIOT’S TAKE: “What is hell? Hell is oneself,   Hell is alone, the other figures in it   Merely projections. There is nothing to escape from   And nothing to escape to. One is always alone.”        T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)        British poet and playwright        Said by the character Edward Chamberlayne in Eliot’s play The Cocktail Party, first performed in 1949. In the play, Edward makes amends with his wife Lavinia at a party, after they’d split due to his infidelity. It was the most popular of Eliot’s seven plays in his lifetime.

THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY VARIATION: “Hell isn’t other people; it’s other people when you’re sober.”        Marty Beckerman        American author        In his very funny book The Heming Way, which spoofs Ernest Hemingway’s uber-manly attitudes and behavior. The subtitle is How to Unleash the Booze-Inhaling, Animal-Slaughtering, War-Glorifying, Hairy-Chested Retro-Sexual Legend Within, Just Like Papa!

THE POSITIVE SPIN VARIATION: “Hell may be other people, but they’re all we’ve got.”        Stephanie Zacharek        Film critic for Time magazine        Her encapsulation of the point of the movie Wilson (starring Woody Harrelson as the title character), in her review in Time, April 3, 2017. The film is based on the graphic novel by American cartoonist Daniel Clowes.

THE MUSICAL TRUISM: “Hell is other people’s taste in music.”        David McGimpsey        Canadian poet and novelist        In his book of sonnets, Li’l Bastard (2011)

THE POLITICAL TRUISM “Hell is other people’s politics.”        John Guzlowski         Polish-born American writer and poet        His response on Twitter to a tweet by Quaint Magazine that said: “Throughout the next few days, we'll be reposting links to work we've published that speaks to the current political climate.”

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“With great power comes great responsibility.”

THE EVOLUTION OF THE PITHY PROVERB: “With great power comes great responsibility.”        Catchphrase popularized by Spider-Man comics and movies        This now well-known line was first used in Marvel comic books featuring Spider-Man, the web-slingin’ superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. It was more widely popularized by director Sam Raimi’s hugely-popular 2002 Spider-Man film, which made it familiar to millions of people who never read a Spider-Man comic.        The line evolved from narrative text written by Stan Lee for the original Spider-Man origin story published in August 1962 in Vol. 1, #15 of the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy.        In that story, after student Peter Parker accidentally gets his Spider-Man superpowers from the bite of a radioactive spider, he initially uses them to make money by performing in local wrestling matches and other public shows. One night, as he’s leaving a show, he sees a cop chasing a burglar. The cop wants him to help stop the criminal, but Peter refuses. Shortly thereafter, his beloved Uncle Ben Parker is murdered and Peter finds out the killer was the burglar he had refused to capture.        The final panel in the story shows a small figure of Peter in his Spider-Man costume, dejectedly walking down a city street in the dark. Lee’s text in that panel provided the inspiration for the saying that would become famous. It says:        “AND A LEAN. SILENT FIGURE SLOWLY FADES INTO THE GATHERING DARKNESS, AWARE AT LAST THAT IN THIS WORLD, WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME --  GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.”         Spider-Man fan sites like Spiderfan.org say the quote “With great power comes great responsibility” was first used in a comic book in 1987, in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1. It’s mentioned as a saying of Uncle Ben’s in that issue, though not spoken by him. The first time Ben said it in a comic was in February 2002, in Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 2, #38.        A few months later, in May 2002, Raimi’s Spider-Man film was released. The line was used twice in the movie and launched it into pop culture meme status. It’s first spoken by actor Cliff Robertson, as Uncle Ben, and repeated at the end by Tobey Maguire, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man.          There are similar quotes linking power and responsibility that predate the Spider-Man catchphrase.        For example, as noted by veteran comic and television writer Mark Evanier on his great NewsFromMe.com site, Theodore Roosevelt wrote in a 1908 letter that “responsibility should go with power.” And, in 1945, Teddy's relative Franklin D. Roosevelt said “great power involves great responsibility.”        There’s also a famous historical quip about irresponsible power-wielders: “Power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.” That zinger was used in 1931 by UK politician Stanley Baldwin, in a speech attacking the media barons who owned British newspapers (the forerunners of Rupert Murdoch).

A PITHY REVIEW OF THE NEW SPIDER-MAN MOVIE: “With great power comes great responzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzz…”        Marty Beckerman        Author, journalist and self-described “nice, semi-demented Jewish boy” from Alaska        In his review of the recently-released Amazing Spider-Man movie on Salon.com, July 3, 2012, which ponders the question: “Is there an original idea left in Hollywood?”

THE U CAN HAS FREE CHEEZBURGER VERSION: “We know that with great burgers comes great responsibility. So, we are doing our part to celebrate America’s birthday, Spider-Man’s birthday and the release of The Amazing Spider-Man film by giving anyone dressed as Spider-Man a free Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger on the Fourth of July.”        Brad Haley         Chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s        In a press release issued on June 25, 2012

DR. HOUSE’S OBSERVATION: “With great power comes great micromanaging.”         Hugh Laurie, as the character Dr. Gregory House         In the “Better Half” episode of the TV show House M.D. (Season 8, Ep. 9 , first aired Jan. 23, 2012).

THE KICK-ASS VARIATION: “With no power, comes no responsibility.”         Aaron Johnson, playing the unconventional superhero named Kick-Ass         In the movie Kick-Ass (2010)

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