Made By Bean

Some things look simple, and yet they are not. Take, for example, Mr. Bean. He is someone who has – and that’s not unusual at all – just one vision of the world. It must be said, it is his own vision, and that, on the other hand, is quite unusual.

A quite strange view, though. Lots of people get annoyed by him, because he shows us the things we are hiding for the outside world. Not surprising, given the way he looks like. His pants are too short, he is waddling like a duck, mumbling all the time and sticking his nose in other people’s business. He is, so to speak, an eccentric.

Doesn’t he have proper manners? Yes, he does. They are the same as ours, but they are blown out of all proportion, and applied literally. Mr. Bean has no sense of social relations. What do you need them for? Why should you restrict yourself? Babies are born with their eyes wide open. Everything is passing through, more than you ever will know. And everything you do is fine, because we are praising babies that show initiative. But there are borders, and at a certain moment you have to be stopped. Young children may be innocent, but a few years later they have to obey the rules, and adolescents have to be restricted, no matter what they are up to.

Mr. Bean shows the baby in ourselves. He refused to take the following steps, because this one was good enough. As a baby, couldn’t he just do anything he wanted? That bear of him, why should he get rid of it? You won’t get it, because it’s his friend! And also the only one, that he will love unconditional. His mother, indeed, used to give him unconditional love, and that was nice of her. But why would you do it yourself? You won’t get anything back, that’s for sure. You are better off leading your own life, without intervention of other people. The essence of life is: ‘Be yourself’.

Unlike his sketches, the movie ‘Bean’ shows us a Mr. Bean that is capable of learning. While staying with an American family, he’s coming across things he wouldn’t experience in his boring life as a guard of the National Gallery. Feelings are inconvenient. And yet, at the end of the movie, when leaving for England, he gives his host a hug. A bit artificial, but still sincere. The essence is: ‘Love eachother’. It’s the common thread of the story, just like 99 percent of all movies. By the way, there’s nothing wrong with that.

In the same movie, Mr. Bean makes a speech about the portrait ‘The mother of the artist (Whistler)’. His explanation of the painting is the envy of many art historians. How simplistic the speech may sound, Mr. Bean is getting to the heart of the matter. When I heard it, I was flabbergasted. It really is awsome. Here it comes:

‘Hello, My name is Dr. Bean. Apparently. And my job is to sit and look at paintings. So, what have I learned that I can say about this painting? Well, firstly, it's quite big, which is excellent. Because if it were very small, you know, microscopic, then hardly anyone would be able to see it. Which would be a tremendous shame. Secondly, and I'm getting quite near the end of this... analysis, secondly, why was it worth this man spending fifty million of your American dollars on this portrait? And the answer is, it's a picture of Whistler's mother. And as I've learned, staying with my best friend David Langley and his family, families are very important to us. And even though Mr. Whistler was fully aware that his mother was a hideous old bat who looked like she'd had a cactus lodged up her backside, he stuck with her, and even took the time to paint this amazing picture of her. It's not just a picture. It's a picture of a mad old cow who he thought the world of. And that's marvellous. Well that's what I think anyway.’

Anybody would understand these words. Mr. Bean explains the things we all can see, without any knowledge of art, history or science. Although he is forced to make a speech, when it comes to the moment of truth, he gives us a striking analysis. The essence is: ‘Trust yourself”.

About these last words, I would like to say one more thing. I remember the words ‘Trust yourself’ as graffiti on a wall near the train station of Naarden-Bussum, in the years 1985-1995. Each time that I read it, sitting in the train, they were a great support to me. In the meantime, the words are scrubbed off the wall, but that doesn’t undermine their clear and simple message. As simple as the universe, so to speak. I still want to thank the person who wrote it down. They mean so much to me.

Corresponding cartoon: