Growing the Beard

Some of you might be a little itchy right now. Remember when you were 13 and experiencing a lot of “weird and uncomfortable sensations”? Would you rather be an adult man-child to spare yourself that past discomfort? You may laugh and say to yourself ‘no of course not’ – but before you dismiss the point, I want to hit home that right now, without beards, we ARE just giant boys ‘playing the adult game’. So, while this phase is awkward, we will come out of it as more experienced, evolved, and dignified creatures.

Now, the theme of today’s e-mail is “Growing the Beard”  -- we’ll be looking at Jedi Masters, Starfleet commanders, and the idea of transition.

From the article at  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard 
“Growing the Beard is the definitive moment when a television series begins to become noticeably better in quality. […]The key to this trope is seeing a dramatic "before and after" difference along the life of a series. The element can sometimes be attributed to a single, outstanding episode that defines the show. Other times it is just a general improvement, like Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

-- When it was decided to give Riker a beard, it was a moment for them to turn the show around – their new bearded direction lead the series to become one of the most popular and enduring television shows ever made. 




Now the article is about TV shows “finding themselves”,  going through a transition and some soul searching, and coming out of this transition far superior;  this TV trope happens to be very convenient and literally true for us.

So let’s take a look at Commander Riker’s beard itself and forget about the context. He’s got a great strategy for a “full beard” for someone who may not be able to fill out their cheeks. This is the most extreme example of his ‘low dip’ that I can find (and note his good bottom jaw-line, cut  in a pleasant loop that draws the ears to right above the adams apple, not along the jawline):




None of us can deny how much more regal and commanding Riker is WITH rather than WITHOUT his beard.  In the picture above with no beard, he looks like a freshmen in Starfleet, or like he should be working at In’n’out burger in a silly hat making milkshakes –  when you look at the man with a beard, you want to snap to his orders and then have a synth-ale with him later in ten-forward.    Remember when I told you about choosing a “beard hero” and putting him in your cube? Who do you think Data’s “beard hero” was?   And I quote:

“DATA: It is a beard, Geordi. A fine, full, dignified beard. One which commands respect and projects thoughtfulness and dignity. Well? Opinions?

DATA: When I stroke the beard thusly, do I not appear more intellectual? “

PART 2: JEDI MASTERS

Now, a challenge when making the Star Wars prequels was “how do we take this one actor, and turn him from a green, underling novice, into a jedi master??”
Sure, his hair goes through some styles, but the real character growth is based off of his beard -- there is no other physical attribute linked to wisdom.  No man can be taken seriously as a wizard or a jedi master with a slick, bald face.

And when Disney makes Episode VII in 2014,  which one of these looks do you think they’re going to go with?  If you could meet Mark Hamill right now, which look would YOU tell him to go with??  Would you believe in a man teaching you the secrets of the universe if he looks like he should be bringing you coffee?

A beard can't exist on a man's face unless that man went through the proper transformation to bring it there.  It's what truly marks the difference and the caliber OF that man -- it's why when you look at these Jedi Masters with their beards and compare their stature to their beardless selves, it measures above in some in-effible quality.  Every human is born with a clean face, and what seperates the men from the boys is the EVENT of growing that beard, not the ability to do so.

Remember, a caterpillar may not look forward to going into a caccoon, but when he emerges as a beautiful winged butterfly, soaring in the skies, do you think he regrets it?  KEEP LOOKING TO THE ENDGAME.