An Actual Person

Why You Should Look Forward To The Menopause | Fleabag Series 2

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Yes!

I need some help up here!

Oh, that was exciting.

Oh, I'm so proud of you girls.

Oh, you can't hear me --

Okay.

(Puts on a Headset)

Okay.

(The Women are intentionally ignoring him.)

Why The Aggression

Is it your Time of The Month?

The Other Widow :

I don't get my period, dipshit. 

I don't have a uterus.

Or ovaries.

Yeah. That's What Happens when 

The Red Room gives you 

an involuntary hysterectomy.

They kind of just go in and they rip out

all of your reproductive organs.

They just get right in there 

and they chop them all away.

Everything out, so you can't have babies. 

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Okay, okay. 

The Other Widow :

Okay! 

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Okay!

You don't have to get 

so clinical and nasty.

The Other Widow :

Oh, well, I was about to talk about 

fallopian tubes, but okay.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

It means so much to me 

that you came back for me.

The Widow :

No. No. You're gonna tell us 

how to get to The Red Room.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Look at You. All Business.

The Widow :

Trust me, this isn't Pleasure.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Little Natasha, all indoctrinated 

into The Western Agenda.

The Widow :

I chose to Go West to become an Avenger.

'Cause they treated me like Family.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Really? Family?

Well, where are they now?

Where is that Family now?

The Widow :

Tell me where The Red Room is.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

I have no idea. Okay?

The Widow :

Come on. 

You and Dreykov were like...

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Dreykov? 

The Widow :

Yeah.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

General Dreykov, My Friend, huh?

Gives me Glory... 

Soviet Union's First 

and Only Super-Soldier.

I could have been more famous 

than Captain America.

Then he buries me in Ohio 

on that stupid mission.

Three years!

So Tedious, boring me to tears.

(Yelena glares in his direction)

No offense.

Then puts me in prison 

for the rest of my life. Why.

Why? Why would he put me in... 

You know why?

'Cause maybe I want to talk about 

The Withering of The State.

Or maybe I don't like his hair or something

and I say something casually about that.

Maybe, you know,

I want The Party 

to feel actually like A Party

instead of this sourpuss 

organization.

But instead, no.

He puts me in prison 

for the rest of my life.

He just runs off and hides --

I'm not even the one 

who, uh, you know...

I'm not The One Who 

Killed His Daughter.

The Other Widow :

Can we throw him out the window now?

The Widow :

I think we should wait till 

we get to a higher altitude.

The Other Widow :

All right.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Lets go ask Melina.

The Widow :

Wait, Mom Melina?

We thought she was dead.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

You cannot kill 

A Fox that swift.

The Widow :

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

She was The Scientist, 

The Strategist. I was The Muscle.

She worked directly for Dreykov 

far more than I ever did.

The Widow :

Wait. Are you telling me that Melina 

is working for The Red Room, present day?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

She works remotely outside St. Petersburg.

The Other Widow :

I don't think we have enough fuel 

for St. Petersburg.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

No, we're good. 

We'll make it.

The Other Widow :

Okay.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

You should've brought 

the Avengers' superjet.

The Other Widow :

I swear, if I hear one more word from him,

I will kick him in the face. 

The Widow :

He's The Worst.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Natasha.

Natasha. Natasha.

Come here, I want to ask you something.

Come, it's important. 

The Widow :

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Did He talk to you about me?

The Widow :

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Did He talk to you about me? 

You know, trading War Stories?

The Widow :

Who? What are you talking about?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Captain America.

My Great Adversary in this 

theatre of Geopolitical Conflict.

Not so much A Nemesis.

More like a contemporary, 

you know? Coequal.

I always thought there was 

a great deal of mutual respect...

The Widow :

Wait. You haven't seen 

either one of us in 20 years

and you're gonna ask me about you?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

What is with this tension?

Did I do something wrong?

The Widow :

Is that a serious question?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

I only ever loved you girls.

I did My Best to make sure 

you would succeed, to achieve 

Your Fullest Potential,

and everything worked out. 

The Widow :

Everything worked out?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Yes. For you, yes.

We accomplished 

Our Mission in Ohio.

Yelena, you went on to become 

The Greatest Child Assassin

The World has ever known.

No one can match 

your efficiency, 

your ruthlessness.

And Natasha, not just a spy, 

not just toppling regimes,

destroying empires 

from within,

but an Avenger.

You both have killed 

so many people --

Your Ledgers must be 

dripping, just gushing red.

I couldn't be more 

proud of you.

The Other Widow :

Okay. You can... No.

Let go of me now.

You smell really bad.

So, are we there yet? 

Red Guardsman

The Other Widow :

 This would be a cool way to die.

Tell me that's a good sign for us!

The Widow :

Move your ass!

Get us outta here!

Wait!

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Yes!

I need some help up here!

Oh, that was exciting.

Oh, I'm so proud of you girls.

Oh, you can't hear me --

Okay.

(Puts on a Headset)

Okay.

(The Women are intentionally ignoring him.)

Why The Aggression

Is it your Time of The Month?

The Other Widow :

I don't get my period, dipshit. 

I don't have a uterus.

Or ovaries.

Yeah. That's What Happens when 

The Red Room gives you 

an involuntary hysterectomy.

They kind of just go in and they rip out all of your reproductive organs.

They just get right in there 

and they chop them all away.

Everything out, so you can't have babies. 

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Okay, okay. 

The Other Widow :

Okay! 

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Okay!

You don't have to get 

so clinical and nasty.

The Other Widow :

Oh, well, I was about to talk about 

fallopian tubes, but okay.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

It means so much to me 

that you came back for me.

The Widow :

No. No. You're gonna tell us 

how to get to The Red Room.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Look at You. All Business.

The Widow :

Trust me, this isn't Pleasure.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Little Natasha, all indoctrinated 

into The Western Agenda.

The Widow :

I chose to Go West to become an Avenger.

'Cause they treated me like Family.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Really? Family?

Well, where are they now?

Where is that Family now?

The Widow :

Tell me where The Red Room is.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

I have no idea. Okay?

The Widow :

Come on. 

You and Dreykov were like...

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Dreykov? 

The Widow :

Yeah.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

General Dreykov, My Friend, huh?

Gives me Glory... 

Soviet Union's First 

and Only Super-Soldier.

I could have been more famous 

than Captain America.

Then he buries me in Ohio 

on that stupid mission.

Three years!

So Tedious, boring me to tears.

(Yelena glares in his direction)

No offense.

Then puts me in prison 

for the rest of my life. Why.

Why? Why would he put me in... 

You know why?

'Cause maybe I want to talk about 

The Withering of The State.

Or maybe I don't like his hair or something

and I say something casually about that.

Maybe, you know,

I want The Party 

to feel actually like A Party

instead of this sourpuss 

organization.

But instead, no.

He puts me in prison 

for the rest of my life.

He just runs off and hides --

I'm not even the one 

who, uh, you know...

I'm not The One Who 

Killed His Daughter.

The Other Widow :

Can we throw him out the window now?

The Widow :

I think we should wait till 

we get to a higher altitude.

The Other Widow :

All right.

Lets go ask Melina.

The Widow :

Wait, Mom Melina?

We thought she was dead.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

You cannot kill 

A Fox that swift.

The Widow :

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

She was The Scientist, 

The Strategist. I was The Muscle.

She worked directly for Dreykov 

far more than I ever did.

The Widow :

Wait. Are you telling me that Melina 

is working for The Red Room, present day?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

She works remotely outside St. Petersburg.

The Other Widow :

I don't think we have enough fuel 

for St. Petersburg.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

No, we're good. 

We'll make it.

The Other Widow :

Okay.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

You should've brought 

the Avengers' superjet.

The Other Widow :

I swear, if I hear one more word from him,

I will kick him in the face. 

The Widow :

He's The Worst.

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Natasha.

Natasha. Natasha.

Come here, I want to ask you something.

Come, it's important. 

The Widow :

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Did He talk to you about me?

What?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Did He talk to you about me? 

You know, trading War Stories?

Who? What are you talking about?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Captain America.

My Great Adversary in this 

theatre of Geopolitical Conflict.

Not so much A Nemesis.

More like a contemporary, 

you know? Coequal.

I always thought there was 

a great deal of mutual respect...

The Widow :

Wait. You haven't seen 

either one of us in 20 years

and you're gonna ask me about you?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

What is with this tension?

Did I do something wrong?

The Widow :

Is that a serious question?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

I only ever loved you girls.

I did My Best to make sure 

you would succeed, to achieve 

Your Fullest Potential,

and everything worked out. 

The Widow :

Everything worked out?

Red Guardsman 

(a.k.a., "Dad") :

Yes. For you, yes.

We accomplished Our Mission in Ohio.

Yelena, you went on to become 

The Greatest Child Assassin

The World has ever known.

No one can match 

your efficiency, 

your ruthlessness.

And Natasha, not just a spy, 

not just toppling regimes,

destroying empires 

from within,

but an Avenger.

You both have killed 

so many people --

Your Ledgers must be 

dripping, just gushing red.

I couldn't be more proud of you.

The Other Widow :

Okay. You can... No.

Let go of me now.

You smell really bad.

So, are we there yet? 

Crowbar

crowbar (n.)

also crow-bar, "bar of iron with a wedge-shaped end," 1748, with bar (n.1), earlier simply crow (c. 1400); so called from its "beak" or from resemblance to a crow's foot; or possibly it is from crows, from Old French cros, plural of croc "hook."

bar (n.1)

late 12c., "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from Old French barre "beam, bar, gate, barrier" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end" [Gamillscheg, etc.], but OED regards this as "discredited" because it "in no way suits the sense."

General sense of "anything which obstructs, hinders, or impedes" is from 1530s. Of soap, by 1833; of candy, by 1906 (the process itself dates to the 1840s), both from resemblance of shape. Meaning "bank of sand across a harbor or river mouth" is from 1580s, probably so called because it was an obstruction to navigation. Bar graph is attested from 1925. Bar code first recorded 1963. Behind bars "in prison" is attested by 1934, American English. Welsh bar "a bar, rail," Irish barra "a bar, spike" are said to be from English; German Barre, Danish barre, Russian barŭ are from Medieval Latin or Romanic.

crown (n.)

early 12c., coroune, croune, "royal crown, ornament for the head as a symbol of sovereignty," from Anglo-French coroune, Old French corone (13c., Modern French couronne) and directly from Latin corona "crown," originally "wreath, garland," related to Greek korōnē "anything curved, a kind of crown."

According to Watkins this is from a suffixed form of PIE root *sker- (2) "to turn, bend." But Beekes considers the "crown" sense as derived from the formally identical Greek word korōnē "crow" (see raven), which, he says, was used metaphorically "of all kinds of curved or hook-formed objects." "Moreover," he writes, "the metaphorical use of [korōnē] 'crow' is nothing remarkable given the use of its cognates ...; the metaphors may have originated from the shape of the beak or the claws of the bird." Compare Latin corax "crow," also "a hooked engine of war," French corbeau "raven," also "cantilever;" English crowbar, etc.

 

Old English used corona, directly from Latin. Figuratively, "regal power," from c. 1200. From late 14c. as "a crowning honor or distinction." From c. 1300 as "top part of the skull or head;" from 1670s as "top of a hat." From 1804 as "part of a tooth which appears above the gum."

Extended late 14c. to "coin bearing the imprint of a crown or a crowned head," especially the British silver 5-shilling piece. Also the name of monetary units in Iceland, Sweden (krona), Norway, Denmark (krone), and formerly in German Empire and Austria-Hungary (krone). Crown of thorns was late Old English þornene crune.

Content

content (v.)

satisfy in a LIMITED way;

content (v.)

make content;

content (adj.)

satisfied or showing satisfaction with things AS THEY ARE

Modern War is merely 

Media Content.

War becomes a 

continuous Sporting Event —

A World Cup that never ends.

The Crucial Detail is CONSENT.

Consent creates 

A Game, 

NOT A Crime.”

— Tyler Durden

BILL MOYERS: 

Let me ask you some questions about these common features in these stories, the significance of the forbidden fruit.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Well, there’s a standard folktale motif called 

“The One Forbidden Thing.” 

Remember, in Bluebeard, 

“Don’t open that closet.” 

You know, and then 

one always does it. 

And in the Old Testament story, 

God gives the one forbidden thing, 

and he knows very well, 

now I’m interpreting God, 

he knows very well that 

Man’s going to 

eat the forbidden fruit. 

But it’s by doing that that 

Man becomes 

The Initiator of His Own Life. 

Life really begins with that.

BILL MOYERS: 

I also find in some 

of these early stories, 

the human tendency to find someone to blame.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Yeah.

BILL MOYERS: 

Let me read Genesis 1, then I’ll ask you to read one from the Bassari legend.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

All right.

BILL MOYERS: 

Genesis 1: “And God said, ‘Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat?’ Then the man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.’ And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you’ve done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ Now, I mean, you talk about buck-passing, it starts very early.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

That’s right.

BILL MOYERS: 

And then there’s the Bassari legend.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

It’s been tough on serpents, too. “One day Snake said, ‘We too should eat these fruits. Why must we go hungry?’ Antelope said, ‘But we don’t know anything about this fruit.’ Then Man and his wife took some of the fruit and ate it. Unumbotte came down from the sky and asked, ‘Who ate the fruit?’ They answered, ‘We did.’ Unumbotte asked, ‘Who told you that you could eat that fruit?’ They replied, ‘Snake did.’ It’s the same story.

BILL MOYERS: 

Poor Snake.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

It’s the same story.

BILL MOYERS: 

What do you make of this, that in all of these stories the principal actors are pointing to someone else as the initiator of the fall?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Yeah, but it turns out to be Snake. 

And Snake in both of these stories is 

The Symbol of Life throwing off The Past 

and continuing to live.

BILL MOYERS: 

Why?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

The Power of Life, because The Snake sheds its skin, 

just as The Moon sheds its Shadow. 

The Snake in most cultures is positive. 

Even the most poisonous thing, in India, The Cobra, 

is a sacred animal. 

And The Serpent, Naga, 

The Serpent King, Nagaraga, 

is the next thing to The Buddha, 

because The Serpent represents 

The Power of Life in The Field of Time 

to throw off Death, 

and The Buddha represents 

The Power of Life in The Field of Eternity 

to be eternally alive.

Now, I saw a fantastic thing of a Burmese priestess, 

A Snake Priestess, who had to bring rain to her people 

by calling a king cobra from his den 

and kissing him three times on the nose. 

There was The Cobra, 

The Giver of Life, The Giver of Rain, 

which is of Life, as The Divine Positive, 

not negative, figure.

BILL MOYERS: 

The Christian stories turn it around, 

because The Serpent was the seducer.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Well, what that amounts to 

is a refusal to affirm life. 

Life is Evil in this view. 

Every natural impulse is sinful unless you’ve been baptized or circumcised, in this tradition that we’ve inherited. For heaven’s sakes!

BILL MOYERS: 

By having been The Tempter, 

Women have paid a great price, 

because in mythology, some of this mythology, 

they are the ones who led to the downfall.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Of course they did. I mean, they represent Life. 

Man doesn’t enter life except by woman, 

and so it is Woman who brings us into 

The World of Polarities and Pair of Opposites 

and suffering and all. 

But I think it’s a really childish attitude, 

to say “No” to Life with all its Pain, 

you know, to say this is something 

that should not have been.

Schopenhauer, in one of his marvelous chapters, 

I think it’s in The World as Will and Idea, says: 

“Life is something that should not have been. 

It is in its very essence and character, 

a terrible thing to consider, 

this business of living by killing and eating.” 

I mean, it’s in sin in terms of 

all ethical judgments all the time.

BILL MOYERS: 

As Zorba says, you know, 

“Trouble? Life is Trouble. 

Only Death is no Trouble.”

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

That’s it. And when people say to me, you know, 

“Do you have optimism about The World,

 you know, how terrible it is?”

I said, ‘Yes, just Say,

“It’s great! Just the way it is.”

BILL MOYERS: 

But doesn’t that lead to 

a rather passive attitude 

in the face of Evil, 

in the face of Wrong?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

You participate in it. 

Whatever you do 

is Evil for somebody.

BILL MOYERS: 

But explain that for The Audience.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Well, when I was in India, 

there was a man whose name was 

Sri Krishnamenon 

and his mystical name was 

Atmananda and he was in Trivandrum, 

and I went to Trivandrum, 

and I had the wonderful privilege of 

sitting face to face with him 

as I’m sitting here with you. 

And the first question, 

first thing he said to me is, 

“Do you have A Question?” 

Because The Teacher there always answers questions, 

he doesn’t tell you anything, 

he answers. 

And I said, 

“Yes, I have a question.” 

I said, 

“Since in Hindu thinking all The Universe is Divine, 

is a manifestation of 

Divinity Itself,

How can we say ‘No.’ to anything in The World —

How can we say ‘No.’ to Brutality, 

to Stupidity, to Vulgarity, 

to Thoughtlessness?” 

And he said, 

“ For you and me, 

we must Say ‘Yes.’”

Well, I had learned from my friends 

who were students of his, that 

that happened to have been 

the first question he asked his guru, 

and we had a wonderful talk for about an hour 

there on this theme, of The Affirmation of The World. 

And it confirmed me in a feeling that I have had, 

that "Who are We to Judge?" 

And it seems to me that this is one of 

the great teachings of Jesus.

BILL MOYERS: 

Well, I see now what you mean in one respect; 

in some classic Christian doctrine 

The World is to be despised, 

Life is to be redeemed in The Hereafter, 

it is Heaven where Our Rewards come, 

and if you affirm that which you deplore, 

as you say, you’re affirming The World, 

which is Our Eternity of The Moment.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

That’s what I would say.