A tribute to Roger Ebert

I scanned my facebook newsfeed this afternoon, and was delivered a small shock of sorts. Roger Ebert, the renowned movie critic and one of my heroes was dead. I knew this not from any "Rest in Peace" statuses (though there were many later), but rather from the simple changing of a profile picture by one of my friends. My friend Jake had the good fortune to meet Ebert at a book signing in Chicago a while ago, and the picture says it all; the grin on my friend's face matching the old gentleman's beside him. Ebert's smile of course wasn't nearly as voluntary as my friend Jake's - a malicious cancer that led to the removal of  his thyroid  in 2006 saw to that, but his eyes in the picture reveal a wit undimmed and a spirit stronger than ever.

The great Roger Ebert

I'm afraid it was this older and more frail Roger Ebert that I really knew of. Like most college students my age, I had been far too young to appreciate  Siskel and Ebert at the Movies, and living in England and Belgium with basic cable prevented me from watching any of his later T.V. shows as great as they were. Considering this and the fact that I never met the guy, one could question my having dedicated an entire blogpost to my thoughts on this man, but I would beg to differ. 

The Roger Ebert I knew of was a man who could no longer speak, but whose writing soared to heights that are only worthy of those forever remembered. As I became more and more interested in movies in high school,  it became a regular occurrence for me to look at one of his reviews soon after watching a movie I had enjoyed. There was something comforting about knowing Ebert agreed with you about a movie, and a weird sense of accomplishment when he didn't. Most of the time we agreed, and I would marvel at the work of a man who seemed able to take everything I had felt about a movie and make it into a coherent, funny and insightful review. Ebert could be erudite and showcase his knowledge of film without being too lofty or condescending, but never degraded himself to those two word quotes fit for airing on commercials five weeks before a film's release, that are clearly given on the way to some studio-sponsored free buffet. 

Above all, what made Roger Ebert so special to me, was that he was so much more than a movie critic. Whilst I loved hearing about how good or bad movies were, I read his reviews to try and piece together different parts of what was a truly fascinating man. Ebert, it seems, possessed an almost Forrest-Gumpian knack for being involved with all things Chicago. It was he after all, according to Oprah Winfrey, who convinced the icon to go into syndication in the first place. Towards the end, Ebert would entertain us, his fans, with tales of strange local bars, drunken interviews with classic movie stars, and his many views on life, all of which were always an amazing read. His opinions on things always came across as being so very genuine, all the while accompanied with devastating sarcasm and an incredible sense of humour. 

Ebert's determination to keep writing both for fun and for reviews even after the loss of his speech, is probably the greatest testament I can give to someone who has truly changed the way people think about movies. The man whose reviews and various publications I have followed for a few years now died today as one of the greatest critics and writers of his generation, and I am proud to have known of him if only for a short time of his life. 

Roger, it seems I hardly knew you, but know that your words have inspired me beyond measure to believe that one small, pudgy man can leave the footprint of a giant.