The word "oblivion" comes from the Latin word for forgetting. The other day was the Armistice centenary and was thinking that the Latin for "Lest we forget" is "Ne obliviscemur."
A few years ago I saw an old photograph of some ancestors of mine from about a century ago. They were wearing silly hats and having fun--somehow that seemed more real to me than your typical posed studio portrait. But we didn't know their names. I was wondering, "A century from now, will people be looking at our photos and wondering who we were?" I suppose that's how life is: even the people who remember you will be dead someday.
About twenty years ago I saw a funny movie Living in Oblivion, about a group of people filming a low-budget art film. The first part is about the director (Steve Buscemi) having a nightmare, imagining everything that can go wrong in a day of filming. The second part is about the insecure lead actress (Catherine Keener), who's been having an affair with the leading man--clearly based on Brad Pitt! In her nightmare their affair becomes common knowledge on the set, causing her great embarrassment.
At the end of the movie they're imagining their futures. The director sees himself winning an Oscar and using his acceptance speech to settle old scores, while the actress sees herself waiting tables and serving a customer who says, "Didn't I see you in a movie once?"
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