Comments on: Bob Dylan Is a Man

By: Megan

Megan — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:23:33 +0000

Okay, okay. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s a fake, and I definitely don’t think of him as a coward, or crafting an image for his fans (hello? Royal Albert Hall? Christian conversion? etc?). Quite the contrary, really. In that regard, I agree that this character he’s created isn’t a problem; can’t argue, he’s been authentic to his ART.

Please tell me you’ve seen I’m Not There?? (title explicit enough for ya?)

By: Micah

Micah — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:08:39 +0000

Oleg and Megan,
I respectfully disagree (or… you guys are morons!).

I’m not saying that every aspect of Dylan is quintessential manliness. After all, I sure as hell wouldn’t want him protecting me from an assailant. But there are aspects of his character, at least as I perceive it, that I think embody manliness.

As for a man crafting his persona – I see no problem with this, unless it is an explicit front. Both of you suggest that the Bob Dylan I perceive isn’t real. It’s more complicated than that though. We all fall short of our ideals, and we all spend time crafting ourselves. Unless Bob Dylan the man is radically different than the Bob Dylan who comes through in his interviews, I’m not going to retract my main points in this post.

By: Oleg

Oleg — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:06:59 +0000

From Wikipedia: ”In a 2004 interview, Dylan explained: “You’re born, you know, the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens. You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free.”

Anyone born Robert Allen Zimmerman who calls himself Bob Dylan is not, in my book, a confident and secure man. He is a man who changed some core things about himself to create the image the society was expecting of him. In my book, he is a coward.

I agree with Megan. He has not led an authentic life. His persona, his image — are all a fake. Much like Michael Jackson’s skin, Bob Dylan’s name is a cover.

By: Megan

Megan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:52:26 +0000

I’m in love with Bob Dylan, the myth – the person he’s very carefully crafted. The man? Well, that side of him I willfully overlook. And it’s hard to reconcile that split.

Nonetheless, everyday’s a celebration of him around here, and he inspires me to live authentically, even if I can’t say he’s done so himself.