I was unaware of this until recently, but in May of 2010, a paparazzi
captured a series of photos of Keanu Reeves eating a sandwich on a bench. After
Keanu finished his sandwich, he sat for a moment appearing contemplative and sad.
This particular image captured a lot of traction as a meme with numerous
photoshop interpretations appearing on the web; Keanu looking sad among a group
of kittens, Keanu looking sad with Iron Man, etc. I stumbled upon this “Sad
Keanu” phenomena accidentally when browsing the Shapeways website, the
marketplace for 3D printed objects. One of their most popular products is “Sad
Keanu,” offered in two sizes, itty bitty and little, “both equally sad”
(according to the website). Like the
rest of the public at large, this image resonated deeply with me. Keanu looked
so vulnerable in that moment. Even celebrities, it seems, with all of their
wealth and popularity suffer from the same range of emotions as the rest of us.
Sadness is a great equalizer. It somehow made me feel that if I were there at
that moment with Keanu, I could have put my arm around him and comforted him uttering
something profound like, “there, there . . .”
Articles and posts proliferated summarizing Keanu’s tragic
life. His father was a drug dealer who was sent to prison when Keanu was
twelve. His mother was a stripper who married several times. Keanu’s girlfriend
was pregnant with Keanu’s child, which was later delivered stillborn. Months
later, his girlfriend died in an automobile accident. Keanu’s sister suffers from leukemia and his
brother has been in and out of prison a number of times. Undoubtedly all of
these factors have contributed to the overall sadness of Keanu all of the posts
have speculated.
In truth, Keanu has stated that he was not all that sad when
the photo was taken. He did mention that it was a downer being photographed
while eating a sandwich however, and he has declared quite often since (with an
insincere look) that he finds the whole phenomenon amusing. Even after his
protestations, he was once again captured looking sad as he was smoking a
cigarette, fueling the “Sad Keanu” fire. His spokesman felt it necessary to issue
a statement at that point to the effect, “Keanu Reeves would like to thank all
of his fans for their concerns regarding his happiness and wants to assure
everyone that all is well.” So there you have it. Keanu is really not as sad as
we all think. He just naturally looks sad. Our outpouring of love and sympathy
is grossly misplaced. We should probably divert our attention and emotions to
other more pressing concerns. Even if Keanu is truly sad and only putting on a
brave front, what could we really do to make him happier? Keanu’s happiness is ultimately
Keanu’s responsibility. It is time for all of us to move on.
However, I will confess that I did order an itty bitty Sad
Keanu while on the Shapeways website. It doesn’t hurt to have a small (no pun
intended) reminder of one’s own humanity; the initial twinge of sympathy and empathy
I felt when I stumbled upon this image, the fact that we are all sad at times and
in need of comfort or that our emotions are often misinterpreted and we are
grossly misunderstood. We are all Keanu and Keanu is us.
