Spotlight: When You Think John Lennon Might Be Your Dad
Olivia Plotnick is a marketing and communications enthusiast, who shared her story at an Unravel live show in February of this year, under the theme ‘Waves.’
Our 'Waves' live show was a special collaboration show with our friends at The Shanghai Literary Review and Shaving in the Dark, and each story told on stage was accompanied by live digital animation courtesy of SITD. Olivia’s story centered around a mix-up, wherein she thought a picture of John Lennon was an old photograph of her father.
Unravel: What inspired you to tell your story?
Olivia: An avid fan of storytelling, Unravel has touched a visceral part of my fascination with human connection and communication. Each month’s show leaves me pondering; what would I have said? Do I have a story worth telling? What story would I tell? What story needs to be told?
When the end of February rolled around, as with each month I scrutinized the poster; “Waves…..shifting, transforming, moving people.” I immediately thought of the shifting, transforming, moving relationship we have with our parents throughout our lives. And that, no matter how far out into the sea the waves may go, gravity always pulls them back to the shoreline.
Unravel: Why did this theme in particular push you to take to the stage? And can you walk us through what led you to think John Lennon was your father?
Olivia: My parents and older brother have been pillars of support, motivation and acceptance throughout my life, and we have lived (and continue to live) an incredibly, and I truly mean incredibly, fortunate and lucky life. In January, I learned that my father has a type of leukemia, and this news had effectively sent a tsunami of emotions, questions, and paralysis through me.
Thinking a lot about my relationship with my father, and the earliest memories I have, I kept recalling a photograph near our computer, but this photograph was not a photograph of my father, only I didn’t find that out until much later in life. I had spent the better part of my life thinking that a famous John Lennon photograph was photo of my father at a young age.
Unravel: Did you ever end up telling your dad about the mix up—what did he think of it?
Olivia: I had never actually told my father the story until much later. So, at a time when humor, laughter and a little bit of celebrity star-power was needed most—it’s possible I saved this story for just the right time. My father said, he was very amused and sad to have missed out on an opportunity to take advantage of this mistaken identity as a superstar.
My dear friend Zury was kind enough to film the entirety of my story, and after a crash-course for my parents in how to access files from Wetransfer my story was transported from Shanghai to the woods of Oregon where my parents watched, and listened to the story for the first time. I’m told it brought both laughter and tears, and has now become a running joke in the family. My mom even procured a framed photo of my father’s face photoshopped onto John Lennon’s — might I add that it further confirms their similarity.
Unravel: The way you describe your childhood in Oregon sure sounds a far cry from the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, how did you end up here of all places?
Olivia: I grew up about 40 minutes outside of the nearest city, in the mountains, up a dirt road, with our closest neighbor almost 2KM away — Shanghai couldn’t be more opposite of where I grew up, but I think that’s what draws me to it. I started studying Chinese in high school and quickly realized it was a) quite the challenge and b) something not many other people were doing. Most of my decisions since then have continued to meet the criteria of either or both a and b.
Unravel: It took you 18 years to encounter this iconic photo of John Lennon on a dorm room wall. Is it safe to assume you were not a Beatles fan?
Olivia: Perhaps it was the lack of exposure to pop culture — we had 3 TV channels and 2 Disney movies — the limited number of photographs of my parents in their teens/early 20s or the perception I had of my father as hippie rolling stone that left me satisfied with my assumption that the old black and white photo by the computer was just dad at his prime in the 70s. I definitely listened to the Beatles growing up, my parents were fans — hence the John Lennon photograph, but clearly I wasn’t one to peruse my parents’ CD collection.
Unravel: What would you say to someone who is considering sharing their story at Unravel?
Olivia: It is difficult to find the right words to describe what an integral role I believe stories play in our lives. And not the stories us marketers craft for brands to sell more stuff, I mean the real, raw, human stories that come from each and every person about love, loss, challenges and triumphs. Stories make us feel connected, accepted, grateful, compassionate — stories make us feel human. Whether you tell stories to your child, to your friends, or a room full of strangers, I believe stories are the greatest gift we can give.
When I was little, my dad would tuck me in every night, and on many nights he would tell me stories. Stories from his childhood, growing up in New York City in the projects, stories about his father who came to the United States at a young age, stories about backpacking in the mountains with his dog. Though the details may be hard to recall, the feelings of listening and being told these stories will never fade.
Stories are a product of how we, as a unique individual, perceive and decipher the world around us — stories help us to deal with, decode and immortalize our crazy, messy, amazing lives. Stories help us unravel, only to see that everything is connected by one thread.