people keep talking about this thing called compromise
S. and I watched Little Children last night. I'd read the novel a few months ago and was eagerly awaiting its DVD release, which happened yesterday. And we watched it last night. We're on top of things, yes we are. I loved loved loved the movie, but I do always love stories of fucked-up relationships, especially those that look so perfect on the outside. "Beauty is overrated," says Brad. I'd like to believe that. This movie helps me to believe that. One thing I was waiting for during the whole movie was the scene where Marianne's husband denies her their weekly Tuesday night, 9:00 sex date. Cuz she's such a bitch in the movie and in the book. But it never made it to the screenplay. Just keep that in mind during the book club scene. It'll make you feel better.
(and I was also thinking as we watched the movie that it demonstrates beautifully what Vivian Gornick's talking about when she encourages essayists to consider the "loneliness of the monster.")
Anyway, this is allegedly a post about compromise. As S. and I were watching the movie, it occurred to me that he's been asking me since we met to watch Lord of the Rings with him. And Star Wars. And I've done neither. What's my problem? The Star Wars thing is easier to understand--I kinda like claiming that I've never seen it because of people's reactions. But the LOTR movies--I'm just so resistant to fantasy. I imagine I'll be able to get into that world and will probably enjoy it once I allow myself to, but there's something in me that is fighting fighting fighting it. I don't want to believe in fantasy. I guess that's it. But lo, the reasons I don't want to believe in fantasy--that's a book in itself.
But this summer I shall. If only because S. watches everything I want to watch with no complaint. He so wants me to enjoy them. So I'll try.
posted by aerobil @ 7:47 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
1. You can still be the person who hated Star Wars after she *finally* watched it in 2007.
2. You don't have to get into the LOTR movies to enjoy 'em a bit. At least the first one operates as surface entertainment. (I actually enjoyed those for the spectacle of them, and was never able to read the books. I tried to read the Hobbit three times, because my mom loved Tolkien so much. But yeah, fantasy doesn't do it so much for me. Well, *that* kind of fantasy, anyway....but that's another post, eh?)
You don't have to believe in fantasy, you know. That's why it's called fantasy, because it's NOT reality. I first read the LOTR books in high school, and still consider them the best fiction books I have ever read. Although it's hard for me to understand how ANYone, not just females, could not like these books or movies, I know everyone is entitled to like what they like. I only ask Amy to watch them with an OPEN mind. Last weekend I mentioned the movie "Legend of Bagger Vance" & she said she wouldn't like it because it's a golf movie. I explained that it's NOT about golf. It's about a person confronting his demons & turning his life back around after the trauma he experience in WWI. It's not a golf MOVIE; it's just a movie that has golf in it (just like "The Natural" & "Field of Dreams" are NOT baseball movies; they are movies with baseball in them).
I took a class my sophomore year in college (back in the stone age) called "Fantasy in Literature". I suffered through the first 5 or 6 books ("Grendel" "Beowulf" "The Once and Future King", etc) because the last section was reading and discussing LOTR. GREAT class! There were several females in the class, & everyone was very vocal in the discussion. Although when someone describes a movie to me as having a lot of "symbolism", I immediately interpret that to mean "it sucks & no one can understand it", LOTR (& Star Wars) DOES have a lot of symbolism that may not be apparent without close study.
S.
My two cents: When you see Star Wars (I'm assuming you mean Part IV, the first film released in the 1970's), see the original versions, not the rereleased garbage that Lucas tinkered with in the 1990's.
L! O! T! R!
You will be fine. Some people you know (ahem) were at the midnight premiers of all of the above sagas (yes, even the Star Wars prequels--gack).
You will love Sam. And Gandalf. And...hang on, I'm coming over.
Miss you!
-A
P.S. "Heather S." is definitely right about the Star Wars re-releases, by the way. Don't go there. There are freakish blasphemies perpetrated.
Ooooh--that's a good blog title: "Freakish Blasphemies." And I watched the re-releases on the huge curved screen at the Cinerama in Seattle, and it was fun. But then, I probably wouldn't have noticed any blasphemies, not being that familiar with the sacred texts to start with. ;)
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