Coolness and Age
Saturday, Jun. 19, 2004 11:55 p.m.
I am not about to bitch about the review that I got recently, but I want to quote a paragraph from it as a jumping-off point.
"What's your fave trilogy?ANS: The Lord of the Rings. Spectacular and moving. Screw Star Wars and The Matrix."
Woah [sic] there. Strong words. Maybe beacue [sic] I hate LOTR and LOVE both Star Wars and The Matrix. You have just lost a point or two. I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be. Plus your fav movie is Austin Powers. And you like the Harry Potter movies. Ew. You must be one of those people. I bet you love friends, and Ross is your favorite character.
That paragraph reminds me of how much my taste in music, film and fashion, the yardsticks for coolness when you're an adolescent, has changed over the years (as it should, I suppose). If nothing else, I see these changes as fascinating markers of personal growth. Let me do a retrospective of my top picks in movies to illustrate.
When I was a kid (5-12), my favourite movies were:
What my taste (or lack thereof) says about me at the time: that I was a kid who liked to laugh. (Hmm, yeah, not enough of that going on at home). Okay, Grease did not make me laugh so much as make me want to be baaaad In a Grease kind of way. But I never smoked, never wore leather or painted my nails. A nerd through and through.
When I was a teenager (13-18), my favourite movies were:
What my taste (or lack thereof) says about me at the time: that I was a sappy girl about to turn into a boy-crazy bimbo BUT realising at the same time that I had brains. That worked.
When I was a college student (19-23), my favourite movies were:
What my taste (or lack thereof) says about me at the time: that I saw a lot of movies. I took 2 courses on film, and The Asshole and I spent practically every weekend at the movies (our first year together we saw 78 movies. I know because I collected the ticket stubs for some reason. Wanted to turn it into a hobby but gave up mid-way and listed the movies instead in my diary.) I liked artsy films and witty films. By extension, intelligence, a good eye for details and wit were becoming qualities that I valued.
I don't have to tell you what my all-time favourites are now because you can go to my profile and see for yourself.
The very fact that I can openly share with you what my favourite movies were/are through the years means I am past the stage where I care if people are going to judge me by my cinematic preferences. Is it cool to admit you've seen Dirty Dancing a dozen times? Who the fuck wants to know? I liked that movie then and even if I cringe when I see it again now I cannot erase the fact that as a teen I'd wished I had a dance partner like Patrick Swayze who could teach me all those moves. *grin* When I was in college it was all about aesthetics and technique because we were taught to look out for these things and to appreciate the artistry of film-making, and to see film as a text or a social document. Now when I say "favourite movie" I just mean a movie I can see myself watching at least 5 times without getting bored. Austin Powers (the first one) passes that litmus test. I think Schindler's List and Once Were Warriors are powerful films but would I want to see them again? NO. Too harrowing and depressing. I studied Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation, the informing text for The Matrix trilogy, and a copy of which appears in the mise-en-scene of the first installment. I get the Matrix, I like the first movie a lot. The trilogy, however, is just not my favourite. Live with it.
It's not about what's cool anymore, it's just about what I like. And THAT, getting to that stage, is what you call maturity, kids.
Older entries
Ramadan - 08 October 2006
Where I Have Been - 03 October 2006
Baby Talk - 10 August 2006
6 Weeks of Separation - 16 July 2006
Unacceptable Rudeness - 21 June 2006