Friday, June 6, 2008

The Technicolor Yawn

Andy returned from his mission one year ago today. Many of you recall that night, I'm sure; it was a movie night, and when Andy called me on the phone for the first time in two years my behavior was described as, "barfing with happiness." Yep.

Strange sleeping experience last night: I went to go lay down at about 7:30 because I wasn't feeling so hot, and Andy came to lay next to me and talk. Like the awesomes we are, we both fell asleep after about twenty minutes of naming as many famous people with R names as we could. I woke up at 1:00 or so, full of energy, went to use the bathroom, and got up to see that all the lights were on and Andy was wide awake, too. We had discovered the day of June the 5 1/2th.

To celebrate, we decided to watch a movie: Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King. What a movie to watch between two sleeps. The premise of the story was rather fascinating, especially the legend of the Fisher King that it's based on. We talked about it for some time. And boy did I have some weird sleep when I dozed off again at almost 4:00. Lately my brain has been dreaming in narration (no images, just a stream of talking) and it can get pretty whacked. I wish I had a bespectacled, manicured stenographer in my head to pin it down, though.

I'm straddling one of those phases where your sense of taste shifts a little bit - in film, literature. I've always appreciated honesty in the arts, but now I feel like I'm converting solely to that, and that my love for good old candied fiction is waning. I've become increasingly tolerant of swears because, heck, that's how people talk. Andy has got me hooked on documentaries and other non-fiction media. That's not to say I don't love abstract interpretation (yes, I am currently reading AHWOSG) or even a little romance...as long as it's human. As long as it makes me, as Andy put it, "understand another point of view. Feel compassion." I need soul art these days.

Dare I confess that we've been watching some R-rated movies lately? This is the first time, for both us, since we broke our R Abstinence for The Passion three years ago. But our choice of movies - Little Miss Sunshine, Standy by Me, and The Fisher King - are all very much about compassion and humanness. And they're all R for swearing. I don't swear, I won't swear, but for some people, in some life-rocking situations...is it okay to feel that not swearing is inappropriate?

Violence is a different story. I could handle it in high school, but ever since I've become less and less able to stomach it. I had an experience over a couple of weeks earlier this year that could be (barely) compared to that of Siddhartha's. Basically, I witnessed some real (if small) examples of ugliness in the world, including just a little bit of malicious violence. A first for me. But it shook me up, and so I've concluded that I'm either a complete weiner or a complete pacifist.

There are some thoughts, for what they're worth.

(happy returniversary, Ando!)

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Genuine Draft said...

You should watch the SEVEN UP documentaries where they interview a set group of kids at 7 years old and then every 7 years after that, if you haven't already seen them. I think you have excellent taste in film and should watch whatever you feel is uplifting or enlightening. I must say I'm the opposite of you when it comes to R-rated movies - I find swearing very off-putting but violence does not phase me in the slightest.

Krebscout said...

I've only seen 42 UP, which includes a few clips from the previous installments, but they're dang cool. I want to get my hands on the rest of them.

Eliza said...

Summer...you're awesome.

That is all. Also, you should watch Be Good, Smile Pretty; Born into Brothels; Hiding and Seeking; and Steal a Pencil for Me. If you haven't already, that is.