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When I was around age five Grammy helped me take a bath and told me to put on my yellow dress and my good shoes. Then she came into my bedroom and braided my hair and made sure I had brushed my teeth and that I looked like the perfect little princess that I was. She took me by the hand, picked up her purse and car key, and gently guided me through the house. As we passed through the kitchen to the garage, mom looked up from her task at the sink. Smiling from ear to ear, she gave me a huge hug, and exchanged a warm familial wink with Grammy. We got inside Grammy’s very old car and off we went on a secret adventure.
It was my very first movie (Snow White). There were hundreds more after that first movie, most always with my grandmother, even well into my teens. Once my teen friends and I took her to the drive-in with us and watched Hud. Her insightful comments were hilarious but not suited for a “G” rated blog posting.
Maybe it was the elaborate way my grandmother set up my first movie experience, and the conspiracy with my mom and probably my dad, my aunt and uncle, the neighbors, and all her friends, that developed my passion for movies. I still love Snow White perhaps even more now than I did when I was a little girl. Snow White started me on my lifelong path of movie adoration.
So the other day I engaged in a lively discussion about a movie with one of my son’s friends (hence, this posting). He wasn’t thrilled about a particular movie and I loved it. I don't think it was entirely age-related but that may have been part of it. His reasons for being disappointed in the movie were more thoughtful, technical, and analytical, and my reasons for loving it were purely emotional. He gave it a 2 out of 5 and I gave it a 5. This is a very sharp young man and after thinking about his criticisms of the movie I came to agree but it didn’t reduce my love of the movie. (The Machinist)
Sometimes I may not like much about a particular movie but perhaps there’s an actor I love so it’s worth watching (anything with Paul Newman). Or maybe the director is a favorite (Pedro Almodóvar). Or maybe it’s a story I like based on a book but maybe the movie falls flat of delivery of the story (Da Vinci Code). I can still enjoy elements of a movie even if not the entire movie (McLeod’s Daughters). Even stinkers sometimes have redeeming value in part (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes). Sometimes I just like the sentiment of the movie even if it isn’t my type of movie (Forest Gump).
Over the years movies slipped into our homes. I was happy to have that first VCR that was the size of a small car because it was expensive to go to the movies with two small kids and not all movies were suitable for kids. I never censored their movies or reading materials but I did have control over what we did when they were very young so I chose more mainstream movies for many years until I lost control. If they requested a movie they heard about I rented it for them. Sometimes I clinched my teeth as we watched certain scenes but it opened up discussions that I may never have been brave enough to bring up myself. They learned that though a movie may be titillating it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good.
Sometimes I would go to the movies with friends and I became increasingly more disappointed with theater audiences. Chewing, crinkling paper, and a selection of smelly foods has now infiltrated the movie concession stands. People can now buy the most disgusting foods and eat them in poorly ventilated theaters then dump their containers on the floor where the smells linger and sometimes remain for the next set of movie attendees. That mess is often accompanied by body emissions. The odors oozing from the patrons sometimes arrived with them to the theater having stopped for a yummy meal with lots of garlic and perhaps alcohol before the movie. A nasty combination.
The staff tries to clean the area after each presentation but it never is clean enough for me. I have moved several times when encountering a sticky seat. Once a soaking wet seat. I prayed it was soda. And people no longer whisper. They just simply talk like they’re sitting at home. (Which, by the way, is forbidden when watching movies in my home. We either watch the movie or we talk. We don't do both at the same time.) And then there’s the cell phone invasion. Even if the phones are on “silent” the little screens light up the theater rows and glisten throughout taking me out of the “moment” of the movie and putting me right smack dab into someone’s cell phone. And some people haven’t figured out how to adjust the clicking of their text messaging.
Eventually I stopped going. Certain movies my son insists I see with the proper sound and screen size but it’s about once or twice a year. Yet, I watch movies every day at home. In fact, I’m planning on cutting down. I usually flip on my stereo first thing in the morning then when I’ve finished projects and dog walking and other things I select a movie. Sometimes I watch a movie, read a little, watch another movie, paint a wall, etc. Sometimes I watch two or three movies in a day depending on the weather and my possible activities for the day.
Like most phases in our development from childhood to adulthood our tastes change. I think we are all pretty much whom we start out to be forever but many of us refine ourselves and many of us remain childlike and petulant and it causes grief in our society. It’s reflected in the movies we see and the movies that are made to appeal to certain paying customers. Whether movies define our culture or merely portray it has been a popular discussion amongst critics and moviegoers alike. I suspect it’s a little of both.
Some are absolutely awful but receive huge revenues and thousands flock to see a movie appealing to our odd need to be embarrassed or disgusted. Others are life changing, but it’s often hard to find two friends who have seen such a movie. I do have a small circle of substance-movie devotees and I appreciate they are out there. Documentaries have come into their own as an art form as never before in the history of films. People create these pieces sometimes risking their lives to capture pristine nature or cruel human disasters, manmade or otherwise.
Anyone with a computer and a fairly new TV can now watch movies and documentaries and even their favorite TV shows 24/7 in the comfort of their homes. I have a Netflix subscription and I hook up my MacBook laptop to my nice new flatscreen TV (which was a gift on my 65th birthday from my daughter and her boyfriend) and watch movie after movie for $9.82 a month. Hulu and Fancast have countless movies for free that can be streamed from our computers to our TVs. The cord that connects my MacBook laptop to my TV was $29. There are other methods for watching the Internet on a TV and worth investigation. I thought $29 was a great price and a simple process. I no longer need cable service or satellite service.
In addition to the above, I downloaded free software from Boxee.com, which turned my computer/TV into a media system. With that was a free app for my iPhone turning it into a remote control! Truly, it’s amazing and I’ve only begun to explore the multitude of possibilities in this area. However, TV addiction is still TV addiction. I recently read an article concluding that too much TV for seniors is not good for them. So after the thrill of all these new movie delivery systems has worn off I’ll put myself on a movie diet and continue with other pursuits.
The offerings television cable companies or satellite companies provide are chosen for mass interest. I guess I’m not part of that group because there’s very little I like to watch on regular TV and yet the cost of service is exorbitant. Now that I have this set up I can watch things I absolutely want to watch when I want to watch them. Yes, I know TiVo and similar DVR technology does that too but it isn’t free. For my Netflix $9.82 a month I can watch countless movies. If I don't see anything I like on Netflix (which is practically impossible) I can go to Hulu or Fancast or many other sites and find incredible things to watch. For free. No cable service, no satellite dish, no wet movie seat, exactly what I want any time I want it.
I do pay for my DSL but I need that for my computer and it’s just an added benefit that I can utilize it for TV viewing also. I recently dumped my telephone landline. I never used it and paid $50 a month for it when I only use my cell. No cable TV service, no phone. Huge savings. All the networks offer many of their programming free to watch. There are a few ads per viewing but I don't mind that because I select the program that I want to watch and it’s free. Did I mention it’s free?
But the fact all of this is free isn’t as important as the fact that it can be tailored to one’s exact viewing preferences and times. So often when watching regular TV we flip through the channels trying to find something. Maybe we have an hour to kill before going somewhere and it’s 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon. Flipping around the channels trying to find something in that time slot is not easy. Flipping on my MacBook laptop and picking up episodes of a favorite TV show is very easy. In fact, it’s become important to me now more than ever to find things I believe have quality and value.
I find I’m not as interested in the big blockbuster movies as I once was. I now like movies with a bit more texture and grit. I watch independent film companies and foreign films most often. Even if it’s a comedy I like the comedy to be meaningful, a bit irreverent, satirical, and not loaded with crude toilet humor. I do like all types of movies but I lean toward quirky odd stories with quirky odd people. My favorite movie genre, when done well, is science fiction. (Captain Kirk, Teal’c, Jean-Luc Picard, Han Solo, etc. Pitter-patter.)
I still love Snow White. After all, a beautiful young girl living in the woods with a bunch of old men is quirky and suspicious. And the deal about the handsome prince rescuing her is quite controversial. (I plan on watching it again and again.)
[Note: I wasn’t going to end this with my choice of best movie of all time but I absolutely must. It’s My Favorite Year with Peter O’Toole who is so charming and so sexy and so adorable and so funny and so sympathetic and so intense and so wonderful right down to his toes that I swoon every time I watch it. Which is often. I swear I would adore him even if he read my grocery list out loud to me. I can hear him now . . .]
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This week I received excellent customer service from:
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