Hype and the nature of the "Beasts"

Recently, my Aunt has been recommending a certain movie to anyone who will listen. The lifelong resident of Louisiana was endorsing none other than the indie breakout hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild". Though she had yet to see the movie herself, she knew it was set in Louisiana and that it was getting some major awards from some major film festivals. Someone failed to mention to my dear Aunt that I was actually in France at that very moment, watching "Beasts" premiere at the Cannes Film Festival with an introduction by the director. The film culminated in a standing ovation lasting five minutes. Still, I left the theater feeling like there was a bit more to be desired. I was suffering from the same affliction my aunt had just caught and was spreading around to anyone who would listen; Hype.

Most of the festival goers in Cannes had heard of the glorious reception "Beasts" received at Sundance. It was at the top of the list of must-see movies for me and my fellow students. The film tells the story of Hushpuppy, a young  girl living in a remote and impoverished community outside the levee system in southern Louisiana. A simple story, it has a "Precious" like impact when viewers see just how poor they really are. Hushpuppy's father looks after her, though their relationship leans toward abusive at times. When a hurricane comes, the folks of the "bathtub" refuse to leave their homes. They must stick together to survive the storm and the oppressive government who tries to rescue them from themselves. "Beasts" proves to be a well made film, one that weaves a heartfelt and delicate story. I probably would have liked it a lot, had it not been for The Hype. The Hype made me question why I did not express my undying love for the film. The Hype made me question my opinions. The Hype confused me. It was a blessing and a curse.

If there was one aspect of the film holding me back from really enjoying it, it was the reaction of the town to the flood. Having grown up in Louisiana, I knew what it was like to evacuate for a flood, driving contraflow on the highway. People that don't leave or choose to stay, even in mild cases, might not survive the storm. For the film to champion a group of people who stayed put with brazen abandon was to make light of a situation that shouldn't be made light of. They didn't stay because they had no where to go or no means of getting out, but because they lacked the education to know any better. This made my aunt's recommendation all the more ridiculous. It was recommending "Jersey Shore" to Italians, "Swamp People" to Cajuns.

All this I could have swallowed, had it not been for The Hype. Of course, I probably wouldn't have seen the movie had it not been for The Hype, and my aunt wouldn't be professing its talent to her book clubs and bunko nights. Cinema catch 22? Close enough.

Reruns and the City

When me and my 5 other female roommates moved into our house late this summer, we had no cable or internet. Forced to resort to more antiquated forms of entertainment, we turned to the DVD player. I pulled out Season 2 of Sex and the City, discs that I had casually thrown into my bag. While I have long been a devout follower of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, I didn't expect all of my roommates to feel the same way. But when one of them rejoiced at the gem I had just pulled, the rest had no choice but to sit down and watch the only moving screen in the house.
My generation, the college age girls, find ourselves in a unique perspective with regards to Sex and the City. Most of us know what it is, the more educated have watched severely edited reruns on E! or TBS. However, to be indoctrinated into the true SATC culture akin to that of the late nineties and early millennium, one has to watch them in their unedited glory. This inevitably leads to a quick and gripping addiction similar to the one my roommates find themselves in now. SATC dominates our television. It's on morning, noon, and night, not that I'm complaining. What surprised and delighted me most about their new past-time was not how quickly they fell for it, but how hard. It didn't take long for the show to become a part of our daily routine, for quotes to be thrown around, and for each girl to try and figure out which character she most resembles. Not only that, but my roommates still found the stories of SATC to be as fresh and as innovative as they were when they first aired, as many as 15 years ago.
The only technological connection Carrie and and my roommates have is a laptop. She never texted, skyped, blogged, or even instant messaged, yet themes from the show still resonate today. High praises for the writers of the show for crafting a series that remains relevant, yet it got me thinking about the role technology plays in our lives and how exactly SATC stays this relevant. Carrie and the girls never experienced their relationships through a technological medium. They've never facebook friend requested a crush or drunk texted their ex. They experienced, for the most part, their relationships the way relationships should be experienced; in person. In our modern world where there are so many new ways to communicate, maybe there only should be one. Watching SATC allowed my roommates to imagine a world in which humans were forced to communicate and confront their emotions, without any modern day technological crutches. Maybe we're just latching on to the one thing in our lives that isn't complicated by technology, a world where everything is out in the open.
Or maybe this terrifies us, so we just watch other people do it.

Grocery Shopping for hopeless ex-meal plan college students

I remember my trip to Publix with my two best friends from high school. These poor boys were used to either their mother's or the dinning hall preparing meals for them and had no idea how to shop for themselves. In a similar situation myself, I offered to go with them to the grocery store to show them how to buy groceries; what to buy, how to save money, etc. Though I never hinted this to them, I was only recently an expert in personal grocery shopping. A week ago, after moving into my first apartment, I called my mother and proclaimed I would rather starve than cook another meal for myself. It was only day three. She calmed me down and gave me some easy meals to cook and how to shop for myself. So when I opened the boys' fridge and found only beer and vitamin water, I decided they needed help as well. We started in the deli. Jason had this idea in his head that he was going to make a dish with rice, but had no idea what to put in it. He picked up a giant roll of salami. Shuddering, I directed him to the sausage. Then we moved on to the produce. Matt picks up a small package of celery. He didn't realize it was organic and also double the price of normal celery. When I directed him to the normal celery, he was overjoyed at how cheap it was. Meanwhile Jason had picked up two red onions, only realize he had no way of cutting the onions. The only knives they had in their apartment were butter knives. I stopped him from just buying the more expensive chopped onions, pointing to three other items in his basket that required a knife. We move onto the cereal aisle. Jason picks up two different types of oatmeal, unable to decide between plain and maple brown sugar. He is finally able to decide when he remembers how his mother used to put chocolate chips in his breakfast oatmeal. Though I point out he'll have to buy the chocolate chips as well, he opts for the diabetes oatmeal. But wait! Matt finds an oatmeal that already comes with chocolate chips in it! Jason is ecstatic. I suddenly realize why Americans are the world's leaders in junk food consumption; we all just want to pretend our mothers still cook for us. However, we still aren't willing to cook for ourselves. Thus, the enterprising Quakers have come up with ready to eat, pseudo-home-made oatmeal, nostalgia included. Now if it only included knives.