This weekend Angela and I (and most of the people I know and most of the people in North America) went to see "The Hunger Games". We'd bought our tickets several weeks ago, chosen prime seats (back row, middle - which is rare for us because we usually do end) and decided to spend a few extra bucks to see the movie on IMAX.
It was worth it. The theater was full on Saturday morning at 9:30 and you could hear a pin drop in the place. No cell phone screens lighting up the audience, no whispers, etc. (a few people got up to go to the bathroom periodically - seriously, why buy a $10 extra-large Coke at the movies?!?!?!). It was a great viewing experience, and one we'd been looking forward to. And it got me thinking...
Books and movies and television and outside entertainment has become such an integral part of our lives that we carry it with us (see the iPhone 4s I purchased this weekend as exhibit number one). And granted, my vision is probably very skewed because of the amount of my days I spend writing screenplays but I still wonder, what did people look forward to 100 years ago. Or even 50 years ago. I mean, in our house we've already anticipating the final Twilight movie that will come out in November. So...
Are our priorities messed up? Or are times just different? Has television replaced the radio or even community gatherings of song? I don't know. I just know it's been weighing on my mind lately.
I miss the people in my life. In Los Angeles I often feel so far removed from everyone and everything that at times I feel like I'm living my life via electronics and postal system. Instead of birthday hugs I send messages and maybe a card. Instead of long dinner conversations, I watch yet another television show to determine if it's the right show for me to write. I'm not depressed, I'm just starting to think, to wonder, what's next. Is it here? Is it there? I don't know.
I love movies and books and television shows because they take me, even if only for a short while, to another place. I can't imagine life without these comforts or indulgences. And yet...I wonder...
2 comments:
I wonder too, I miss Sunday's with any body. Our life's have certainly changed.
Thank you for great friends, and our great ways to communicate with people who are so far away.
Hugs Mom
I know my dad has always loved tv, ever since he was in elementary school and they got their first one. His life revolved around watching shows like the Lone Ranger.
My mom's family didn't get a tv until she was older, but I know both she and my dad loved their (infrequent) trips to the movies. I think the hysteria is different now, just because we're completely bombarded by, say, the constant streaming of people on FB saying they went to the Hunger Games. So, it kind of creates a group think mentality, that if you don't do something, you're not "hip".
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