Take a Picture
I was talking to an old friend recently. She was in love with this boy. Hearing her talk about him, he seemed like a cool guy. One of those people you'd like to be friends with. She talked about how he said all these things that at the time she didn't understand and could only appreciate later.
She was outside with him.
The sky was beautiful. It was the type of sky that only comes around every once in a while. When I think of it, I imagine a splash of purples and oranges. The clouds would be illuminated in such a way that the shadows would fully define their fluffy, irregular shape.
She saw that the sky was beautiful and wanted to keep it, put it in her pocket.
She exclaimed, "The Sky is so beautiful! Take a picture of it!"
He looked at her quizzically. "Whatever for?"
"So you can keep it and look at it later."
He shook his head, "No, I'm going to enjoy it right now. Taking a picture would only ruin it. When it's gone, it's gone."
She gave him a weird look, not understanding what he meant. He said a lot of strange things that she didn't understand.
Only later when he'd left, would she understand.
Best Film Ever Made???
Citizen Kane is supposedly the greatest film ever made. More people are probably aware of this fact than have actually sat down to watch it. My dad is one of those people who likes to watch a good movie. Mention No Country for Old Men or The Straight Story and he'll start chatting excitedly about why he loves those films. He decided to sit down and watch Citizen Kane and it didn't really do anything for him. Some might say that my father is too dense and unsophisticated to appreciate Orson Welles' masterpiece. Although there could be some truth to that, since there is a certain scientific approach to cinematography, editing, and acting that tend to make a good film, I don't think that's necessarily the case.
I think that the real reason my father couldn't get into the whole experience has to do with the elusiveness of the things that emotionally move us as individuals. Films tell their stories viscerally. The camera allows us to see and hear what the characters see and hear. Good books can accomplish this as well, but the nature of a movie lends it a greater amount of momentum to the whole experience. You can put a book down, it's harder to stop a movie because you get so caught up in the whole experience.