August 2, 2007
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In conversations with friends the subject of movies is a favorite. Discussion about the plot, characters, and effects in favorite movies could last for eons. But every now and then someone will bring up a movie, perhaps even a famous movie, that someone else will admit to having never seen. It usually goes a little something like this:
Chet: Oh gosh, that reminds me of that one scene from The Godfather where–
Bob: I’ve never seen The Godfather.
Chet: WHAT?! YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE GODFATHER?!
Frank: Wow, dude. Just wow.
Benny: That’s crazy, Bob. How do you live?Now, perhaps it doesn’t happen quite so dramatically as that, but it is at least frequent that people are surprised that someone else has not seen a movie which they, apparently, thought that literally everyone had seen. After all, if they didn’t think that everyone had seen it, they would not be so surprised that by chance a person they knew, and was talking to, had not. However, with the kind of uproar that does follow someone’s admitting to having never seen Saving Private Ryan, you would think the person who is so uncontrollably shocked is under the impression that everyone has seen it. Why, though? Was there a night when the entire Western Hemisphere laid on their front lawns to watch Saving Private Ryan as it was projected onto the moon? Or is there some kind of mind-altering influence that an epic and popular movie can have on a person that implants the inexorable idea within their mind that because the movie they just saw was so good, their experience of it must be universal?
If the shocked person did know, however, that the odds are that not everyone has seen the movie, then they would have to be shocked at all sorts of things.
“You’re going to the UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE?! WOW! Most people aren’t going to Louisville! That’s crazy!!!”
“YOU HAVE RED HAIR?! GET OUT!”
“Today is MONDAY? NO WAY! It’s usually not Monday!!”I think it is about time we recognized that not everyone has seen every movie. Currently, I would speculate that the status of the claim “I have not seen any of the Star Wars movies” is ranked at slightly interesting, rather than, overwhelmingly shocking.
Undoubtedly, there are things that should shock us: A person having not slept for three or more days, someone who is allergic to air, and proof that Barry Bonds never did steroids. But, alas, in a culture where movies play a role, but is not a necessary part of existence, it is not so alarming when someone admits that they have never seen The Sandlot.
Comments (7)
I KNOW!!!! *as my voice goes up a notch*
My legacy of growing up in a homeschool family that rarely watched movies has left me a label of “that naive girl who is oblivious to pop culture” among most of my college friends. I have enjoyed such responses as you described (quite well!) and further sarcastic comments such as, “Wait, have you seen…no, you probably haven’t even seen The Sound of Music, huh?”
“Was there a night in which the entire Western Hemisphere lay on their front lawns to watch Saving Private Ryan as it was projected onto the moon?”
*grins* I’ll have to store this one away for further use.
I’ve never seen The Godfather, Saving Private Ryan, or The Sandlot. Whenever I say I haven’t seen The Sandlot, someone inevitably says, “You’re killin’ me, smalls!”
I’ve been 3 days without sleep a few times in my life. For example, earlier this week.
Ding ding ding! Count me in as “naive girl who is oblivious to pop culture!” That was me ten years ago. Living in the States has gradually altered that, but not necessarily by my will.
I’ve been without eating for three days once, and I’ve never seen any of those movies, except for The Sandlot, which I don’t remember anyway. Those first few bites tasted so good…
I have had similar conversations before. It is quite irritating because I don’t watch movies much anymore.
This is funny.
I was shocked to learn my g/f had never seen a single Star Wars movie.
And I still enjoy shocking others with this slightly interesting factoid.
Good post.