Movies from the 1990s

Tonight I watched bits of Sleepless in Seattle and City Slickers, two extemely American films that I suggest Icelanders watch if the wnt to understand anything about Americans over the age of 30.

I must say that I have never particularly liked the idea behind Sleepless in Seattle, because it seems to me Meg Ryan's character falls in in love out of pity, a sort of Florence Nightingale affect. She hears through the medium of the radio that he is deeply depressed and hurt, and this awakens an emotional empathy that makes Meg dump the person she is with. The movie ends at the moment the two main characters finally meet, as if that's the end of the story, for the man in Seattle to be on the road to recovery with a nurse at his side.

I prefer the understanding of relationships developed in City Slickers. There is such a great range of relationships in that film, but I always liked the one best of the guy who has gotten divorced and is on the path to getting stuck with his whiney coworker, but during the course of the movie, meets a nice, attractive recently single lady, and they slowly become closer. This is spurred along (pun alert since this is a cowboy movie) thanks to one pivotal, oft quoted line in the film. There are baseball metaphors throughout the movie (remember, its very American), and one of them comes from the idea of life being a do-over. That's different than a foul ball, which comes with a penalty. A do-over says that the past is erased, because whatever happened isn't what was supposed to happen. Reset and try again.

I suppose only in America could the positivist narrative of change be so complete, but the whole point of the movie is about finding one's smile again.

Anyhow, now I want to see When Harry met Sally.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more