Whoo, it's been a busy weekend. Well, not really busy, but since my last few weekends have been not especially pleasant, having a nice, relaxing two days off in a row was a terrific change of pace.
I won't bore you with the details of my weekend, but I will say this: A Knight's Tale was an underrated movie. That's not just because (writer/director/producer) Brian Helgeland graduated from my department at school, but I honestly thought it was a very decent flick. Some highlights: the supporting characters, the interesting, dynamic camera work, and above all a tight, well-paced script. I don't know why I care so much, but I wanted to say that and hey - you're my audience. So call that my Video Pick of the Moment.
This brings up a sort-of interesting question: often times I ask my friends and associates for advice on what to buy, what to do, what to wear, and so on, but why do I bother? In a court of law, "expert witnesses" are called because they are recognized by general society to be masters of their particular fields - their deep knowledge of a certain topic can shed light on otherwise perplexing puzzles. Now, I'm not friends with Roger Ebert, so why should I ask the people I know for their advice on movies?
Most folks would be content with the reply that our friends are our friends because they share our interests, and it would make sense that those people with whom we wish to share our lives would have compatible tastes in the arts, cola brands, Red Sox pitchers, and so on (Pedro!). But - and this just goes and Frosts everything up - many of my friends are nothing like me, and don't, in fact, like the things I like. A girl I know recently recommended Ghost World to me, saying how I'd love it, it's so funny, I gotta watch it...you know how it goes. And you can tell what's coming: I hated it. Loathed it. Turned it off halfway through - and I don't even have a remote for my movie player, so I actually had to haul my bloated carcass from my bed and physically shut it off. Shocker!
So why the disparity? The Ghost World loaner is a good friend of mine, but we don't really see eye to eye on most music, books, or movies. I can't blame her for urging me to see a movie I didn't like - she's not responsible for my taste. I knew full well that her movie tastes and mine didn't often agree...maybe I wanted to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on a risky gamble. Then again, that's not really my style; I don't like to waste my time with things I might not like.
I think may have taken the movie just to make her happy - I didn't want to disappoint her by coldly refusing to see a film she graciously let me borrow. I know it sounds like a silly reason to do anything, but I think I'm getting closer to the truth. But that just makes me wonder what else in my life is done just to avoid hurting other people's feelings, and that's both a nice thought and a sad one. Nice, because it's comforting to know that I'm not a self-centered jackass, but sad because how can I ever know if I'm doing something for me, or for someone else?
But I'm definitely not miserable, so the only thing I can think of is that maybe trying to keep other people happy is somehow a way to keep myself happy I suspect that as long as I don't go overboard and become some sycophantic yes-man (I know...fat chance), watching out for my friends' feelings is something I do to make myself feel better. And that's definitely a nice thought, because I know that while it feels great to feel good, nothing's better than a happy crowd.
Okay, the first draft of this article (posted on my LiveJournal) ended there, but on further review, I realize there's more to say. I don't just do things because my friends tell me I should - that's rediculous. I take my friends' recommendations because I trust them to know me and understand my tastes, as I know them and understand their tastes. I think that by sharing expereiences (these days taking the form of movies, music, TV shows, and so on) we are trying to better understand each other. Sometimes it works (like when a girl I know turned me on to Invader Zim), and sometimes, a la Ghost World, it doesn't. Of course, when the attempt to share falls flat, it doesn't mean the end of a relationship; rather it represents a growth. We come to know each other better as much through what we don't share as what we do. Yeah, that sounds pretty puerile and sophomoric now, but I think I've done what I set out to do, which was figure out why in the hell I bothered to watch Ghost World. And that's good enough for now.
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