As I take my mental walk down memory lane, it’s actually kind of hard to pick which movie was my favorite. When I think of all of the movies, I think about how much I disliked most of them. In fact, it might be easier to pick which was my least favorite. My criteria for which movies were my favorite was simple: which were the ones that I actually dedicated 80% or more of my attention to, meaning which one was I not multitasking while watching. That narrows it down to three movies: Taxi Driver, Do The Right Thing, and The 25th Hour. Out of the three, I’m not sure that I can pick out an absolute favorite. They all sparked a lot of debate and controversy in class, and honestly, I would watch those three movies again. What’s so funny about all of these movies is that I would not have watched these if it weren’t for this class, not because they are all older movies, but because they just aren’t my kind of movie. I must admit that a little part of me had always wanted to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. After seeing endless pictures and gifs from the movie on Tumblr, I was slightly excited to finally have an excuse to watch the movie. But honestly, it did not live up to all of the hype. It was actually offensive and boring, but to each his own right?
It’s hard to say which movie was most truthful about New York. I think, however, that each of these movies represented something different about the city: the dirty streets, the classically beautiful architecture, the overzealous men and catcalls, the crime, the list really does go on and on. But luckily I was scrolling through my Instagram feed this morning to see a post by the most melodramatic people I follow, and the connection between all of these films clicked. It was something along the lines of “I’m from NYC. That defines be. I’m not going to apologize for being me.” In each of the movies we saw, the main characters were completely unapologetic about who they were. They all knew who they were and what their direct want or need was. And I think that totally depicts New York in one shot. That’s the Big Apple.
As far as the works we’ve read this semester, I actually really enjoyed all of them. Perhaps that fact that I enjoyed reading the plays more than I enjoyed watching the movies says something about me, and it probably explains why I work in a bookstore. With that being said, the theme of being unapologetic is still present throughout the readings. In God of Carnage, both sets of parents were a little too proud to admit that they were both in the wrong at some points. The characters of In Arabia We’d All Be Kings were completely indifferent to what other people thought about them, and they didn’t care whether or not they were in the wrong.
That’s New York for you!
