My Vitamin Gummy Bears
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Two weekends ago, I saw three movies! Please note that I do not like exclamation points, but I feel that one is warranted in the foregoing sentence because, prior to said weekend, I have maybe seen a total of three movies in the past three years. (Cheerio, parenthood!) Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But I like exaggeration, so onward.
I watched one movie at home, so it doesn’t really count. It also doesn’t count because I stretched out on the couch and fell asleep nine minutes in. I hoped the vampire action in New Moon would keep me alive and kicking. Alas, no. The other two movies were actually in the theater. One was enjoyed with a gaggle of girlfriends and the other, with my main man. And here’s the thing, the odd thing: the two movies couldn’t have been more different and I really liked them both.
Sex and the City 2. Terribly reviewed. Wildly fun. Was this movie stuffed with cutesy quips and predictable plot points and over-the-top fashion and borderline-offensive sexual and political displays? Absolutely. But. Were there scattered moments of sincerity and nuance and was it all-in-all quite entertaining? Indeed. My girlfriends and I left the theater smiling big, reliving the flick’s silly moments, and talking. It was a Friday afternoon and we migrated from the theater to my deck where we sipped wine and continued to talk. About life and love. About sex and the city. In this often too-serious world of ours, this was a delectably frivolous and fabulous way to head into the weekend.
Please Give. The final movie I saw. With Husband. This one was pretty well-reviewed. And considerably depressing. Have you even heard of this movie? I hadn’t. But it was playing in our favorite theater and the time was a good one and it got good reviews. It was a thoughtful and nuanced movie. A bit depressing. Incredibly real. The kind of movie I would want to write. Anyway, I liked this movie for its subtlety, for its apt portrait of humanity and mortality. I left this one not smiling, but thinking and asking. Another cinematic success.
And so. What’s the point here? Just that I saw a trio of movies in a two day span? No. The point is a bit more meaningful and elusive. The point is that it sometimes seems that there are types of art and entertainment that we are supposed to embrace and enjoy and there are types that are forbidden fare. And, in the event that we do happen to savor the more fluffy choices, we are certainly not advised to admit it. Because how does this look? After all, do serious and intelligent people like movies like SATC2?
Yes. They do.
Why this debate today? Two weeks after the fact? Because. Because as I set out on this writing adventure, I think about these things. I think about the stories I want to write and those I’m expected to write. Because I feel a profound tension within me sometimes between the serious and the silly. And I celebrate this tension, this resident complexity in my creative core, but sometimes I feel as if I am supposed to crowd out the silly and pursue serious.
But I don’t want to do this.
Since Life After Yes was published one month ago, several people have read the book and said something to me. Something like: It was a fun book. I could not put it down. It was easy to read, but it also had philosophical heart and true depth and asked real questions. They say this, or some variation of this, and there is a tinge of surprise in their voices. That a book can be both heavy and light, laced with threads silly and serious.
And in response to these bemused readers, I trot out my latest and greatest metaphor. I say:
“I like to think of my book and my blog writing as vitamin gummy bears. They taste good, but they also pack a nutritional punch.”
And people seem to like this. They smile and nod. But do they buy it? I’m not so sure. Maybe candy and vitamin are intrinsically incompatible. Maybe artistic light and creative darkness do not belong together. Maybe silly and serious should stay in separate boxes.
I don’t know, but I don’t think so.
What I do think is that we should allow ourselves to enjoy (and write) the stories we like whether they are all candy or all vitamin or somewhere deliciously in between.
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- How often do you see movies? Have you seen any of the movies that I mentioned here?
- Can you watch a movie at home without nodding off?
- Do you feel pressure to like certain kinds of books and films?
- Do you agree that, on some level, entertainment should be an escape and we should permit ourselves to enjoy a range of stories cinematic or scribbled?
- Do you feel pressure in your own writing to stick with more serious themes?
I seldom see movies when they first come out. I am much more likely to rent a DVD or get one on demand to watch at home. That having been said, I have seen three movies in theatres since November – Thanksgiving night to be precise. I loved “The Blind Side.” Hated “It’s Complicated.” Was lukewarm about “Sex and the City 2.”
That all out there, my daughter has developed a love affair with redbox and we have recently watched quite a few movies at home. I have not fallen asleep during any of them yet but did find the “I want to like this one but can’t” feeling with at least one – “Crazy Heart.”
Now, to answer your questions, I really wanted to like “It’s Complicated.” The pieces were there – great actors, good screenwriting. I just couldn’t. Why? To me, it was too close to reality to be escapism which was what I was looking for that evening.
Is there a prize at the end of our lives if you’ve managed to stay serious the most? I don’t think so. What’s the point? I think it’s better to enjoy yourself, despite “how it looks.” Then again for most people too much silliness stops being fun eventually, so we can all find our own balance.
Then again it bothers me that this is only something it seems women have to worry about. I don’t hear too many men apologizing for liking action movies and so on.
I learned a long time ago never to judge a book by its (pink) cover and that books with 20- or 30-something year old protagonists, even the ones that care a lot about shoes, can be very complex and interesting reads.
I am constantly amazed by book snobbery. I can’t say I am completely exempt from it all, but come on people! Just as a poignant moment in a silly sitcom can make you think and a depressing movie can have moments of humor, so too can books!
I agree. I’ve had some friends make snide remarks about one of my favorite books that I’ve read a bunch of times — Diane Johnson’s “Le Divorce.” Actually it’s sitting here right in front of me. From the cover, the description, and even the movie they made out of it, it probably just looks “silly,” but there are a lot of parts that I like to re-read, it’s really about that age of transition at 23, growing up and figuring out who you are.
I can be a snob at times with books too, but it’s usually clear within a few pages whether there’s real content there or not, and I’m almost always glad I gave the book a chance
I’ve been enjoying a few movies compliments of cable lately. I found Sex and the City 2 to be terribly disappointing (and wrote about it), squandering numerous opportunities to explore women’s lives and relationships in both authentic and humorous manner. I found It’s Complicated to be delightful, and wrote about that. I recently saw Vicky Christina Barcelona (haven’t written about that) – also delightful.
While I saw SATC 2 in the theater, generally, I only see movies on cable. Life does get hectic…
this very issue is something i struggle with because i almost exclusively read YA/MG books. and people my age aren’t “supposed” to read books for teens or tweens. i used to say it was research for my own writing, but lately, i’ve been able to admit that i just plain like that genre the best. vitamin gummy bears is a very good way to describe the YA genre in general.
i did read outside that genre when LAY came out! and it was exactly as i expected. simply lovely. still waters run deep.
I, personally, appreciate those books/movies that integrate silly with serious, frivolity with philosophy because that is where the true art comes out. Which is why your book was such a hit!
My own gaggle of girlfriends has plans to see SATC2 on Friday. I know it has been panned by critics, but I am more invested in the outing with friends than the movie itself, so I’m not too concerned over potential theatrical disappointment. There will be cosmos at the theatre and sushi afterward, so I’m assuming it will be a good night.
As for serious/silly… I think it’s important to acknowledge that life bears both. But I wonder if we want our escapes (via books or movies) to be one or the other. It is a challenging line to walk, and I suspect that’s why so few do it. I admire your willingness to toe that line and explore in fiction the dual nature of reality.
I, like you, havent been to the movies in AGES (thank you children) BUT in the last couple weeks I have seen 3. THREE movies. IN the theater. Granted- 2 were kid movies. But still- I saw them! Sex in the City. Loved it. Purely entertaining for a grown woman. Not a mom. Not a wife. Just a woman. Then we took the kids to Shrek 4. Also- our movie theater does free movies on tuesday and wednesday mornings, in the summmer time, for the kids. So yesterday we saw Alvin and the Chipmonks, the Squeekual.
Wow. Thats a lot of movies.
If silly and serious can exist within a person, they can do so in a book.
C’est la vie.
I love that metaphor. It describes your book and blog perfectly. I totally buy it.
Sadly, I can not watch a movie at home without falling asleep. Partially because they come at the end of a long, exhausting week. Partially because of the glass of wine meant to help me forget that long and exhausting week.
I agree with many of the previous comments – I think books should mimic life (but should be life greatly enhanced); meaning that they should be serious, funny, and all of the other emotions in between. As for the movies I have seen, I watch movies as much as I read books – over the past week I rewatched “Billy Elliot”, and watched “Farenheit 451″ for the first time + I saw “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” at the theater. Each of these movies had both funny and serious parts – to me, what matters the most is if it is a story well-told.
I’m with Rebecca. I think a lot about this question vis a vis “chick lit.” I don’t understand why books by 20- and 30-something year old women about 20- and 30-something year old women automatically get candy-colored covers and different marketing schemes. What if the writing is excellent and the issues are compelling? Shouldn’t it just be called “lit”?
I am often embarrassed to admit that I like to read chick lit every now and then, so I suppose I’m part of the problem. I wish it weren’t so. I wish I could stand up and proudly say, “I’ve read Ulysses and The Road and Something Borrowed and I loved them all!” (Oh wait, maybe I just did.)
I’m reading a lot more than watching movies since I became a mom. Pre-baby, I was a total movie snob but now I find I prefer fluffy films (loved SATC2) the handful of times I can get to a theater.
As for books, I’ll read anything that looks interesting. I get lots of freebies through work that are informative and interesting like the Human Rights Watch world report and Game Change (okay, that’s more like political gossip). If it holds my attention, I stick with it to the end.
I used to see movies all the time–with myself, with my girlfriends, with my fiance. But since being pregnant? Not so much. My child isn’t even here and she’s prohibiting me from seeing movies, ha.
And every night? I put on a DVD with the sole intention of falling asleep within 12 minutes of pressing play.
And by the way…I have yet to read your book (shame on me, I know) but I would say the comment you wrote about here? Quite the compliment.
I like that metaphor! I hope that my blog is like vitamin gummy bears, too…the same vitamin gummy bears that the 5 children I babysit for tricked me into giving them twice.