Faith in (Pop) Culture

I thought I was jaded. Maybe I had grown out of it. Maybe I had just been exposed to too much. Or I was out of practice. But the idea that when I was in junior high I would lie on a couch in the dark listening to a song over and over again, or could be moved to reconsider my life because of a movie has seems so far away for a couple of years.

I thought I had a good run. I had listened to songs that made me want to be in love, painted several pictures of the lead singer of a band, had actors and directors that I thought really knew me (aside from the ones that actually really knew me). And while I didn't just shrug off the way that I had felt back then, I didn't know if I could feel so strongly right now.

I mean, sure I liked Iron Man okay and, to a disappointing lesser extent, Iron Man 2 ,and Cage the Elephant. Yeah, I went through a phase where I watched almost all of CW's Supernatural (but on TNT--I'm not an animal). But was I ever deeply moved? Entertained, delighted, hyped up a little, but not really moved.

That was all in the past, the good ol' Lord of the Rings, vintage Eels, the heart of the Harry Potter books and About A Boy days. They all were sublime, which Longinus reminds us comes of a sudden, like a divine lightning bolt, or, in terms of C. S. Lewis' "joy" creates a sweet longing for something better. I felt like I was either deeper or entertainment was more shallow. I wasn't anticipating anything, not like how I had anticipated the next Lord of the Rings movie or Zwan's single, glorious album. After last summer's run of {ack!} Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and the A-Team, no wonder I was jaded. Even the best movies and music, like Inception, are cool, but not soul-shaking in the way, to keep it in perspective, Momento or Dark Knight were.

Enter the past week. I saw this movie, which I meant to see, just out of curiosity, when I saw the preview (in the dollar movie). It was really pretty beautiful. Also my brother introduced me to The Decemberists, whose new album makes me want to be a better person. Then I went on Apple trailers and guess what? I'm excited about some movies coming out. Not, heaven help me, Hop or The Hangover 2, but Super 8 and Captain America, even.*

I expect to be moved. I want to be changed.






*You may notice a lack of books here. I don't have any books I'm anticipating right now. Not with baited breath, I guess. So get on it, people.

Comments

Christian said…
I feel deeply saddened that you only just now discovered the Decemberists, though I promise you much joy (and some level of disturbance/perturbation) in discovering their further works.

But I'm glad that you've rediscovered the awe of a glorious movie, though I'm surprised it was It's Kind of A Funny Story that did it, which I liked but did not love nor feel particularly inspired by. I constantly seek out movies that will instill/renew in me a sense of awe and Lewisian "joy".
Jennifer said…
I remember the Eels days. Good times. Nothing still says summer like Mr. E's Beautiful Blues.
mlh said…
You know, I wish E hadn't ruined his voice with smoking. A lot of his new stuff I still like but I kind of which someone else would cover it...

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