NEWS FEEDS
Me Thinks I's Need to Readed a Book - Death by 1,000 Films - Week 6
Death by 1,000 Films
Idiot
If ignorance is bliss, I don't feel very blissful.
I watched Animal Farm this week. Let me rephrase that: I tried to watch Animal Farm this week.
I got through it, but it took three attempts, which is probably why I didn't get to many other movies. That, and the fact I had a three-day argument with a friend about George Orwell's book “Animal Farm.”
It was the battle of the century.
The Tale of the Tape
In her corner: The history of the world.
In my corner: My ego.
The battle: Has nearly everyone in my age group (18-25 years old) read “Animal Farm”?
I never have. To tell the truth – and this is a secret so shh – I never even heard of it. I blame public education.
My friend, meanwhile, not only heard of it, but read it and said that it was one of the most influential books of our time.
“That can't be true if I didn't read it,” my ego screamed in my head.
So I challenged her. She works at a college and oversees student employees. I told her to ask her 150 students if they had read the book. I guessed 10 percent or less would say yes.
I posted the same query on my Facebook page to my 462 followers.
Why must my ego get me in trouble?
Within 15 minutes, I had almost 20 responses saying things like:
“Yo, I read that in 10th grade.”
“I <3 Boxer.”
“Forced to read it and glad I did.”
“Of course.”
“What a stupid way to try and figure out if a book is influential or not. I've read it, and thought it was really incredible.”
Ouch. But the punch that knocked me down came via my friend in a text message.
I was at a football game and she called. I didn't answer. I got this text: “I just wanted to rub it in more by laughing in your face.”
But this wasn't really the wager. It wasn't about my friends and if they had read it. It was about her students and if they had. So what if all my friends read it? Good for them. They didn't go to the good-old Norwich High.
Nevertheless, I was down for the count, bloodied, and clinging to what life I had left.
My phone rang. It was my friend.
“Heyyy,” as she often does.
“What's up? Did you ask your students?”
“Yeah.”
“And...”
“They all said, 'Duh, of course we read it.' Then we all laughed at you.”
Ding, ding, ding.
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THE MOVIES
Anatomy of a Murder. Rated: UR. Year: 1959. My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. A brief thought: It's a really good, courtroom thriller. It was clear this film was based on a stage play. It takes place almost exclusively in a courtroom, but it doesn't detract too much from the film.
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Angel Face. Rated: UR. Year: 1952. My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. A brief thought: Men should just never chase women. One crazy woman ruins the world in this noir.
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Angels with Dirty Faces. Rated: UR. Year: 1938. My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. A brief thought: Really good, old gangster film. I enjoyed it a lot. It's a story about two friends, one who grows up to be a priest, the other a gangster. The two fight over control of a group of kids who could end up either way.
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Annie Hall. Rated: PG. Year: 1977. My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. A brief thought: Fantastic and perfect. If you're any kind of film fan, you will have already watched this.
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Animal Farm. Rated: UR. Year: 1954. My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. A brief thought: I recommend the movie with caution. It's very slow and somewhat boring. It doesn't really hold up well, but it did change the world, so I say watch it and learn about Communism.
NO TRAILER AVAILABLE
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