Posted on 10/12/2013 2:05:14 AM PDT by Kaslin
On Saturday nights at my house, I often trot out classic movies and force the urchins to watch them. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but I think it's important to teach kids about American culture, and films certainly are a big part of it. Actors like John Wayne, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn are worth seeing and remembering.
So the other night I trotted out "American Graffiti," a film released 40 years ago. The movie was directed by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas and chronicles one night in the lives of some California teenagers in the year 1962.
The first thing the kids noticed was Harrison Ford playing a young hood driving a hot rod. That got their attention. The movie features other great actors such as Richard Dreyfuss and Charles Martin Smith, along with Ron Howard and Cindy Williams, who turned the "Graffiti" success into the television hits "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley."
About 20 minutes into the movie, which is heavy on dialogue and light on explosions, the urchins pulled out their iPads and began typing away. Dismay enveloped me.
"So you don't like this?" I asked the 14-year-old.
"It's OK. I'm listening."
"But you're playing with that machine!"
"I can multitask!"
A few minutes later, the 10-year-old demanded popcorn. I told him we'd get some halfway through the flick.
"Do they ever get out of the cars?" the urchin wailed.
"That's the culture in California. They cruise around in cars listening to the radio."
"But there are so many cars!"
I was losing them.
So I paused the movie and brought in snacks. I demanded they shut off the machines while eating.
"Why?" the 14-year-old asked.
"Because you can't text, eat and watch a movie at the same time."
"Yes, I can. I always do that."
"They're still in cars," the 8-year-old said.
We got through the movie, but just barely. Their interest peaked when The Pharaohs, a gang of juvenile delinquents, forced Dreyfuss to vandalize a police car. Finally, some destruction!
After "American Graffiti" concluded, I asked for their reviews. I got them while their heads were down looking at their iPads.
The consensus: It was OK. Too many cars.
These days, the machines and awful films that blow things up every 10 seconds are delivering heavy blows to American culture. The graffiti is on the wall. The attention spans of young people average about 30 seconds. Baseball? Forget it. Chess? Are you kidding me?
We live in a time where machines that deliver instant gratification rule. But I will continue to fight the cyberspace power. Coming attraction: Hitchcock's "The Birds."
Let the texting begin.
Hey Bill, that’s what happens when Dad is hardly ever home.
American grafiti.... Hated it.
American Graffiti - wonderful film about the way things used to be.
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
- The Late, Great Jeff Cooper
** swoooon **
Super animation, turning on the nation.
“American grafiti.... Hated it”
Too bad. I graduated HS in 62 and Garry Marshal had that era down pat. From the Main Street cruising to drag racing and leaving your friends to go to college. It was an age of innocence the USA will never see again.
Some just can’t help it
Excellent movie and one I always enjoy seeing. Felt like I was living that night with all the characters. Even though my teen years were in the 80s, I could very much relate to that experience and those feelings.
I absolutely despise most 'action-adventure' movies. They bore the snot out of me with the ridiculous fights and incredible death-cheating stunts and miraculous close shaves. I can suspend disbelief for a short time, but not long enough to swallow 99% of the stupid, unbelievable crap that happens in the first 15 minutes of one of these films.
Saw "Gravity" a day or two ago. Absolutely stupid in some of the things they expect you to believe happened.
There can never be "too many cars."
I was 20,I watched it in Nam
Correct. I thought the second one was good, too..
Was it 40 years ago? Oh my.
We saw it at a drive-in, while multi-tasking. Thought it pointless and mildly distracting, but basically trash. The little white goddess gave it some cred, not enough.
But what can you do? You have to go to movies, if only to shorten the discussion with your parents later.
Where were you — Went to a movie — How was it — It was great, Opie was in it — Oh.
I don’t believe that I have ever seen the movie. Certainly not in the movie theaters and not on TV either. It was just something that did not interest me.
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