Still Holding Strong
>> 12 November 2008
I like to think I'm a man of commitment and integrity. When I say I'm going to do something, I make an effort to follow through and do it.
I was recently put to the test.
In order to alleviate boredom when things get slow on a weekend shift at work, we change the channel on a couple of the TVs in the office to watch football, movies, etc. A week ago, during a particularly slow Sunday shift, my shiftmates decided to watch Titanic on TNT. I suppose this isn't anything extraordinary, considering the movie grossed more than the GDP of most African countries.
However, I promised myself long ago that I would never watch this movie, because I loathe it like Seinfeld loathes Newman. It's weaselly. It thinks more highly of itself than it should. And it keeps showing up at my door, wanting attention that I don't want to give it.
You know the opening 30-minutes of Saving Private Ryan? And how you as the viewer are completely drawn in, your eyes glued to the screen because you are entirely engulfed by the brutal reality of it all? Titanic is the antithesis of Saving Private Ryan for me. I'm repulsed by it. Somewhere between Kate Winslett getting naked and a love story crammed with more cliches than a "Grey's Anatomy" script, I developed a less-than-zero desire to see this movie.
And so when faced with the choice of watching Titanic or 4+ hours of boredom (the commercials for movies on TV are ridiculous), I chose boredom. At least I kept my integrity.
But seriously, that ship took forever to go down. I kept looking up at the TV, hoping the movie would be over. It kept dragging on.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to wipe up the venom I just drooled all over my keyboard.
6 ideas preached:
i still haven't seen it. any of it. guess that makes me cooler than you...
OMG! We had such a drama over this movie. Everyone in the neighborhood that had seen it was saying that we should see it and blah, blah, blah. Still haven't seen it all, but it was on one day as I was sewing, so I tuned in and out. I had your same reaction to it. Maybe it was pre-conditioned because of the earlier hype, but still. Excellent post.
I failed about 2 years ago and, like others before me, fell victim to TNT's incessant nagging. I'd blame myself, but like everyone else in the country, I blame others, notably TNT. Any channel that has the power to make a self-respecting man watch an episode of charmed is a force against which the only real option is retreat.
or, in my case, surrender.
I really hate it when movies think too highly of themselves. Where do they get off?
Funny you should post this...Never seen it either...k, thats a lie. I've seen a whole 5 min....I spend a lot of time at school and specifically in the dressing room getting ready for shows. The dressing room is like "The Cave of Wonders" in Aladdin. One day we found that there was a TV. Then we finally found a movie...the only movie (what are the odds?) Them: "Aww, I love that movie!!" Me: "Oh-uh, I've never seen it." Them: "WHAT!!" Hence my 5 min.s watching.
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