Last week was one of those weeks. The solution to "one of those weeks" is a weekend of movies. Viewing a film has always been a very cathartic experience for me. My embarrassingly large DVD collection is evidence of that.
Friday afternoon featured "Blade II." The plot played out like a bad game of "Vampire: The Masquerade." Then again, is there such a thing as a good game of "Vampire: The Masquerade?" The "Matrix" influence of "Doom" was also present, which was bothersome. Outside of those two factors, however, I got a good dose of Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson. That is never a bad thing.
I saved Saturday afternoon for something special. I hadn't seen the new "Star Wars: Clone War" trailer on a big screen yet. So, I headed off to the Showplace 7 to go see "Ice Age."
God, I love kid movies.
I was surrounded by rugrats while I waited in line to buy my ticket. A little girl in a red shirt picked her nose. Her father kept telling her to stop, but she ignored him and looked me right in the eye as she dug away for treasure buried deep within the recesses of her nostrils. I couldn't help but laugh.
I got inside the theater early and scouted out my seat. It was a late Friday night the last time I saw a kids movie for a Star Wars trailer ("Monster's, Inc.") and the theater was packed with nostalgic college students. This was a much different atmosphere. There was nobody here but parents, their children and me.
A theater full of children can be very loud. I don't remember the last time I saw a PG movie on a Saturday afternoon, but I had completely forgotten what it was like. I overheard 20 or so tiny voices chattering away, making the most trivial observations to their parents. They innocently proclaimed "I smell popcorn" as though it was infinitely important - even more important than the war in Israel or the fact that John Ashcroft is raping American citizens of their basic rights.
And you know what? That is more important.
I'm not sure what it is exactly, but around the age of 11 or 12 we lose some kind of basic understanding of what is important in life. When the Star Wars trailer began, the theater was silent. As soon as Yoda appeared, however, all the children gasped, "Oh! Star Wars!"
Somehow, little kids are able to take pleasure in the simple things all of the time. Thinking about it makes my blood boil. I envy them.
These kids need only see Yoda on a big screen to smile and be joyful, while the majority of the students at Ball State need to decimate their faculties with beer and sex in order to have a good time.
We college students are supposedly the intellectually elite in Indiana, yet a 4-year-old with a finger in her nose makes a more suitable role model. That is sad. No, that is tragic.
I was going to go see "Resident Evil" later that night. Instead, I went and saw "E.T. - Extra Terrestrial." It was magnificent.
Write to Ben at bbmcshane@bsu.edu
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