Department Of Not For The Reasons You Might Think
As in, the reasons why moiself likes the 1959 movie, A Summer Place, which I recently re-watched.
Scrolling through summer-themed movie rentals several years back, I recognized the ASP title. I was familiar with the movie’s memorable instrumental theme: composed by the venerable Max Steiner, it was one of the few movie theme songs to spend weeks as #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it is still featured on oldies radio stations. But I’d little idea what the movie was about, only that it was one of the many “classics” I’d never seen, and that it was a big hit for Sandra Dee. I decided to watch it and, much to my surprise, it caught the interest of my (then) teenage children.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed ASP, despite – or rather because of – its many cringe-worthy depictions of Life Back Then ®. The movie inadvertently became a teaching/conversational tool, as I tried to describe to my son and daughter the kind of world their grandparents (and even parents, to a degree) grew up in.
In case y’all are or were ignorant of ASP, here is Amazon’s plot summary:
Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee star as two young lovers whose relationship catalyzes the end of their parents’ marriages during a vacation on a Maine island, aka, A Summer Place. Young, innocent and in love on an idyllic island, Johnny (Donahue) and Molly (Dee) face the anger and guilt unleashed by the dissolution of their parents’ relationships after Molly’s father (Richard Egan) rekindles an affair he had with Johnny’s mother before either was married. Now, can young love survive as Johnny and Molly witness the enmity that has replaced the passion their parents once felt in this classic romance?
To declare that I like ASP could be seen a retro attempt at being hip. But, it’s so…dated, one of my offspring commented. That’s kinda the point, I said. Moiself defended the movie as an illustration of the strictures placed upon both young and old alike during the post-WWII/pre-“sexual revolution” era portrayed in the movie, and my children looked at me in disbelief when I said that ASP was actually considered daring for its time, because of its forthright treatment of adolescent budding sexuality, economic and social class prejudice, adultery, hypocrisy, and other “mature” themes.
Son K and daughter Belle were alternately amused and appalled by the “morality” portrayed onscreen – in particular by how Molly’s higher-class aspiring, monstrously prudish mother openly criticizes her teenage daughter’s developing figure and interest in boys. Fortunately for Molly, her father is a kind, gentle, and rational ally, and assures his daughter that her body and her natural desires are healthy, not shameful.
But her father’s alliance is not enough to protect Molly from moralistic paranoia. Before Molly’s father leaves for a brief business trip he gives Molly and Johnny permission to go sailing around the island. Their boat capsizes in a storm, stranding them on a beach on the far side of the island, where they are rescued by the Coast Guard the next morning. Despite their denials that they were “good,” the islanders gossip. Molly’s mother accuses the teenagers of being sexually intimate on the beach, and she sends for a doctor who, to Molly’s shock and horror, forcibly examines Molly to make sure she is a virgin.
My kids were outraged by that scene. This is good, I told them. You should be outraged. And, yep, that kind of thing used to happen.
We had a short but interesting conversation…it was difficult for my offspring to imagine the over-riding importance of propriety back then and out there – they tried to write off the movie’s portrayals the of stifling concern with “decency” as being a 1950s and/or East Coast thing. I assured them that although in general people in the South and East Coast tend to be more formal than us Out West ® -erners, people all over the country dealt with (and some still must contend with) the threat of what can happen when, in the eyes of others, you’re not being or doing what is “proper” [1] Consequences of alleged impropriety, particularly and especially for women and girls, could be dire, even life-altering. With that in mind, my kids agreed that Molly’s frenzied proclamations to the doctor and her mother that she’d been “a good girl” were the product of realistic fears rather than adolescent hysterics.
* * *
Department Of Life Is Tough But It’s Even Tougher If You’re Stupid
Chapter 1 in a series
“Florida Man….”
Even if y’all are not familiar with the meme, you’ve occasionally seen the headlines: :
* Florida Man Breaks Into Crocodile Enclosure, Leaves Behind A Pair Of Crocs
* Florida Man Dressed As Fred Flintstone Pulled Over
For “Speeding” In “Footmobile”
* Florida Man Caught In Child Sex Sting Claims He Just Wanted To “See It In Action”
* Florida Man Tells Cops Playing Basketball Naked “Enhances His Skill Level”
* Florida Man Denies Syringes Found In Rectum Are His
* Florida Man Attacks Wife With Taco Bell Lunch
“Causing Some To Go Up Her Nose”
* Florida Man Calls 911 And Demands A Ride Home “To Change His Underwear”
“Girls and boys, can you say, ‘I’d bet the farm and Grandma’s gator ranch that Florida Man is a tweaker?’ I knew you could.”
* Naked Florida Man Performs ‘Strange Dance’ At McDonald’s
Before ‘Trying To Have Relations With A Railing’
* Florida Man arrested for hanging on traffic light
and defecating on cars passing underneath
* Florida Man Proclaims He’s The First Man Ever To Vape Semen
* Florida Man Finds a WWII Grenade, Places It in His Truck, Drives to Taco Bell
* Florida Man Who Threatens Family with Coldplay Lyrics,
Ends Standoff After SWAT Promises Him Pizza
* Florida Man tries to use taco as ID after his car catches fire at Taco Bell [2]
So, what’s with Florida Men and Taco Bell?
My favorite FM headline, for its sheer, pathetic, clueless narcissism:
* Florida Man Googles Self to Find Out Which Florida Man He Is
Anyway….
MH warned daughter Belle, a proud Tacoma resident, that Tacoma Woman might just be giving Florida Man a run for his money, after MH saw this headline when we were up visiting Belle last weekend:
“Tacoma Woman Sent To Hospital After Posing With Octopus On Face.”
The story really deserves its own department.
* * *
Department Of Trust Us, Lady. No One Is In Any Danger Of Thinking That
That Is Your Motivation
“I’m not here to, you know, try to make myself look good…”
(Tacoma Woman trying to explain why she thought the
“opportunity for an unusual photo” was worth putting an octopus on her face.
The venomous cephalopod bit her chin,
causing her to be hospitalized with a painful, paralyzing infection.)
* * *
Department Of This Also Explains #45 Supporters
Aka, Quote Of The Week
Aka, Forget Behavioral Psychology and Neurology – This Explains So Much
“When you’re dead, you don’t know you’re dead. It’s only difficult for others.
It’s the same way when you’re stupid.”
* * *
Department of Epicurean Excursion [3]
Featuring this week’s cookbook, author and recipe:
Forks Over Knives Flavor! by Darshana Thacker.
Recipes:
*Indonesian Peanut Sauce
* Basil Corn Cream
My ratings:
*Indonesian Peanut Sauce
* Basil Corn Cream
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Recipe Rating Refresher [4]
* * *
May you appreciate the cultural anthropology opportunity
implicit in movies like A Summer Place;
May you never feel compelled to begin an explanation with,
“I’m not here to, you know, try to make myself look good…”;
May you never be the subject of a headline which begins,
“________ (your state of residence) Man/Woman….” ;
…and may the hijinks ensue.
Thanks for stopping by. Au Vendredi!
* * *
[1] I have always loathed that term and its implications, and tend to have a not-always-appropriate, knee-jerk, negative reaction to situations where it is employed.
[2] After he got his taco order, Florida Man fell asleep with his foot on his car’s accelerator (while he was in park gear), and the car’s engine caught fire.
[3] A recurring feature of this blog, since week 2 of April 2019, wherein moiself decided that moiself would go through my cookbooks alphabetically and, one day a week, cook (at least) one recipe from one book.
* Two Thumbs up: Liked it
* Two Hamster Thumbs Up : Loved it
* Thumbs Down – Not even Kevin, a character from The Office who would eat anything, would like this.
* Twiddling Thumbs: I was, in due course, bored by this recipe.
* Thumbscrew: It was torture to make this recipe.
* All Thumbs: Good recipe, but I somehow mucked it up .
* Thumby McThumb Face: This recipe was fun to make.
* Thumbing my nose: Yeah, I made this recipe, but I did not respect it.
