Dear @Shialabeouf I'm sorry I read your interview

Dear @ShiaLaBeouf,

Today I read your interview. It made me sad, and I cried. I'm actually very sorry that I read your interview because it was too personal. I got a very good look inside your head - and as much as I know about you, you know nothing about me - and that doesn't seem fair.

Janet

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If I have empathy for someone I see on TV or read in a book or magazine, is that false? What good does it do for me to build empathy with someone that I'll never meet, and may not even be real? There's a difference between the feeling of empathy (I feel/imagine feeling what you are feeling) and a real connection between two people. What is a 'connection', anyway but a shared knowing and understanding of each other's feelings? If I know your feelings but you don't know mine, then I don't believe it's a real connection because it doesn't go two ways.

In the Shia LaBeouf interview, he expresses a range of feelings; anger, frustration, acceptance, and pain. Through his words (filtered through the interviewer's perspective) I think that I know what Shia is feeling. I am being given exactly what I think I want; the view inside someone else's head. His head. If he's playing a role or he's just being himself, either way the empathy I feel is real.

When I watch a movie, hear a great song or read a story, I get so much more (in most cases) than I ever would in real life. A narrator gives us the background and details. The camera eye follows people around a room, listening to everyone's conversations. It is this omniscience that gives me the false idea that I am connected to them. When I see an actor showing emotions; my mind wants to believe that they are a real person and it's their emotions I'm seeing. I see an actor play a role and go through a tragedy, and I fall into the belief that it's their tragedy.

I know this is just a one-way street. It's not a sharing of feelings; because he's not seeing me as I see him. If my best friend told me a story about how she was attacked by a bear, I would want to help her. I would want her to know that my heart beat with hers, and that I could be there for her if she needed me.

But if someone is on TV and is not a friend, and I see them go through something horrible (or something wonderful) how can I tell them I want to help them (share their joy with them)? They are far away and unreachable. They are not real (and I know they are not real). I crave connection and at the same time, I feel very disconnected and unsatisfied.

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I feel that the best actors are the ones who are able to get their heads inside of the characters they play. They become the people we believe them to be, for the short while they play them. That makes it real - even if it's only for the time that the camera is on and pointed in their direction. There is something real going on; there is a real person in there, expressing real feelings.

Then when the show is done and the microphones are gone; these actors put those characters aside and become themselves again. The fictional character is gone but that doesn't stop me from wanting to keep that feeling alive. I hold on to the moment of belief so that I pretend that the famous actor is still actually the person we think they are. He's still the captain of the Starship Enterprise. [Or maybe he is.] She's still Mrs. Smith [Or maybe she is.]. It's not real; but it feels real and sometimes I want to keep it that way.

Janet

The band

In high school, I played drums in a rock band. We were three girls (me, D and A) with old instruments, taking our best shot at "Smoke on the Water" in a scummy practice studio. It was great fun.

The building with the practice studio was completely ridiculous. It was a run down building with loft size spaces up five flights of stairs. There may have been an elevator, I don't remember. There were walls of rusty exposed pipes, and everything was covered in black paint. The restroom I recall vividly - because it wasn't really a room. It was an open, dark hallway with a dirty seat-less toilet smack in the center. A bare bulb swung from a cord about 15 feet above my head while I did my business (and you can be sure I did it really, really fast in that place).

The practice rooms themselves were pretty good, although I wouldn't go so far as to call them 'nice'. Most of them had usable drum kits (again, not 'nice'), they all had amps and mic stands, and for $10 an hour I could make as much noise as I wanted. I could do paradiddles for half an hour, badly, and nobody would mind. I could pretend to be Larry Mullen, Jr., or Ringo Starr, and it felt real.

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We started meeting there for our practice sessions. After some of our sessions, we would all go back to A's place (she was our guitarist) and hang out. We could talk about our insecurities, dream about the bands (and guys) we liked, and revel in how amazing it felt to take off our bras at day's end and just be sweaty chicks.

One time, we were walking back to A's place when our bassist D cornered me. She wanted to tell me her story. I couldn't believe her at first, because her life was so different than any life I'd known.

Her family hated her, she said. "They want to kick me out. I don't do drugs, but they keep accusing me." I asked her why and she said she didn't know. Then she said, "Sometimes I feel like I'm not myself. It's like I blackout, and have these missing times where I don't know what's happened for hours."

I thought about how well I knew her. Did I think she did drugs? Did I think they were falsely accusing her? Should I be the supportive friend? She was clearly upset, and when I didn't immediately say anything she said, "Never mind, forget it." and skipped ahead to talk to A.

Back at A's place, after sitting on the floor and chatting for a bit I saw that some of A's left arm was covered in little marks. They looked like scars. She saw me looking and said, "Sometimes I cut myself, y'know? No big deal."

D rolled up her sleeve. "Yeah, me too." they looked at each other and laughed. It blew my tiny teenage mind. I was scared, and confused. Who does that? Who hurts themselves on purpose, and then laughs about it?

I must have had a crazy look on my face, or how I acted the rest of that night threw them off, because a week later they kicked me out of the band.

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Now I wonder what happened to them, and where their lives took them.

Janet

At the pool; ignoring the fear impulse

The other day I was at a public pool. It was hot, and there were many other families there enjoying the summer sun.

I wear a wedding ring, and whenever I end up somewhere where random crime is more likely to happen (a NY City train, for example) I turn the ring around* so as to hide the center stone, and to avoid unwanted attention. To me, doing so is a means of protection, but I know it's also a sign of defensiveness. I'm scared, and I'm showing it. 

By the poolside, I caught myself several times turning my ring around. Every time someone of another skin color or culture walked by, my hand moved to my fingers. I believe that I was doing it unconsciously but I was determined to figure out why.

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I was definitely uncomfortable being at this pool. I was in an unfamiliar place surrounded by people I didn't know. Where I used to live (New York City) I was always among people of different cultures and races. People mixed in offices and sat together on buses and walked down the street together and I wasn't scared. Sure, there were neighborhoods that I wouldn't want to walk through on a dark night alone, but mostly I felt safe there. People of color were just people.

Where I live now is fantastic; but most of them time I only see people of one color. I've been living here for a few years and I guess I've gotten used to it. I remember when I first moved here it was a bit of a shock how 'white' it was. Now at this pool it was another shock to be surrounded by different-looking people again.

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The first time it happened I turned it, then thought, "Why did I do that? We're all just families here. Parents and kids and groups of friends. Nobody's threatening me."

The second time I turned it, then immediately turned it back. I was thinking about how one of these other people might feel if they saw me do it. They might feel judged. Unfairly so. 

The third time I caught myself in mid-reach. I was going to break this habit!

It took a lot of practice, but at least for that day, I didn't turn it again.

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I firmly believe that all people, no matter how they look on the outside are just people (amazing people, as I've said before). I have habits (I think we all do) that communicate messages to others that they are not welcome. Even if my emotions tell me 'be scared' when my environment changes, that doesn't mean I have to act on them.

What habits do you have that send the 'wrong' message? What about the 'right' message?

Janet

*I grew up in New York City, and I learned several other 'habits' that have to do with protecting myself in public against unwanted threats or attention. The 'turning the ring' habit is just one. I also know that I lock doors whenever driving in unfamiliar neighborhoods, I look down and don't make eye contact when walking on a public street.

Book review - The Bookie's Daughter (A.K.A. Empathy practice through reading)

About a month ago, on a friend's recommendation  I picked up a copy of "The Bookie's Daughter" by Heather Abraham. Here's a link to the website for the book.

I'm a big fan of books and reading in general. I read primarily on an e-reader these days, but I still love to pick up the old paperbacks. I love to get lost in the pages of a great story or to just get a good laugh. Sometimes even the smell of an old book is enough to make me feel good*.

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It has been suggested to me that reading books of nonfiction can help you to have empathy by letting you see inside a person's mind, and see the life that they want to share.  Which is what you are all doing right now by reading this blog, seeing into my thoughts.

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My review is that I liked the book - I give it two thumbs up! 


I really liked the author's voice that she chose to use in her writing. She was clearly an older woman writing about her experiences as a child and teenager, and I heard the older woman's voice speaking occasionally, looking over our shoulder with the quotes atop each chapter. Primarily, however, I heard the voice of a child. The girl was bright and crass, loving and tough. She had a lot of attitude and she seemed to keep her cool in almost any situation.  I wondered at the time how she managed to remember so many details of events, including specific conversations, from decades ago. Was she inventing them, or did she do research with other witnesses? It seemed hard to believe that a girl so young would remember the past so well.

I know that for me, I remember events down to the last detail when they are horrible, or scary, or one of those moments that seems to last forever. In this case I believe that much of this girl's childhood was exactly that - horrible, scary, and one of those moments that seemed to last forever.

As frightful and heart wrenching some of the events described in the book are, the other thing I particularly enjoyed about the storytelling was the sense that no matter how bad it was the author was never going to go 'too far' with me. She kept it dangerous, but still safe. She held my hand, so to speak, through the darkest parts, and I knew that everything would be okay in the end.

Finally what I really found amazing about the book was no matter how hurtful the members of her family seemed to be, it was absolutely clear that they loved her, and that she loved them.

Read a great book lately? Tell me about it!

Janet

*Honestly I was pretty shocked to find the above link exists at all - but apparently I'm not the only one likes how old books smell!

A Streetcar Named Desire - Movie Review

As some of you know, I'm a big fan of the movies - classic and current. Some other posts I've done on movies:

Classic
Not-so-classic

In college, I took several classes in film and television. These were some of the most fun classes I took; because every week we got to have a 'lab' where we saw a movie or a sequence of television shows. Everything from Murphy Brown to Busby Berkeley to Cyd Charisse. It was completely awesome!

Subscribing to Netflix means that I can spend my brief free time blocks watching movies. I don't get out to the theaters much anymore, so this is the only way I can watch movies.

Last night was one of those rare occasions where the husband was out, the kids were in bed, and I had the TV all to myself. Movie night!
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A Streetcar Named Desire

Before watching

What I know about this movie comes only from pop culture references, things like "Stella!" being shouted by a man at a window and the famous last line, "I've always depended upon the kindness of strangers." I know that it starred Marlon Brando, and that it was based on a play by Tennessee Williams. I had read The Glass Menagerie in high school, but not either Streetcar or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (his other famous plays). So I knew I was in for some crafted lines and dramatic, painful characters.

During the film

Okay so for those of us born after 1970; who knew that Marlon Brando was hot! I mean it's a bit surprising to hear the famous voice from The Godfather or Superman's Dad, coming out of someone who would make any teenager of any generation swoon. I have always thought of him as an actor with presence but this movie seals the deal. He's a fantastic actor, worthy of all the praise he's received.

Vivien Leigh is incredible. No wonder she took home the Best Actress Oscar for this movie. At first I was all like, wow, okay, so she's playing this southern belle character and I feel like it's so one-dimensional and false. But as the movie goes on I'm realizing that she's really got layers on layers, and the reason she came off as one-dimensional is because she's an actress portraying a person who is putting up a false image of themselves. Very meta and very, very well done. Having not read the play ( I won't spoil it for you if you haven't) I was completely taken in and carried along by the story she was telling.

After the film

The story was compelling. The acting was terrific, violent and strong. I would rate this among the best stories I've seen in a long time.  I think with the dark subject matter the audio was done really well (adding to the tension at all the right spots and not getting in the way of the story). However, the film style was a little less than I was hoping for. I wonder if chairoscuro would have changed the feel of the film? It just seemed like the dirtiness of New Orleans was not dirty enough, and the mood was almost 'too light' at times to match the story.

Okay so four and a half out of five stars for me. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes drama and classic movies.

Anyone have a favorite movie they want to recommend? Add it to the comments!

Janet

Rushing to judgements - update

In my previous post about rushing to judgments, I said that I was going to try to stop being judgmental. I've been trying, and failing, and trying again. I was trying this:

I'm doing it by focusing on a person's eyes and facial expressions before I do anything else. I have been trying to avoid looking at what people are wearing or how their bodies look, and to try to see them as people first.

So, that's not working. :(

I think it's not working because judging is a strong habit. For instance, I was at a playground this weekend and there were other parents around. I caught myself several times making up stories about them; this one was a cab driver, that one was an ex-punk rocker, this one was taking zumba classes. Ugh. Each time I realized what I was doing I stopped myself. But it was very discouraging.

The 'eye contact' thing isn't working for, I think, several reasons. First I think people are uncomfortable making eye contact in non-social situations like elevators or train stations. Also, some people see me making eye contact and they expect a conversation. I seem to be scaring people.

For now, I'm  trying to simply be aware of when I'm doing it. Hopefully this will give me the practice I need to stop judging, and open up to the possibility of empathy.

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A recent trip to New York City reminded me something about my habits. See, growing up there I learned the habit of looking down. Looking up, or looking around, was something I believed that only tourists did. Well now here I am, not as a tourist, but not looking down. I broke the habit, and now I look all around.

On the subway, I wasn't looking where I was going (yes, I wasn't looking down) and I bumped someone, hard. I turned and apologized, and she gave me a look. The look was, "uh, why are you apologizing?" which just shows how long I've been NOT a city-dweller. Yet another New York City habit broken. I don't assume that it's all-right to bump into people.

If I can break habits here, I can break them anywhere. :)

Have you ever broken a habit? Tell us about it.

My Little Pony - Show Review

When I was a little girl I loved My Little Pony. I saved up my allowance to buy a unicorn pony, and bought more as I could afford them.

I was vaguely aware that there was a MLP television show, but from the little I had seen it was very silly, so I had no interest. I thought it was much more fun playing with the toys, making little houses for them out of shoeboxes and braiding their hair. I had given each one their own personality, and they talked to each other. I kept them for many years afterwards and even gave them to my eldest daughter to play with when she was about 2.

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Now it's 2013, and there is a new My Little Pony tv show. I'm admitting to you all that I'm a grownup and a BIG FAN. I've seen all the episodes several times and the show continues to amaze me. This year's season finale was incredible, and opens up so many possibilities for next season. Go Bronys!

What do I think is so great about this show? It's about friendship. It portrays real friendship in real ways, while still being cute and fun and a great show for little kids. Some of the episodes are so true to the heart that I've cried watching them.

It's so unlike some other kid's shows that are on today, because this show talks about real friendship and the real choices we have to make. For example, one of my favorite episodes is about three characters; Gilda the Griffon, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. It's called "Griffon the Brush Off".

Episode summary

I find this episode a perfect example of what I love so much about the show. They are talking about a real life situation that can come up, and they have the characters react in real ways. The lessons shown are lessons that I want my daughter to learn.

I'm proud to be a fan of this show.

Janet

Empathy Pitfall - rushing to judgements

I've been thinking a lot this week about how I judge people. Based on what someone is wearing and their overall appearance I will quickly put them into a group; such as class or ethnicity/race. Based on their actions and the location I'm in, I may make other judgments (for example, if I am walking down a street alone at night, I'll be fearful of anyone walking close by).

When someone says 'you are so judgmental' I believe they are saying 'you are making decisions about who I am before really getting to know me'. So in that sense, I believe that judging a person can be an opposition to empathy.

I don't usually consider myself a judgmental person. However, I am trying to build up my empathy. So recently, when I read this article, it got me thinking about my own rushes to judgment. The story is about a woman who did a series of self-portraits, which captured people judging her based on her appearance. What I found most striking about the article was how it seemed to be so easy for her to find images that contained these judging looks from strangers. Was I like them, so quick to judge? Was I giving strange looks to strangers?

There was another interesting story from 2012 about a woman who had been ridiculed for her weight online. She was a video blogger, so she, of course, made an excellent video response to her critics. One thing that she said in her response stood out to me - that when you see a person, remember, you don't know where they are in their journey. I think this can be applied for any of my judgmental behavior.

So I've resolved to try to break this habit of judgement. To see the person and not their appearance.

I'm doing it by focusing on a person's eyes and facial expressions before I do anything else. I have been trying to avoid looking at what people are wearing or how their bodies look, and to try to see them as people first.

It's hard.

Judging seems to be the path to fear, and it's much easier for me to feel fear by pushing people away rather than bringing them closer. This is part of my own journey, what I'm trying to do.

Thanks for listening. Please add your comments below (anonymous comments welcome).

Janet

Movie Review - Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves

You thought I was going to talk about empathy...well, not today. I'll do an empathy post soon. But in the meantime I'm going to share another snippet of my life in the hope that you will want to share something with me in the comments or on our facebook page.

If you know the movie and don't like it, here's someone else's review that agrees with you.

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I love the movie. I love it in the way that I love my favorite socks, even with the holes and fuzzy spots. What I love about this movie is that there's just SO MUCH for me to think and talk about!

The movie is yes, another take on the classic tale of Robin Hood. So all the important characters are there, Robin, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Little John, Maid Marion, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. But in this tale we also have some fabulous secondary characters that I love to watch again and again. Fanny, Little John's wife, is a strong woman willing to pick up a sword (in at least one scene) and is played by Soo Drouet. The Sherrif's cousin, Guy of Gisbourne, is played excellently by Michael Wincott.

The movie stars Alan Rickman as the Sherriff, and he's one of my favorite bad-guy actors. He's so much fun to watch, and has some great lines like "I'm gonna cut your heart out with a spoon". There's this one scene where he's telling some little kids that he's insane, and it just makes me laugh so hard every time I watch. It's kind of the precursor to his 'Professor Snape' bad guy to kids role, although I believe he's become a much better actor over time.

I have to talk a little bit about Kevin Costner here. I hear so often when I bring this movie up in conversation that it's a ridiculous movie, because Mr. Costner doesn't hold an English accent for more than half a line at a time. I agree with this statement but I still love how he plays the role. He plays Robin exactly as I imagine him. A little egotistical. A lot lacking in intelligence. Very physically skilled but emotionally kind of a child. A streak of honor that lasts a mile long. Yeah, I know I'm not going to be popular for saying this but I enjoy watching him act in this movie.


Although the movie did have a few female characters, I'm pretty sure it fails the bechdel test. If you don't know what I'm talking about read this. Marion has a handmaid, Mary, but they don't ever talk to each other. In one scene, Fanny is in labor and Marion is by her side, and Marion tells Fannie to 'bite down' on a stick. I don't think that counts as conversation, since Fanny doesn't say anything in response. Even if it did count as a conversation, it was a conversation about her soon-to-be-born baby son, so it would fail the test anyway.

Like I said - so much to talk about!!

I watch it and think, yes, they made some choices in casting that seem very silly to me now. I can picture a group of people sitting around a casting table and saying "Okay, to make sure we're including a larger audience, let's put in Christian Slater to capture the 18 and under crowd, since Kevin Costner is a bit older and may not appeal." However it also has Walter Sparrow as Robin's servant, who I just adore (he was also in another of my favorite movies, Ever After).

The costumes are cheesy (sorry I can't find a good link for that one).

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I know it's not considered a good movie by everyone. I love it in spite of (or because of) the flaws. What about you? What movie do you love?

Objects of love at yard sales

I'm a big fan of yard sales, garage sales, online trading, freecycling and ebay. I buy things used for a few reasons; first, I was introduced to it by my Dad, so roaming a garage sale always makes me feel cozy. Second, I think of it as recycling, because I'm keeping someone from adding to a landfill. Third, the prices are good, and I often find things at yard sales that are gently used for much less than I would spend on them new.

Over and above all of those reasons, the main thing I love about yardsales is it's a way to look into the past. I've seen beautiful functional things from years ago, like furniture, china and tools, that were made in a time where the people who made them cared a lot about the manufacture and design. I'm not saying we don't have beautiful and well-crafted things in the stores today, but a quick trip around my neighborhood yardsales can reveal some wonderful things.

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About two years ago I was at a moving sale and saw a tea set.  I had been in the market for a tea set, something pretty that I could take out for special occasions with my husband (like, it's 9 pm and the kids are in bed). It looked to be a set for two, with pot, sugar and creamer bowl for $5, so I snapped it up! Here are some terrible photos:

This is a Seltmann Weiden tea set made in Germany, from about the 1950s. I love the set for the look; it has such elegant shapes (the curls at the handles, the little bulges and delicate toppers on the teapot and sugar/creamer bowl). The pears appear to be hand painted and are not too orange (they aren't brightly colored, the orangey-red is very soft and makes me think about the tree they could have been picked from).

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There is a downside to yardsale-shopping, sometimes you don't get what you expect. For example, I checked before I bought the above tea set that all the parts were there. However, when I got home I realized that I was missing a cup - I think I had miscounted one of the bowls as a cup.* As a result, I have a tea set that is missing a tea cup. Yes, so this does explain why the set was $5. I still love the set, and I know that that's how things roll sometimes. 

Do you buy used things?

Have you loved something so much it didn't matter that it was slightly broken?

*Side story - when I saw the cup was missing, first I tried to go back to the house where I had bought it. I thought maybe I had accidentally left the cup behind. I was too late, they had already moved, and there was a realtor's lock on the door. I left a note saying 'please, did I forget a cup' but I don't know if it ever got to the seller. I chose to believe that I miscounted originally, and that the cup was never there, rather than assuming that the seller is keeping the lone cup and saying 'ha ha' :). 

Building Empathy

I do not empathize with people easily, and I wonder if that is related to my long history of not making friends easily. I am able to empathize very easily with animals. As a result I became a vegetarian about ten years ago.

I do believe that one way to get closer to others is to share yourself, and I have come to accept who I am as a person and feel comfortable sharing myself (hence, this blog). However, I also think that telling my stories isn' t enough. People have to want to share with me.

I've met other people who are magnets for friends, who receive the openness of others regularly. They seem to (from my outsider's perspective) make friends easily. They draw people to their side. What I've observed is that these people seem to genuinely CARE about the people that they meet.

For example, a friend of mine's mother is one of these magnetic types. When I first met her, and evey visit since, she' s convinced me that I' m her long lost daughter. She exudes love, I think, and as a result I can' t help but love her back.

As was once said, all you need is love.

So I tried it. I tried simply walking through my day and ' loving' people. Call it a mantra, but in the last 48 hours whenever I' ve met a stranger I' ve thought to myself, 'I love you'.

My result?

It' s been some really rewarding hours. I talked to storekeepers, to fellow moms at the exercise studio, and others, and really felt good listening to them. The storekeeper told me all about the first time she tried a squash soup at a local restaurant, and I felt like I had a few sips of it myself. The other mom told me all about her marriage and home life, and I felt like I was in her home with her. Just keeping them positively in mind made me listen harder and connect with them more easily.

Most interestingly, it made them want to tell me their stories. Perhaps they could tell I wanted to listen.

Hey, I love you man.

Peace out.

I'm just a girl

If you don't want to read anything negative, stop reading now and go back to one of my other posts. But before you go, here's a picture of some cute fuzzy tiger babies.

I'm Just A Girl

I'm a fan of american football, and I love to watch games and root for my favorite team (the Buffalo Bills, yeah, I know). I realize that I'm not the target audience for most advertisers that use these shows to sell their products. However, it still burns my muffin when I see ads like this one:

Don't you really want a beer, now?  :)

I know that most/all alcohol ads objectify women. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Seriously what does a beer and a woman have in common? The first woman, wearing a brightly colored dress, smiling and laughing,  is being derided for the following traits mentioned in the ad. She's :

friendly
bubbly
(has less) character
(has less) style
less taste (no, wait, I think that last one was just about the beer)
and of course, has blonde hair.

Haven't we had enough of the blonde jokes, folks? Seriously is this the way folks talk about beer to each other?

The fact that both women (actually, all women in the ad) are well-below average weight and well above average height is what I expect from a TV ad. But this ad is laughable, I can almost see Mel Gibson's character from 'What Women Want' writing this ad. I can't find the clip online but it was the bit where he was trying to bluff his way out of a meeting for selling women's products by talking about using a woman showering in the tropics.....

Yeah can I just say ugh.


Any television or movie ads that you've seen that have pushed your buttons the wrong way? What about them?

Great Classic Movies

I have an ongoing love affair - with movies.

The other day I tried to explain why they call it 'netflix' to my 5 year old. They used to call them flicks, because in the early days of movie projectors the images would flicker on the screen. I'm not sure my explanation really worked but it reminded me of my college years.

See, in college I studied films and television, and I would have minored in film studies had it not been for ONE class that was only offered every TWO YEARS.....not that I'm resentful, it was a really good program and I learned a lot about how what we see is created and not just 'filmed'.

These days with two kids I don't really get to see much in the theaters, but I do try to watch as many classics as I can. I'm of the opinion that these movies were great once, maybe they are still great, and I'd like to find out.

Some movies I've seen this way:

- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (fantastic! truly holds the test of time)
- Easy Rider (yeah, not so much. didn't really connect with this one)
- Roman Holiday (I'm a fan of that cheesy romantic comedy 'Only You' and this movie is mentioned and likely used for some inspiration. Roman Holiday was better, and hey, y'know, Gregory Peck. :)

Have you seen a movie from before your time, that you loved? That you hated?