The Antiquarian
Have you ever seen those demonstrations where a person takes two balls of the same size and weight, and rolls them down tracks to see which finishes first? One track is a slow, gradual decline, while the other reaches the same spot at the end but is full of dips and rises in the middle. The point of the demonstration is that the ball with all the ups and downs finishes first (due to physics laws), so it is an encouragement that you’ll get further in life if you have ups and downs versus the person who has a slow and steady life. That’s nice and well, but seeing as how the ball with the ups and downs finishes first I’ve always thought it rather shows that the person with the crazy life dies faster. But that’s just me.
I’ve always had a pretty busy life. It’s not necessarily full of extreme peaks and valleys, although it has its moments. It’s more that I’m so busy all the time that each day or week is full of these small ups and downs, just enough that I’m tired, and wishing it were simpler. People tell me all the time I’m too busy. During the past school year, I had something pretty much every day of the week, on top of being a full time student. And these weren’t just hour long activities down the block, it was long commutes and half-day affairs. So yeah, it was a lot.
I have an affinity for antiques. Some girls like window shopping around malls, I go crazy in old people’s attics. I have 5 film cameras, two typewriters, a pair of opera glasses, and some other random old do-dads. I especially like old movies, and think they are superior to most films that come out these days. People tease me for liking such things, and roll their eyes at the black and white. I’ve often wondered why I like antiques and old movies so much. When you actually talk to someone who grew up 70 years ago, they had quite difficult lives. Everybody knows that fact, so why do I look back and wish I grew up then?
I think it’s because of my crazy life. It’s because all I see of the past are these romanticized movies. I don’t want to watch something about somebody struggling in the 2000’s, I want to get lost in a romance where the biggest struggle is two people realizing they're in love. I want to be absorbed into a world where people sing and dance to express themselves. I want to live among women who choose to wear extravagant, feminine dresses because they’re beautiful instead of leggings because they’re “easier to move in”.
So, I guess I like old movies much for the same reason the people of their time did. They romanticize another life to provide a short escape from your own. What else, after all, is entertainment for?