I recently watched Blue Jasmine, the Woody Allen movie for which Cate Blanchett got the Oscar for best actress. I loved the imperfect ending, it's like Woody Allen respects us enough to give us a realistic conclusion as opposed to those pansy fantasy "happily ever afters" that dupe us.
I've actually brought Blue Jasmine up in conversations and managed to bond with newsroom colleagues over Woody Allen lines. I was a bit obsessive and had a mini Woody Allen movie marathon. It got me thinking about the first Allen film that hooked me. It was titled Midnight in Paris, and before giving it to me, my friend said, "Just watch it, it will surprise you".
She was right, watching Owen Wilson caught in nostalgia taught me to value the present. I was so intrigued I told everyone else to watch it too. I've made plans to watch Allen's new film, Magic in Moonlight. It's got Emma Stone and Colin Firth, so it's bound to be good with such excellent talent.
Speaking of which, Allen has a knack for casting great actors. Besides the incredible script and the enchanting soundtracks, the actors really pull things together.
In other news, I'm a huge fan of the duo Capital Cities. I was first exposed to them when I heard their song Kangaroo Court. There was something about the lines "Shut up, shut up, shut up. Sit down, sit down, sit down" that made me continue listening.
When the epic music video came out last year, I shared it on each of my social media accounts. Later I discovered Safe and Sound, Farrah Fawcett Hair and their version of Madonna's Holiday which became my favorites to loop on playlists.
But a year later, I found some people who didn't know the awesomeness of Capital Cities, and had neither, SHOCK HORROR, seen the Kangaroo Court music video. So on Friday my colleagues YouTubed the story of a zebra who painted himself black to impersonate a mustang so that he could enter a club.
They enjoyed the jazzy bits and were gripped by the slaughtering of the zebra who became a lion's supper as a punishment for his crime. (If you're lost, just google the music video).
You may be wondering what the point of this is, but in some way, I feel like I was doing a public service by sharing these fragments of pop culture. It's not like it made a difference in anyone's life. My colleagues and I could've bonded over something simpler, like coffee. But I felt like they had to know about something I enjoyed, so that they could enjoy it too.
And here's the part where it gets intense, see, I don't feel the same when it comes to sharing the Gospel. I say I'm intrigued by the Gospel, but I don't have the urgency or the courage to talk about it like I did after I watched Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery.
It bothers me that I'd talk about fading things that add no value to anyone's life, as opposed to the one thing that gives life. I think twice about sharing a Bible verse that speaks to me, and then don't.
In my head I value the Gospel, but my actions show it's more important for me to talk about Woody Allen than Jesus Christ.
If I valued the Gospel my actions would be different.
My heart's not there. My heart's not moved.
