It's never about the last shrimp.
Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 6:42AM Yes, yes, YES! This is what I've been talking about.
Before yesterday, did I even know who Eric Rohmer was?
No. My study and appreciation of French film ended somewhere in the New Wave, with the works of Godard and Truffaut. Pierrot le Fou pushed me right over the edge, and I never tried to climb back up. (Great class, though; regardless of what I thought of some of the films.)
But that was yesterday. And the greatest thing about life is that every day, when we wake up, we can choose new things to do. If we are so inclined. Which sometimes, I am.
Seems to me this Rohmer dude understood that there is more to life--and the human condition--than simple good or bad. That each of us has an underlying story that perhaps even we don't understand. That sometimes, people get mad at each other, ostensibly over something trivial (like who gets to eat the last shrimp), when the conflict is really about something else entirely.
Good versus evil. Hero versus villain. Penguin versus lemur.
It's possible that, once I am able to watch a Rohmer film, I will not like it. That's okay. I'm just glad to know that he did what he wanted to do, and that someone understood it.
Man versus shrimp. Duh. It's never, ever about the last shrimp. Just ask George Costanza.
Reader Comments (4)
Yes. Reminds me of "metamessages," a concept where you discuss who gets the last shrimp (the message) and what what you're really debating is something else entirely (the metamessage). Quote from a favorite book of mine by Deborah Tannen about mothers and daughters in conversation: "Where the daughter sees criticism, the mother sees caring.... Most of the time, both are right."
It's all metamessage, isn't it?
Ouch. Why do I do these things to myself?
I don't know... I think sometimes I truly am talking about that last shrimp. But who knows, the person who hears me is probably thinking, "But what does she REALLY mean by that ..." ;)
Yesssss.......for example, when you say "shrimp" you might actually mean "lobster."