Midnight in Paris

Hi everyone.  I am sitting here taking notes for APUSH and thinking about the 100 other things I need to do...but, amazingly enough, taking notes tonight is not as tedious as it usually is.  And that's because we are currently learning about the 20's, a time period that really interests me.

My interest probably started after watching the movie Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen and starring Owen Wilson.  The movie is about an absentminded writer who travels to Paris with his unpleasant fiancée.  He is a romantic who loves Paris and wishes he could live there in the "old days"; she is a diva who mainly cares about appearances and making money.  During his trip, he takes a midnight walk, and suddenly finds that his wish has been granted: he is still in Paris, but he has somehow been transported back through time to the 1920s.  He meets amazing people like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Salvador Dalí.  He goes to parties and restaurants and drives around in expensive cars.  He even falls in love (for real) with Pablo Picasso's girlfriend.  The only catch is that these mysterious events can only take place at night, and during the day, he is back to the modern day.

I encourage you all to watch this movie.  Not only is it one of my favorites, but it also gives you an unexpected perspective on people and places from long ago.  And Owen Wilson's longing for the past makes me think: Why do we always look back on old times and reminisce on how great they were, and complain about the time we live in?  Why not try to make right now a time that people 50 years from now will look back on?  Why not try to make our own time memorable?

-Marisa