I was born in 1992. Though I cringe because I can't believe I've been alive for 21 years already, it actually wasn't too long ago. A few fashion changes here and there and some minor (kidding they're huge) technology advances. But nothing (seemingly) as huge as going from silent films to talkies. Or from black and white to Technicolor. Old, classic movies are something cherished by this movie buff which is a love thanks to the wonderful household she was brought up in.
I didn't grow up during the time of Charlie Chaplin or The Three Stooges. Nor did I get to see the rise of Judy Garland as it was happening. I never herd any gossip of Jimmy Stewart and Gretta Garbo. I never saw Joan Rivers tear Grace Kelly to shreds for her fashion choices. Oh, now I'm mixing my decades. Anywho, my point is, is that this wonderful invention called TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has made it so I can live through those years. TCM brings movies from the earliest of feature films through the 1980s to our television. They help provide history and logic to this love I have for theater and film.
My love of film started with my dad. Not too surprisingly, it's thanks to him insisting we watch old Three Stooges films and The Blues Brothers (not particularly in that order) that my brother and I now love comedy. My dad is a huge history buff, too. He's also passed that down to Andy and me. And my mother has quite a bit of that too. So, for a household full of film and history buffery, TCM has proven to be a goldmine!
I love seeing how times have changed. To see how opinions of society has changed; and most surprisingly, how they haven't. I love seeing the fashion. To see how the old Vaudeville performers translate on film. To see the wonderful theater actors that are equal parts movie stars. To see the different shades of grey (like more than 50) of the black and white classics. To hear the imperfections of the less-than-totally-clear sound. To see the imperfections in the film. To see how they made movie magic. To dream of getting a kiss that's half that passionate just once in your life. The subtlety of the performances. Yet the outlandish gestures. It's magical.
Whenever someone says they were born in the wrong decade (referring to the past decades, obviously), I always scoff saying "unless you were a white man, the past was probably awful. I like the present, thank you very much." However, every time I turn on TCM, or re-watch It's a Wonderful Life for the 50,000th time, I understand what they mean.
Whenever my mom and dad say "when I was your age, we had to walk to school..." or any other random thing, I'd just think "well, times are different!" But looking back with the classics of yesterday, I see how wonderful time was.
I never grew up without color to my television. Never saw an original old 1940s car right off the assembly line. The opportunity to just own the latest movie was always there for me. However, turning on TCM, I am able to reminisce with my mom and dad, and they get to reminisce with their parents. My generation, and generations after me, are able to reminisce all together and see, through the eyes of past artists, what life was then. And, even now, think about life now. Maybe we're not so different, my parents, their parents, and me.
Wow.
TCM. What a wondrous invention.
I didn't grow up during the time of Charlie Chaplin or The Three Stooges. Nor did I get to see the rise of Judy Garland as it was happening. I never herd any gossip of Jimmy Stewart and Gretta Garbo. I never saw Joan Rivers tear Grace Kelly to shreds for her fashion choices. Oh, now I'm mixing my decades. Anywho, my point is, is that this wonderful invention called TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has made it so I can live through those years. TCM brings movies from the earliest of feature films through the 1980s to our television. They help provide history and logic to this love I have for theater and film.
My love of film started with my dad. Not too surprisingly, it's thanks to him insisting we watch old Three Stooges films and The Blues Brothers (not particularly in that order) that my brother and I now love comedy. My dad is a huge history buff, too. He's also passed that down to Andy and me. And my mother has quite a bit of that too. So, for a household full of film and history buffery, TCM has proven to be a goldmine!
I love seeing how times have changed. To see how opinions of society has changed; and most surprisingly, how they haven't. I love seeing the fashion. To see how the old Vaudeville performers translate on film. To see the wonderful theater actors that are equal parts movie stars. To see the different shades of grey (like more than 50) of the black and white classics. To hear the imperfections of the less-than-totally-clear sound. To see the imperfections in the film. To see how they made movie magic. To dream of getting a kiss that's half that passionate just once in your life. The subtlety of the performances. Yet the outlandish gestures. It's magical.
Whenever someone says they were born in the wrong decade (referring to the past decades, obviously), I always scoff saying "unless you were a white man, the past was probably awful. I like the present, thank you very much." However, every time I turn on TCM, or re-watch It's a Wonderful Life for the 50,000th time, I understand what they mean.
Whenever my mom and dad say "when I was your age, we had to walk to school..." or any other random thing, I'd just think "well, times are different!" But looking back with the classics of yesterday, I see how wonderful time was.
I never grew up without color to my television. Never saw an original old 1940s car right off the assembly line. The opportunity to just own the latest movie was always there for me. However, turning on TCM, I am able to reminisce with my mom and dad, and they get to reminisce with their parents. My generation, and generations after me, are able to reminisce all together and see, through the eyes of past artists, what life was then. And, even now, think about life now. Maybe we're not so different, my parents, their parents, and me.
Wow.
TCM. What a wondrous invention.
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