Last Sunday I tried to go to a movie with my friend Matt at this supposedly amazing cinema called E Street Cinema. I was hoping to see Martha Marcy May Marlene because I wanted to see just how good this Elizabeth Olsen's acting was. A part of me wonders if people are so amazed at her acting chops because of her family's "special" talents. (Her sisters are Mary-Kate and Ashley.) Anyway, there was a communication error and I was in the movie while Matt was standing outside for an hour. Mortifying but it's a long story, and not entirely my selfish fault. Anyway, after the show, I was standing outside on the phone talking about my service issues, and a guy standing on the street said, "Service issues?"
I responded, "Yes. Service issues!" because I have this idea that if you talk to people who hail you on the street, if you speak back, they'll be stunned into silence. The rate of success on this project is about 75.8%. But feel free to record your own results. In any event, this was a less than successful exercise in response.
The man on the street said back, "What about booty issues?" And that, friends, is perhaps the ultimate, lifelong question, isn't it? He then pulled out his flute and began a sidewalk concert.
To sum up that interaction, I am reminded of Maryse's roommate Cécile. A group of us were sitting in their salon asking Cécile about appropriate French words to convey our meaning, and the word that none of us could communicate effectively was "awkward." That word that has come to perhaps define an age group in such a way that I am now proposing that my generation be called "Generation Awkward" as opposed to "Generation Why" and other bestowed monikers. My generation has used this word to describe situations both organically awkward and forced into being awkward. It has come to such a point that some of us have to be reminded that things aren't actually awkward unless you pronounce them to be so. People are awkward, situations are awkward, this liminal space between France and America is awkward, this age of reliance on the internet to communicate is awkward, this phase of unemployment that lasts indefinitely is awkward... But I digress. Let me return to my original scene. Cécile informed us Americans that her French friends who had studied English had started to adopt the word for their own so that when describing a situation, they might be heard to say, "C'était awkward quoi."
Awkwardly,
Juice
I responded, "Yes. Service issues!" because I have this idea that if you talk to people who hail you on the street, if you speak back, they'll be stunned into silence. The rate of success on this project is about 75.8%. But feel free to record your own results. In any event, this was a less than successful exercise in response.
The man on the street said back, "What about booty issues?" And that, friends, is perhaps the ultimate, lifelong question, isn't it? He then pulled out his flute and began a sidewalk concert.
To sum up that interaction, I am reminded of Maryse's roommate Cécile. A group of us were sitting in their salon asking Cécile about appropriate French words to convey our meaning, and the word that none of us could communicate effectively was "awkward." That word that has come to perhaps define an age group in such a way that I am now proposing that my generation be called "Generation Awkward" as opposed to "Generation Why" and other bestowed monikers. My generation has used this word to describe situations both organically awkward and forced into being awkward. It has come to such a point that some of us have to be reminded that things aren't actually awkward unless you pronounce them to be so. People are awkward, situations are awkward, this liminal space between France and America is awkward, this age of reliance on the internet to communicate is awkward, this phase of unemployment that lasts indefinitely is awkward... But I digress. Let me return to my original scene. Cécile informed us Americans that her French friends who had studied English had started to adopt the word for their own so that when describing a situation, they might be heard to say, "C'était awkward quoi."
Awkwardly,
Juice
No comments:
Post a Comment