A real phony

So I did the classic movie via telephone thing again Saturday night. Movie of choice? Breakfast at Tiffany's--a classic. I found out recently that I actually know people who haven't seen this movie, as astonishing as that may be. It's so classic there's even a song with the same title, let me quote a few lines below:

You say that we've got nothing in common,
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart.
You say, the world has come between us,
Our lives have come between us.
But I know you just don't care.

And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"
She said, "I think I remember the film
And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it."
And I said, "Well that's the one thing we've got."

No joke--it's the first CD I bought, the Deep Blue Something album with this song on it. Yet I did not pick this film to watch--so that was part of the enjoyment. This happens to be one of those movies that play on the classic movie channels in the middle of a Saturday (or Thursday--Thursday!? Oh no it can't be Thursday!) afternoon, and if I see it on while I'm not busy I tend to leave it... which ends up meaning I see lots of the middle bits, fewer of the end, and very seldom the beginning. It was nice to watch it straight through for a change. The company was also nice (or, super-nice), laughing about this crazy girl and her cat.

So now I guess I should provide some "deeper insight" gained from it. The second character, "Fred" who is really Paul, is in probably the worst position for a man. A time ago it wasn't so surprising in "Western" circles for a man to keep a mistress in town, while his wife stayed at home. (Hm, sensing a polygamy argument arising? Not today.) Basically, the mistress had her apartment paid for, clothes, whatever she wished really, just that she be there for the darling man when he came calling. Poor Paul (Fred baby) is a mistress... but a man... for a woman. The struggling writer is being paid by a woman--she maintains the apartment and pays him for "services rendered" I suppose. When he falls for the main character, charming Holly Golightly, the other woman imagined he had found someone rich who could afford to maintain him. However, what Paul had found so endearing about Holly (despite that she kept calling him Fred) was that he could actually help her.

Isn't that cute? I wonder if it's true, that men are striving to help women, even though it seems that women don't really need it, just find it charming once in a while. But then he got possessive, "I love you. You belong to me!" Oh no, I have to agree with Holly there, you can't say anyone belongs to you, especially not because of the way you happen to feel about them. If people want to belong to each other they both have to make that choice. In the end the movie characters did, and even the Cat.

But in light of that, it might be good for us all to not jump to conclusions thinking other people belong to us just because of how we feel. But I say that to myself first.