CARRIE (De Palma, 1976)
Nothing sums up my memories of high school better than Brian De Palma's landmark from 1976. OK, so I wasn't tormented endlessly like Carrie. And I never had pig's blood dumped on me. I did, however, have a horrible religious upbringing that still sticks with me to this day, and I was taunted by my peers, and I felt awkward in my own skin and I did theatre and felt uncomfortable around people in general but girls especially. I am not here to ask your pity. Oh, quite the opposite, I am here to stand triumphant and proud of the fact that I survived without going Columbine.
OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I could've had it worse. But there still was a select group of people who seemed to take great pleasure in making me miserable. And I still spent most of my time with people that I haven't seen since graduation and have no desire whatsoever to see at this point. High school was a terrible time, and it was probably a terrible time for everyone. I've seen some people since graduation, and they seem OK, but I can count on one hand the number of people that I hang out with that I knew in high school (can count them on two fingers, actually). And truth be told, watching Carrie burn down her senior prom gives me chills and only makes me wish I could go back in order to do the same thing.
Listen. I had a rough day today. I spend my day talking to mentally ill people who have been conditioned by psychiatrists to believe that they are helpless and genetically flawed, with the only solution medication. I have to try to convince these people that they are not flawed, that they're functioning human beings and they can do things for themselves. Some people are not so easily convinced. Today I seemed to have a high number who were not easily convinced at all. So it was a long day, and all I wanted to do all day long was come home, draw the shades, drink rum straight out the bottle, and watch high school kids get burnt alive. And so that's what I did.
What's my favorite moment of it all? I think it's Carrie and Tommy dancing at the prom. I went to three proms, truth be told. My first was in tenth grade, and I'd been in a car accident the weekend before and fucked up my leg. I sat at the table all night and stared at other people having fun. My second year I spent with the girl I was head over heels in love with. I felt socially awkward and fought the urge to simply run out of the place all night. My senior prom, I went with a girl I sort of had a crush on but who had already given her heart to god. I was also dating the girl I took to prom the year before, but we'd only gotten together like a week before prom and I'd asked the girl I went with like months before, so I spent the night trying to balance out the girl I was dating and the girl I initially asked to prom. Who hated each other, by the way. They were three uniquely horrible nights.
Again, I'm exaggerating.
CARRIE, at its core, is a story about what happens when you deny your basic human nature. Carrie has spent her entire life trying to fight her sexuality, trying to keep the blood from flowing, trying to keep things with her mother nice and quiet. But then the blood does flow, and it doesn't stop until the end, baby. Because that's what repression brings about. Explosions and fire and the death of all of your classmates. I am drunk. What a great fucking movie.
OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I could've had it worse. But there still was a select group of people who seemed to take great pleasure in making me miserable. And I still spent most of my time with people that I haven't seen since graduation and have no desire whatsoever to see at this point. High school was a terrible time, and it was probably a terrible time for everyone. I've seen some people since graduation, and they seem OK, but I can count on one hand the number of people that I hang out with that I knew in high school (can count them on two fingers, actually). And truth be told, watching Carrie burn down her senior prom gives me chills and only makes me wish I could go back in order to do the same thing.
Listen. I had a rough day today. I spend my day talking to mentally ill people who have been conditioned by psychiatrists to believe that they are helpless and genetically flawed, with the only solution medication. I have to try to convince these people that they are not flawed, that they're functioning human beings and they can do things for themselves. Some people are not so easily convinced. Today I seemed to have a high number who were not easily convinced at all. So it was a long day, and all I wanted to do all day long was come home, draw the shades, drink rum straight out the bottle, and watch high school kids get burnt alive. And so that's what I did.
What's my favorite moment of it all? I think it's Carrie and Tommy dancing at the prom. I went to three proms, truth be told. My first was in tenth grade, and I'd been in a car accident the weekend before and fucked up my leg. I sat at the table all night and stared at other people having fun. My second year I spent with the girl I was head over heels in love with. I felt socially awkward and fought the urge to simply run out of the place all night. My senior prom, I went with a girl I sort of had a crush on but who had already given her heart to god. I was also dating the girl I took to prom the year before, but we'd only gotten together like a week before prom and I'd asked the girl I went with like months before, so I spent the night trying to balance out the girl I was dating and the girl I initially asked to prom. Who hated each other, by the way. They were three uniquely horrible nights.
Again, I'm exaggerating.
CARRIE, at its core, is a story about what happens when you deny your basic human nature. Carrie has spent her entire life trying to fight her sexuality, trying to keep the blood from flowing, trying to keep things with her mother nice and quiet. But then the blood does flow, and it doesn't stop until the end, baby. Because that's what repression brings about. Explosions and fire and the death of all of your classmates. I am drunk. What a great fucking movie.
Labels: 31
posted by travis at 8:42 PM
1 Comments:
Carrie is like my...favourite movie of all time
Post a Comment
<< Home