Like any follower of pop culture, my ass was dragged on opening day to see Spider-Man 3 with my friends in Manhattan. I saw it again with my family that sunday in good ol' Westchester. The two locations, less than an hour away yet an ocean separates them. However do I mean? The third installment of Spider-Man 3 revolves a lot around character development. We see more of the changes Peter Parker is going through with Mary Jane, Harry Osbourne, etc. than the web-slinger himself. Now this movie was to open the summer blockbuster movies, you know, the epics, the action, the CGI, the ogres, the pirates and so much more. The same was expected for Spider-Man, expecting as much action as possible. Many people were sorely disappointed. At some point, someone in the theater asked, "Is this Spider-Man or The OC?". In the city, people were just not digging this movie. They came to see Spider-Man kick Venom's ass, not work things out with Mary Jane and be involved in a soap-operish love triangle. A lot of times, it was impossible to hear what was going on because people were laughing at the characters' emotions. Sensitivity was just not a factor here.
Then on Sunday, in Westchester, the movie received a completely different reaction. Though the elementary kids were bored at some parts, whichever had any dialogue, the young adults and the old adults were quite attentive. They were responding as any normal people to the emotions being displayed on the screen. Sam Raimi has managed to involve the audience into his movie. But why wasn't he succesful in Manhattan?
My life has taken interesting twists, from living on a Carribean Island, picking fruits from a tree, no electricity, tropical heat, the simple and slow life. Then I moved tot he big apple, where my first day, I was almost roadkill by a speeding wheelchair. Do you see the difference? It's the way of life. New York City or any major city is cynical, dark, depressing at times, fast-paced and careless. This, in turn, affects the people that live in this city. Emotions become trivial. Tears and sadness are ridiculed or ignored. People become desensitized much to our dismay, as we no longer have any more shoulders for us to lean on. We become lonely. We become depressed. Eventually, we disappear, hoping someone somewhere will be able to notice us and pick us right back up. We allegedly evolved, but I honestly feel we are back at the stone age.
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