The Open Matt Project

Cheese or Wine?

Today I went to go see "Dawn of the Dead." Before you get too excited, I'm not going to review it. It was an amazing movie, I give it a 9/10, and that's that. It's possible I may do a top-50 reasons DotD is better than 28 Days Later, but I wouldn't hold your breath. What sticks with me, and some slice of why I'm writing, is because of what happened before I went in the theater.

I got carded. That's right. The movie is rated "R" and I got carded. This means I have to look 16. As flattering as the thought is, in a weird fugue way, there is no way on Earth I look 16. I couldn't believe it. In fact, when I showed the ticketkid (who was probably nearing 20) my id made his eyes bulge. He couldn't believe it. This was odd enough, but my curious encounter with aging hadn't ended yet.

When I settled into my seat to watch the now-requisite 20 minutes of eardrum-shredding commercials, I noticed a small group of boys come in and sit down. When I say small and boys, I mean they were about 12 years old. The three of them were alone. Now, I'm not some kind of uptight asshole, but what the hell is that? Although I didn't care that much about them being young, what got me was recalling that the ticketguy had said, "yeah, sorry, gotta do it to everyone," on the way in. So Ian explains to me that they simply snuck in. Haven't you ever snuck in to a movie before, he asks.

No. I've never snuck into a movie. My childhood was largely occupied by watching my mother die, playing with computers, and being shuttled from one box where my father could contact me to another box where my father could contact me. It was the Eraserhead version of a sheltered life, and it didn't include sneaking into anything, unless you count the janitors closet in elementary school where I learned to play Dungeons and Dragons.

What bugged me about the kids was the utter failure of the existing system. They had a system to avoid this situation, and I had been processed by it, but then I am faced with clear evidence the system doesn't work! Frankly, I just don't like to see it. I know the system doesn't work, just don't sit it in front of me chomping popcorn and laughing. It hurts my feelings and inflates my alcohol budget.

Which brings me to Jane, one of the people I wrote to in my friendster binge last week. She replied, and we began corresponding through email. She mentions she's going to class, I ask if she goes to Berkeley, and she tells me yes - Berkeley High. I know she's 18 from the Friendster profile, and I have had many friends that age, but there is something that strikes me about her being in high school. Inexplicably, I feel an invisible barrier materialize between me and her. It's an imperceptable shift in my perceptions that's created it and although I think it's related to being older, I don't feel that it's age itself that's causing it.

She noticed the change in my tone and asked me about it. I didn't know what to write (for once) to explain this and gave her my phone number instead. I figure maybe I'll have better odds talking it out. Mountain or mole hill?

Posted by Matt at March 20, 2004 10:24 PM