This is a little game I play--maybe you do too?--when I consume media, in this case a film (sometimes I do it with a book). I call it a "verisimilitude" game--trying to expand my enjoyment of a narrative by playing with commodities of the time in which the narrative was composed. An example (already):
Before I went into the theater to see Pride and Prejudice (review below), I was thirsty. So what did I order? Tea, of course! Because everyone drank tea then, it was the drug of choice, and a status and cultural symbol. I thought for a moment if Elizabeth Bennett, for instance, in Pride and Prejudice, would take milk and sugar in her tea? I decided yes--not at home perhaps, but certainly while visiting one of those fancy homes she was always being invited to (or inviting herself).
I also smuggled in a chocolate cookie bar. That was not very verisimilitudinous, but it went well with the tea.
And now I'm trying to remember if there were any tea scenes in the film. I don't remember any...
Posted by jeb at January 21, 2006 9:24 PM | TrackBack