Sullivans Travels

London, a cold and rude city, I thought Sydney was rude before I came here, now I yearn for the friendliness of the city, no wonder Australians have a reputation for friendliness, maybe it isn’t deserved, but in comparison to those that dwell in the cinemas of London, I have noticed a lack of talking in the cinema here in London, which is one quality over the audiences of home, but tonight as Sullivan’s Travels began I was told to be quiet by the woman in front of me, it was a treat to see this ‘Great Depression’ film on the big screen, one that inspired the Coen Brothers, even if it strikes an odd chord in thoughts of the headlines today, it was an antidote to the novel American Psycho which I finished today, a novel that has protagonist express so much anger at the poor, and then this film that has nothing but compassion, a compassion strangely lacking in comedy today which seems more interested in parody and insult, it was a treat marred by this woman telling me to be quiet, I had noticed her glance at me as I drank, as if I swallowed too loud, but the direct confrontation came when I was removing candy from a bag, surely she couldn’t be serious, her concentration levels must be lacking to a shocking level to be distracted by such a slight sound, it is a film after all, and it is a cinema, cinemas inherently involve snacks, I should feel sorry for this woman that she should find life so irritable, if she picks over the most minor things, no wonder she finds herself in the cinema alone, and to do it in a film that encourages cinema to be taken as a community entertainment, this is no way to the happiness ‘Sullivan’s Travels’ encourages us to endeavor for.