Date posted: July 7, 2007 - Saturday
Title: What we’ve gained and what we’ve lost
Current mood: Curious and disappointed
Having too much time on my hands, I've been watching a lot of movies
I was watching the movie "Invincible" the other night. While it is based in fact, it is the typical story of movie fiction; the hero overcomes adversity and long odds to achieve a goal. But the story was not the thing that sparked the questions in my mind.
The main character comes from a close-knit neighborhood. You see examples in the movie of his friends and neighbors not only encouraging him and supporting him, but going so far as to lend him money so he can pursue his dream. There is a sense his victory is their victory. I know some of this may have been done for dramatic effect and may not have been totally accurate, but still it got me thinking.
The film is set some 30 years ago in Philadelphia; South Philadelphia to be specific. And so I wondered what has happened to communities and relationships with that kind of solidarity; where the triumph and success of the individual is a victory for the whole community, where individuals live their whole lives with people around them who care what happens to them and contribute what they can to each other's success?
As we have evolved as a society there has been much that we have gained. We are more mobile now than we have ever been. No longer are we tied to a single job or a single community for our entire lives. It is said the worker today will have something like five to seven careers in his working life. We enjoy a "higher standard of life" than we ever have.
The evidence of what we have gained is all around us and there is much that is good.
But what have we lost?
I have lived three quarters of my life within 10 miles of the spot where I am sitting right now. And for all that time in one place, I have never experienced the kind of connection depicted in the film. I don't have the close circle of companions or relations depicted. I don't feel the connection to the community or to a group of individuals. There is a sense of disconnection I feel and not the sense of community depicted in the film.
Now I know there are many reasons why this is the way it is, but still a lot of questions came to mind.
Is it just me? Is it because I traveled so much until I was about 14 and thus didn't establish any roots?
Is it an East Coast thing and not a part of the culture of places like California? Is it even the same in the East anymore?
