Julie and Julia: my thoughts on the movie

I wanted to comment on the movie Julie and Julia which I saw this weekend (I really enjoyed it by the way), but I first wanted to reflect on a trip I took three years ago. In the summer of 2006 I spent a couple weeks with my grandparents at a beach house on the ocean in South Carolina. My two great Aunts and my great Uncle came to visit. So I was 28 at the time, spending my summer vacation with 5 people all between the ages of 75 and 85, representing over 400 years of life experience between them. .It was such a sweet time especially because it was the last time I saw my Aunt Pauline alive. Uncle Cliff told me about the battle of the Bulge and I told Uncle Cliff how to solve Sudoku puzzles. But there was one conversation that stands out to me that I had with my Aunt June. We were walking along the beach and I started asking her about what it was like for her while Uncle Cliff fighting in the War. What was significant to me was how brief her answers were, “We dated before the war but he broke up with me before he left”. “When he got back he needed some time to himself, but eventually he decided to ask me to marry him”, while she was quick to talk with me about what was happening in their lives today “There are several shut ins that we got to deliver food to during the week.” “At the hospital where I volunteer at there are people suffering with HIV who I care for.” Here comments did not put value upon herself rather upon something external. She didn’t want to talk about the days of old, she wanted to talk about the AIDS patients and the shut ins.



The movie Julie and Julia contrasts two individual of two distinct eras. One is Julia Child who was a diplomat’s wife during the McCarthy Era of the 1950’s, just a little older than my Aunt June was at the time. The other is Julie Powell a young professional in New York City writing a blog in 2002, who was just a little bit older than I was at the time. Now before I had seen the movie I heard a radio piece saying that the story line of Julia Child was compelling and engaging while the story line of Julie’s blog seem shallow and dry. I would agree with that statement. The radio critic said that it was because Meryl Streep’s performance as Julia was so much better than that of Amy Adams who played Julie. Although I agree that Meryl Streep gave an incredible performance, I think the reason Julie came across as shallow had less to do with the performers more to do with the script. And I believe the underlying reason has to do with the different societies each woman lived in.



The story follows each woman setting out to achieve a specific goal. Julia's goal is to write a cook book that will bring French recipes to American homes. Julie’s goal is to cook all 574 in Julia Child’s cook book over 365 days and blog about it. But the deeper question is not what the goal is that each of these women has, rather it is WHY they want to achieve this goal in the first place. When we are first introduced to Julia Child she has just moved to Paris and is looking direction in her life. When we are introduced to Julie Powell she has just moved to Queens and is also looking for direction in her life. To sum up the first 20 minutes of the film Julia says, “I love to eat. French food is spectacular. I want to teach Americans how to cook French food.” while Julie say “I have not had success as a writer, my day job is horrible. The place where I find PERSONAL fulfillment is cooking each night. Perhaps blogging through Julia’s book will make my job seem less miserable and maybe it could even spring board my writing career.” Notice the emphasis each woman has. Julia’s focus is external. The focus is on French food. Julie’s focus is internal. Although french food is PART of what she is doing, her main attention is on her career goals and her personal fulfillment.



Today culture is plagued by self esteem. It says that success starts with feeling good about yourself. I think this mentality has brought about a society that is shallow and superficial. Who are the true heroes? Are they the people who say, “I want to be a hero today. It would make me feel better about myself if I did”? Or are they the type of people who say, “Look there is a heroic task. No one seems willing to do it. Somebody should. Maybe I can.” if you look at these two types of people to quickly they might seem to be doing the same thing. But one is a hero of substance the other is not. And I don't want to say that the older generation is perfect. No generation is perfect. What I am saying is that in today's culture self esteem is not a strength, it is a weakness.



Now compared to say war heroes like my Uncle Cliff neither woman in this movie is that heroic. On the other extreme I’d say both women are much more heroic then I am. I could neither come up with those 574 recipes nor dream of cooking them in 365 days. But let’s be honest, what legacy has been left by each of these women? Julie Powell fed her husband and her friends over the course of a year, while entertaining people on a blog, later through a book and eventually through the movie that came out this weekend. In comparison, if the movie was accurate, Julia Child walked into Paris in 1949 knowing next to nothing about cooking and said “This food is amazing Americans need to be able to make it." And now I could go out and buy Julia Child from Barnes and Noble and omelet and crepe to my heart’s content. Which has the bigger impact? And buy the way while you are in Barnes and Noble I suggest you keep away from the self help section.



There has been a commercial on TV lately commemorating the 40th anniversary of the moon Landing. In it John F Kennedy says “We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” You don’t get to the moon by focusing on yourself. You get to the moon by focusing on the moon.