baxter sez

Things That Make Me Cry

A recent post on Kenneth's blog--as well as all the crying The Gridge did at his recent wedding--got me thinking about things that make me cry. Here are some things, in no particular order:

• The episode of The Simpsons where Homer explains why there are no pictures of Maggie in their house. I get teary just thinking about it.
  
• The episode of The Simpsons where Dustin Hoffman plays an inspiring substitute teacher for Lisa.
• When Earl walked right through that restraining order and put her in intensive care, in "Goodbye Earl."
• The moment in Garden State when Zach Braff is standing in the rain and he tilts his head back into the rain and shakes his head, hard.

Okay, I'm realizing that these are all things from the media, from pop culture. This is something that happens in Garden State: when Largeman wants to cry at his mother’s funeral, he thinks of the saddest things he can—and they’re all media images. Actually being at his mother’s funeral isn’t the saddest thing he can think of. His life is almost entirely mediated by pop culture images. I don't think this is entirely true for me--I cried a hell of a lot when Franny died, and I cry every time I leave Cookeville, and every time Walter leaves for Massachusetts--but it's making me think.