So, a couple of years ago the Washington Post posted an article about the enduring legacy of the movie Sixteen Candles and the character of Jake Ryan in particular. I found this very amusing since, while I never really did understand why so many women would obsess over Mr. Ryan, my sister was a big fan of Sixteen Candles and could be counted amongst their ranks (to the point where I had to get her this t-shirt when I found it in L.A.)
Well, this year they posted a companion piece, this time about a movie crush I could relate to: Say Anything's Lloyd Dobbler. Now, while my sister can also count Mr. Dobbler amongst her fantasy crushes, I think the fact that I just don't get the whole Jake Ryan thing brings up some interesting points about what these sorts of things say about our personalities.The protagonist of Sixteen Candles, Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), basically spends the entire movie complaining about how no one ever notices her and how her whole family managed to forget her sixteenth birthday. My sister, being the middle child, can no doubt relate and for many years honestly believed that bad things were destined to happen on her birthday (it also didn't help that bad things did have a habit of happening on her birthday, but that also depends on you definition of "bad things").
The protagonist of Say Anything, Diane Court (Ione Skye),is a bookish golden girl who has a hard time believing guys find her attractive. Now, while I don't suppose myself to be nearly as smart and gifted as Diane Court, I certainly was a bit of a nerd in highschool.
Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is, to borrow a phrase, "perfect" (personally I find him boring as hell, but that's me). He's rich, good looking, is kind to those lower than him on the social ladder and he drives a bithin' car. My sister's boyfriends, in general, have come from good families, been good dressers and almost all had cars that they could drive her around in.
Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) is aimless, neurotic, and totally devoted to Diane. My boyfriends, in general, have been loyal and awkward, with a penchant for wearing hightops and or trenchcoats.
I'm not really sure where I was going with any of this, but I guess what I'm getting at is that all this pop culture crap that we latch onto really does have a bearing on our personalities. Whether the crap shapes those personalities, or whether our choices in crap are influenced by pre-existing predilictions is hard to say as both films were a part of our formative years. But it matters none the less.
So, out of curiousity, where do you stand? Jake or Lloyd? (Boys can comment too...)
