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It's better to help people than garden gnomes.

When Tracie rewatched cult classic Amélie, the 25-year-old film delivered visual metaphors, magical realism, and romance that delighted as much as they did a quarter century ago. There were also moments that did not age as well as nostalgia would have suggested, and others offered cultural commentary that wasn't quite fleshed out.

The assumptions underlying the central romance between Amélie and Nino seemed to suggest that each of us has one true love out there. Tracie calls bullshit. The titular character Amélie decides to make it her mission to help those around her, but is she really helping? Is it possible Amélie is on the autism spectrum? And if yes, what are the implications of that?

In the conversation between the sisters, they wonder about what might get lost–and found–in translation for American viewers of this film, or any consumers of movies created by and for a different culture. Whether the quirky characters (and their attitude toward romance) are quintessentially French or just delightfully weird, the visually beautiful film remains deeply enjoyable.

So, my little listener, you don't have bones of glass. You can take life's knocks. If you let this chance pass, eventually, your heart will become as dry and brittle as my skeleton. So, go listen, for Pete's sake!

Tags

deep thoughts about stupid sh*t, romance, pop culture, film, cult classic, france, nostalgia, cultural commentary, mental health, psychology, storytelling, movies, film analysis, french, romcom, women, analyzing film tropes, comedy, audrey tautou, Paris

This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings.

Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Please give us a review and/or a rating! It really does help. In fact, email a screenshot of your review and your address to guygirlsmedia@gmail.com, and we'll send you a Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t sticker to say thanks. ~Tracie & Emily

We are the sister podcasters Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.

We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love 80s and 90s movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, analyzing film tropes with a side of feminism, and examining the pop culture of our Gen X childhood for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, religious allegory, and whatever else we find.

We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com

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