I had a romantic notion about Twitter the other day.
Come on now, hear me out.
I was watching one of my favorite movies that I hadn’t seen in ages. Stealing Beauty.
This is my coming-of-age movie I’ve seen about a billion times. Bernardo Bertolucci directed it, and though it’s in English, it has all of the things that I love about foreign films.
Nakedness is celebrated, not shunned or exploited. It’s slow-paced, not action-packed. It’s peaceful, not violent. It’s artistic, not shallow.
The soundtrack is awesome—Billie Holiday, Portishead, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and Hole somehow work seamlessly together.
The main character, a young American woman named Lucy, is on a journey of self-discovery. Liv Tyler plays the part masterfully, with depth and a quiet beauty.
She travels to Italy in the summer to stay in the countryside with some family friends, to wander around and have her portrait painted.
All of it’s gorgeous—the scenery, the people, the food and wine. There’s also some regular napping and weed smoking.
Sounds rough, I know.
Her deceased mother was a poet and Lucy is a writer as well. Being that I idolized this character a bit, I wonder if it influenced me to become a writer in some way. Perhaps.
She keeps a journal with her at all times, scribbling her youthful angst and woes. I even copied her journal, with an envelope glued inside of the cover to harbor pictures.
But Lucy doesn’t keep what she writes.
She tears the piece of paper out of her journal and either burns her thoughts over a candle or releases them into the wind.
It’s a lot of what I do now in this online writing world I live in, especially on Twitter. I write my thoughts and set them free, often forgetting they ever happened.
Sometimes my thoughts are caught by another and read. I am reminded of that thought, whether it was meaningful or not.
But I smile, because someone connected with a little piece of me.
Then, they let my thoughts go in the wind. They travel on to others, caught and read once more, or they disappear, never to be seen again.
I don’t know why I thought this, but I’m kind of in love with the idea.
Britt Skrabanek 
Great post! I think it’s an apt connection.
Thanks, love! Right before I hit “publish” I was wondering if it was complete nonsense, but I went with it anyway. 🙂
I like your idea of thoughts posted on Twitter and then going off into the wind. Maybe that would be better than having a record of all our past tweets. It would certainly be more intriguing. But then I suppose people would have even less restraint over what they tweet if they thought there’d be no permanent record. 🙂
Haha, yes! Although looking at past tweets is pretty fun. Every now and then I’ll scan through the past with a nice cold beer. Like a trip down Twitter memory lane.
Yet, every now and again, one of those throwaway thoughts sticks, like one seed out of thousands may germinate. I still recall little bits of knowledge or advice casually tossed my way by various people over the years. But of course most are lost, like snowflakes.
Similarly, I know a few people from our local newspaper. I’ve said before that I’d hate to write a great report, or article only for it to be read and immediately forgotten, overtaken by tomorrow’s news. That’s one reason that writing and publishing stories is so satisfying.
I know, isn’t that fascinating? I didn’t understand Twitter at first, because I thought…what the hell is everyone doing, just tossing thoughts around like there’s no tomorrow?
But, that is exactly what’s going on. And sometimes one of those snowflakes sticks. (Love that.)
Yes, publishing is much more satisfying. As long as you don’t go back and reedit them. ; )
I don’t watch lots of foreign movies, but every now and then I enjoy them in English or subtitled. They are getting much better, but you have to pay attention and that’s my downfall.
Every time we write something in social media we throw our thoughts to the wind– love that term– and, for me, it’s so surprising some of the wonder things that are returned.
Great post, Britt
I adore foreign movies, but they can be very hit or miss. I’m not always in the mood for subtitles, because I read and write so much. However, when I’m in the mood, I love the different perspective. Amelie is one of my all-time favorites and I watch it annually.
Some of the connections I’ve made on Twitter have been incredible. Funny how much I’ve learned there as well. Restores my faith in social media…of course, Twitter is the best. 🙂
I love Amelie, although I don’t watch it annually. Stealing Beauty looks gorgeous. Looks like it’s available on iTunes which means I may be able to watch it sometime. Your approach to Twitter makes me feel that I could possibly embrace Twitter, as in sign up, at long last!
Isn’t Amelie just the loveliest film? Stealing Beauty is amazing. It’s edgier than Amelie, from a sexy standpoint. 🙂
You might really enjoy Twitter, Gallivanta. It takes a little while to get into the swing of things, but much like blogging, you hang out with your little communities. But you have to keep your hangouts to 140 characters or less. 🙂
Yes, those hangouts could be challenging word wise!
Britt I have a foggy memory but recall liking this film. I love it when a movie can effect the way we see and think about life. I also adore your wonderful creative spirit and your perspective is unique to you alone. As we all have that certain special something to give this world. I say thank you for the lovely imagery, now sending my thoughts and words into the wind. Whispering my hopes and dreams to the universe.
It’s a good one. Maybe it’s the Southern California girl in me, but I’ve always been into movies. An awesome flick affects me just as much as an awesome book, song, or piece of art does.
You’re such a doll. And, we all love to catch your thoughts in the wind, because they are magnificent.
Love this Britt. I was just idly wondering today about whether I should burn my old diaries or hold onto them – sometimes it’s great not to look back, but just to release the thoughts on the wind as you say…
Hands down, my vote would be to keep your old diaries. I still have all of mine and I will keep them forever. I peek at them every few years or so. 🙂
Ha, I don’t think I could actually go through with it 🙂
Same here. My old journals would be in my non-living save pile if the apartment was burning down.
What a lovely way to look at twitter. I love that! That’s such a charming movie, I agree and so beautifully filmed.
Yay! I’m glad you all didn’t think my Twitter theory was bonkers. Almost hesitated with sharing this one. That’s awesome that you’ve seen Stealing Beauty!
Very true – I’ve always believed thoughts and stories travel through the wind – especially goat thoughts. I don’t think I’ve seen Stealing Beauty but now I’ll make sure to watch it!
Haha, yes those goat thoughts travel swiftly. Cool, the film is great. It’s mid-nineties with the foreign flick thing, so I’m all about it. 🙂
This touched me, deep down.
Neato. 🙂
I’m going to rent that movie this weekend. Sounds like a great one! I usually like movies where the main character is a writer and when they end up inspiring me, all the better.
It is. Definitely understated with a small cult following, but I’ve always loved it.
Me too! I pretty much love any movie with a writer for the main character, even if the story isn’t spectacular.
Twitter…. I think I’ve heard of that…. 😉 It’s something I still don’t do, but I think you have a great way of looking at it. 🙂
Haha! Twitter can suck you in, for sure. But, I’ve made some great friends there.
Hole, portishead and Nina Simone, Im gonna have to see that.
I know, right?! What a trio of awesomeness for the ears.