Sunday, February 15, 2004
My Bloody Valentine
I think my upbringing has taught me to think of Valentine's Day not as a day to celebrate romance and lovers, but a day simply to show my love for others. My family always gave each other Valentine's gifts and I would always come to school on February 14 with an armload of homemade Valentines for everyone in my class (even the one poor boy that we referred to as the "Supersonic Fart Machine" and the kid who will always be remembered for shaving his eyebrows off). In high school, my partner-in-crime Sara and I distributed our own X-rated conversation hearts. I remember our government teacher picking out one that said "Bend Over" on it. Oops! Last year I spent VD at my beloved Union Square Wines* for a champagne tasting with Stéphane and a couple of girlfriends. But this year takes the cake for originality.
Although in many respects, a brief overview of the evening makes it seem the most traditional of all Valentine's Days (dinner and a movie with my boyfriend), each of these tasks was carried out with a twist. First of all, other than having the word "rouge" in the title, the movie was not quite what you would call a romance. In fact it was a documentary titled "S-21: La Machine de mort Khmere Rouge" and it dealt with the genocide that killed about ¼ of the entire Cambodian population under the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. How's that for love?
No matter how much survivors speak of these events, it will never be clear as to how 2 million people died. One of the guards, explaining how he was able to kill so many people—including children—was to think of them as animals, as beasts, as less than human. But when one human comes to regard others as less than human, then they, too, cease to be human. Through this film I finally understood the nuance of the term "crime against humanity." When such a heinous crime as genocide takes place, it is not only those put to death that are victims. We all are. The dehumanization of even one person, strips all of us of our human qualities, whether or not we are even aware that it is happening. It is also for this reason, that by loving and elevating those close to us in our lives on Valentine's Day and every other day of the year, we are, in a small way, restoring the greatest in humanity.
Valentine's Day has never held much stock for me. I don't like being forced to be all lovey-dovey. As Stéphane pointed out, we live together. There is no shortage of romantic moments in our everyday lives. So seeing this film and discovering an incredible (and cheap) hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant** made for one of my favorite Valentine's Days so far.
*Union Square Wines: Union Square West bet. 15th and 16th Sts.
Check out there weekly Saturday afternoon FREE mega-tastings
**Vy Da: 15, Boulevard de Port-Royal, Paris 13e
I highly recommend the roulades de riz au boeuf à la vapeur and canard aux ananas. They also have fresh-squeezed lemonade (citron pressé) that is better than just about any I've ever had.
Although in many respects, a brief overview of the evening makes it seem the most traditional of all Valentine's Days (dinner and a movie with my boyfriend), each of these tasks was carried out with a twist. First of all, other than having the word "rouge" in the title, the movie was not quite what you would call a romance. In fact it was a documentary titled "S-21: La Machine de mort Khmere Rouge" and it dealt with the genocide that killed about ¼ of the entire Cambodian population under the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. How's that for love?
No matter how much survivors speak of these events, it will never be clear as to how 2 million people died. One of the guards, explaining how he was able to kill so many people—including children—was to think of them as animals, as beasts, as less than human. But when one human comes to regard others as less than human, then they, too, cease to be human. Through this film I finally understood the nuance of the term "crime against humanity." When such a heinous crime as genocide takes place, it is not only those put to death that are victims. We all are. The dehumanization of even one person, strips all of us of our human qualities, whether or not we are even aware that it is happening. It is also for this reason, that by loving and elevating those close to us in our lives on Valentine's Day and every other day of the year, we are, in a small way, restoring the greatest in humanity.
Valentine's Day has never held much stock for me. I don't like being forced to be all lovey-dovey. As Stéphane pointed out, we live together. There is no shortage of romantic moments in our everyday lives. So seeing this film and discovering an incredible (and cheap) hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant** made for one of my favorite Valentine's Days so far.
*Union Square Wines: Union Square West bet. 15th and 16th Sts.
Check out there weekly Saturday afternoon FREE mega-tastings
**Vy Da: 15, Boulevard de Port-Royal, Paris 13e
I highly recommend the roulades de riz au boeuf à la vapeur and canard aux ananas. They also have fresh-squeezed lemonade (citron pressé) that is better than just about any I've ever had.
