Josie on Julie on Julia...

I finally saw the film "Julie and Julia" last night. I went into it with only the foggiest notion of the movie's content. Note to readers: do NOT see this movie on an empty stomach! You will be absolutely STARVING by the end!!

Despite the protests of my aforementioned empty stomach, I had a wonderful time out with my girlfriends, and even learned a few lessons along the way. For starters, I think the main lesson I took away from this film was to a)follow your dreams, even if it means taking a risk; and b)don't become a complete narcissist while doing so. That seems pretty obvious. However, for the aspiring blogger/writer, I see how narcissism could creep up on you, rearing its ugly head when you least suspect it. In short, point taken.

The other lesson I took away from the film was a bit more subtle. Julie, the main character, looked up to her hero, Julia. Nothing wrong with that. Most of us have people we admire or aspire to be more like. The lesson comes in this. Julie didn't just seem to look up to Julia. She loved her, practically worshiped her. At times, it seemed she wanted to be her; sometimes in an almost "Single White Female" kind of way. SPOILER ALERT: When her idol ultimately seemed, at best, annoyed by the fixation of her biggest fan, Julie was crushed. But then Julie's supportive husband reminded her that the important Julia wasn't the real Julia, it was the Julia in Julie's head. You follow?

You see, what really mattered was how Julie's idealized version of Julia helped her to become a better person. Thus, Julie was able to continue her quest and achieve her dream. Happiness all around! Perhaps, but I would beg to differ.

To be clear, I have nothing against looking up to admirable people, or striving to achieve one's goals. These can be worthy endeavors. However, to hold another human being in such high esteem that they can seemingly do no wrong is problematic at best and dangerous at worst. Our most noble human heroes will ultimately fail us. Then we are faced with two options. We can turn a blind eye to their failures and shortcomings, thus keeping them on their pedestal. Or, we can allow ourselves to be devastated, wallowing in regret and self-pity, and ultimately becoming hardened to trusting in others. Neither option strikes me as very appealing.

Yet, as much as we might want to argue that we would never go that far in our adoration, we have only to look at our news headlines (and our reactions to them) to see that it happens all the time. How many of us become offended or angry when a person or group appears to attack our favorite politician, religious leader, or even movie star? How many of us feel a twinge of almost personal wounding when we read that someone in the public eye we truly admired has fallen from grace? Is this not indicative of our human desire to worship, whether directed toward G-d, other humans, or material objects?

In the end, I would still heartily recommend this film. I'm glad I saw it. It's a delightful movie, and the actors give themselves completely to their characters, drawing us into their world. But oddly enough, the reason I'm most thankful that I saw this movie, was that it reminded me that only G-d is truly worthy of our worship.