“We wrote about this film the first time we watched it,” said Calliope. “Aren’t we double dipping?”
“Cal…Julie & Julia is 2:03 min…we could write an entire book if we wanted to,” Urania replied.
“I don’t want to!” Thalia stamped her foot. “I want to start working our way through The Gourmet Cookbook…from hors d’oeuvres to desserts.”
“Inspiring film, isn’t it?” asked Calliope. “I feel a tinge of wannabe chefery myself and…no…I’m not interested in cooking things like hard boiled egg dressing with tarragon and cornichons…,”
“What’s a cornichon?” Calliope questioned.
“The book says…(tiny French gherkins)…try to get ahold of those during a global pandemic!” Urania exclaimed.
“Okay, okay…we’re writers, not chefs,” said Thalia. “Let’s talk about today’s title.”
“At the end of the movie Julie gets a call from a reporter who tells her that Julia Child felt Julie’s effort to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, while blogging about her exploits, wasn’t respectful…or serious…or something,” said Urania.
“Julie was devastated…she loved Julia…and Julia didn’t love her back?” asked Calliope.
“Exactly!” answered Urania.
“Then Julie’s husband offers her a beautiful re-frame…when Julie tells him Julia is perfect, he tells her that the Julia in her head is perfect…the Julia Child who doesn’t understand what she’s been doing is not perfect…the one in your head is the one that matters.”
“Feeling wounded…is a choice,” whispered Thalia.
I love this Gail - we always have a choice but don't always recognise that we do. Thank you!
I'm guessing that Thalia surreptitiously arranged the books for the shot! The Dictionary was placed as a distraction from Herriot's books. Clever...
"Julie & Julia" to me represents how we are so often tempted to judge ourselves by the other person's "shoes." And we often fail to measure up, since we have already relinquished ownership of our strivings by making the comparison. Our true selves.
You framed this topic masterfully (of course; it's what you do so well). Let Thalia know that I believe the image would have been more powerful had she placed the dictionary on the left of The Gourmet Cookbook... (inspired by today's BFN) I know she'll know what to do!