On Sincerity

I'm re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I have probably read the series 15 or 20 times now, and while I don't always find something new in the text, this time I realized that one of the things I love so much about the series, and indeed about all of the books by Montgomery that I read, is that they are sincere. I love sincerity, although it might not be apparent on first meeting me. I am most often described as sharp when I'm introduced to people, as in sharp with/sharp tongue. I do love verbal sparring and I am rather sarcastic. But in the last couple years, I have really gotten in touch with my inner nerd, and one of the hallmarks of nerd-dom is unabashed sincerity. We nerds sincerely enjoy things and we will talk earnestly and at length about them.

Of course, there are dangers in being wholly sincere. There is the great danger of swinging too far into cheesiness or into melodrama, and believe me, the Anne series has its moments of both. I finished Anne's House of Dreams last night, and I think that this book has the most cheese and the most melodrama in the lot. Rilla of Ingleside makes me sob my face off, but it's set during WWI, so the melodrama, for me, recedes into good, tragic, dramatic storytelling. But even though there are these epically cheesy and melodramatic moments in the series, they are nicely interspersed through the story. I never once roll my eyes and toss the book across the room. And I love that there are moments that make me sob, but then in another few pages, there are joyful scenes. In a way, reading the Anne series is like watching the brilliant BBC miniseries Cranford. This series, set in the 1840s, just a couple decades before Anne of Green Gables starts, is about the town of Cranford and the ladies who rule the roost there. The series boasts some lovely funny scenes, particularly those between the inestimable Judi Dench, who plays Miss Matty Jenkyns and Eileen Atkin, who plays Miss Deborah Jenkyns, spinster sisters who boss the town. There are also scenes of gut-wrenching sorrow, but they balance out rather nicely. And Dame Judi wears some epic bonnets.

I also love a sincere pop song. I love it when emotions are close to the surface. Of course, we can't do this for too long or we risk some big hurts or being overwhelmed by big joys. One of the nice things about sarcasm is that it makes a nice little barrier that helps me function. But I am happy to be reduced to goo by a good pop song.

And nothing reduces me to my gooey center like the Muppets. I watched the new Muppet movie over Thanksgiving, making a special trip with my bestie Monicat. This movie was a textbook example of sincerity. It was a love letter to the Muppets, written by Segal and Nicholas Stoller. The Muppets were a huge part of my childhood, and it was so nice to revisit them through this film. Clearly Segal and Stoller loved the Muppets. I loved that they were concerned with making a great film that would pay homage to their beloved Muppets but that also was a quality movie. It wasn't just a mash note or self-indulgent bit of cinema. It was gorgeous, and I am not ashamed to announce that when Kermit plays "The Rainbow Connection" at the end, I cried. And while the movie was sincere and lovely, it never took itself too seriously. The parody ads created for the movie are brilliant, tongue firmly in cheek, and darn funny. I'll leave you with one of my favorites.




And of course...