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Once upon a time oriental spice and some chocolate picture
Once upon a time oriental spice and some chocolate picturePersonal picture made by Als Filmster Op De Foto

Ah…remember the ‘60s? The times of rock and roll, glamorous Old Hollywood movies and a lot of classic songs which survived the radio and CD eras. In fact you are now still playing those songs on your iPhone, Youtube or that playlist on your laptop. Let’s not forget the lovely, colorful retro fashion and let’s also take a moment to remember that the world back then was black and white. And I am not just talking about the televisions right now.

Yesterday I watched an interesting movie: The Help (2011). The setting of this movie is in the 1960s. Back to 1963. We’re in Mississippi, America, in the middle of the Civil Rights Era. We’re following a young, independent (aspired) journalist who is ahead of her time. She decides to write a book with the stories of black maids, that expose the racism they face in everyday life. After the book is written, there is of course no significant change. Still, those untold stories are finally out there and intrigue the society.

The movie received four Oscar nominations, won one Oscar and was a Box Office hit. Apparently a lot of people were intrigued by the story. I also liked the story. Not only for the realistic situations, beautiful retro settings and a pinch of humor, but even more for the read-between-the-lines message about stories. Not following me anymore? Wait for it. We all like good stories don’t we? Guess what, we also have good stories to tell. Positive or negative. With an open ending or not. It doesn’t matter. That’s exactly what this movie pointed out. If the maids did not tell their stories, who would know? And although there was no significant improvement in their situation, there was a story being told that had never been told before.
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I-love-you-audrey-hepburn-breakfast
vintage-retro 

For some things one blogpost just isn’t enough. A while ago I explained to you where my vintage fascination came from. One fine day in my personal history (2 weeks ago), I was half-awake and scrolling through my facebook timeline with one eye open. (People who are smiling right now will understand). That morning, one picture about the 1950s gave me a wake-up call. The picture was taken from and old movie scene and had a caption like: “Why didn’t I grew up in the 1950s”. The discussion below the picture was actually quite interesting. Some people resented the statement and pointed out issues like racism, discrimination and the disadvantaged position of women. Although I obviously know how much these issues (unfortunately) were alive and kicking back in the day, I don’t agree with the comments. But…it got me thinking and led to this sequel of the origin of my vintage fascination v.s. the present.

If you think we are living in “The Best Era”, think again (or just watch the news). Just like there are no perfect people, I believe there is also no perfect era to live in. Every era has its darkside and its charm. The 1950s had it and we also have it right now. Right now we are living in an era with a lot of possibilities, remarkable technological innovations (hello Apple smartwatch, drones and Google glass) and other luxuries. We have so many choices and possibilities that 24 hours in a day are not enough. However, while you are reading this post, someone else may be neglected, bullied or worse or and another person just feels unhappy with his/her life. Racism may be gone (officially in most countries), but bullying is not. We have a lot of communication channels, but sometimes we forget to really talk to each other. Most of us (in the West) have a lot of opportunities to educate ourself and earn more. However, sooner or later we all find out that money is handy and needed (to pay the rent, your house, plane ticket and walk-in-closet…), but you can’t buy happiness.

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