At the end of our summer holiday, we start to get ready for what lies ahead. Returning to our daily tasks or obligations – work, studies, projects of different kinds – is the usual thing at this time of the year. Most people are usually reluctant to do so; summertime tends to offer us a break from our everyday lives and very often, resuming our ordinary lives doesn´t seem to be such an appealing option. However, this year is completely different. I dare say that most people have discovered the true meaning of words such as “ordinary” and “normal”. The phrase “going back to normal” has acquired a new connotation: going back to normal is a great thing, going back to normal is what everybody is looking forward to. It may seem strange but all of us have found out that there is something extraordinary in leading our ordinary lives, full of habits and daily routines that we used to take for granted. Going for a walk, going shopping, touching the books of your favourite bookshop, enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the coffee-shops of your neighbourhood, meeting a friend regardless of the meeting point, meeting your classmates or your colleagues, attending a course, a meeting, a lecture, a concert or just going to the cinema … All those things, almost meaningless or even repetitive things of our everyday lives have proved to be much more important than we thought and in a way they are the scaffolding on which we build our lives and without them our lives lack the necessary solidity.
These days we learn about the latest news in the different mass media and we get uneasy because by this time of the year we would have expected to have some reassurance that life was going to be different, which here means that life was going to be the same as before the day our lives changed for ever. TV and radio programmes as well as newspapers articles have been full of the same news items: the development of the pandemic and its effects on our societies, which are as worrying as the disease itself. The picture that we have in front of us is so dark that we aren´t allowed to see any light brushstrokes and when we needed them most we were deprived of many of the things that lighten up our mood. Cinemas, like so many places, were closed for a long time but when now they are allowed to be open again they remain empty in most places. We have stopped doing many of the things that we used to do and now we go back to the old ways but we do so slowly and carefully bearing in mind all the medical restrictions that have been imposed on us for our sake. Film studios and cinema owners are also afraid of making a loss if the new and most-awaited films are released so they are postponing the release of those films. What´s the outcome of this situation? Empty cinemas in most cities and small towns. Going to the cinema is associated with our spare time but it is also a cultural habit which is based on an industry, the film industry thanks to which many people make a living. I think that it is important to be aware of it – have a look at one of my old entries “It´s such a difficult business”(12th October, 2013) where I drew attention to this fact.
I don´t wish to sign off without making reference to two important facts related to cinema which have taken place this summer: the demise of Olivia de Havilland on 26th July at the age of 104 and the birthday of Sean Connery who turned 90 last Tuesday . Even if it doesn´t seem so, the two facts are closely related because reaching such ages is a feat that we shouldn´t take for granted.
Olivia de Havilland starred in the role of Melania in Gone with the Wind and was one of the last icons of the golden age of Hollywood. She was also the winner of two Oscar awards for her leading roles in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949).
Sean Connery, who will always be associated with the role of James Bond, turned 90 on 25th August. In a survey carried out to seek the best portrayal of the character of James Bond, Sean Connery was voted the best actor, being Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan the runners-up. He won the Oscar award for his supporting role in The Untouchables (1987).
