I was watching "Gattaca" the other day. This is one of those movies that when it is on I feel compelled to watch it. Not because it is a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is good, solid, mildly entertaining movie that takes itself a little too seriously. However, all of this is beside the point that I want to make in this post. At the end of the movie (don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the ending for those of you who care) there is a scene in which one of the characters commits a extremely kind, generous act that benefits the main character played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke's response is something that we see often in movies, the "unspoken thank you." He simply nods, and without ever saying a word, the other guy knows that Hawke's character can never repay him and is EXTREMELY grateful for all that he has done. This happens all the time in movies! If it is well done it can make the toughest of men (or women) cry. If it isn't, then is can seem cheesy and shallow. There are several variations, sometimes the nod, other times a whispered or mouthed thank you (yes, I know this is close to an actual spoken thank you, but let's not quibble), sometimes a single solitary tear, and still others an all knowing gaze. These usually take place during the climax of the movie and can be the single defining moment of the whole film. The question I have is this. . .Does this really happen in real life??? I cannot think of any moments in my life where I have either given or received an "unspoken thank you." It seems that there are either two ways to go about thanking a person for an extremely kind, generous, thoughtful act; you can either thank them profusely to the point where the person becomes either annoyed at your thanking them or angry for not thanking them enough; OR you don't thank them at all because you don't think the act was really ALL THAT kind or generous and they get really pissed and swear you off as a cold selfless asshole or bitch. Maybe, we should take our cue from movies and start to go with the "unspoken thank you." So, if you do anything kind or generous for me in the future and I don't say anything, just know that the thank you is unspoken.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
The Unspoken Thank You
I was watching "Gattaca" the other day. This is one of those movies that when it is on I feel compelled to watch it. Not because it is a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is good, solid, mildly entertaining movie that takes itself a little too seriously. However, all of this is beside the point that I want to make in this post. At the end of the movie (don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the ending for those of you who care) there is a scene in which one of the characters commits a extremely kind, generous act that benefits the main character played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke's response is something that we see often in movies, the "unspoken thank you." He simply nods, and without ever saying a word, the other guy knows that Hawke's character can never repay him and is EXTREMELY grateful for all that he has done. This happens all the time in movies! If it is well done it can make the toughest of men (or women) cry. If it isn't, then is can seem cheesy and shallow. There are several variations, sometimes the nod, other times a whispered or mouthed thank you (yes, I know this is close to an actual spoken thank you, but let's not quibble), sometimes a single solitary tear, and still others an all knowing gaze. These usually take place during the climax of the movie and can be the single defining moment of the whole film. The question I have is this. . .Does this really happen in real life??? I cannot think of any moments in my life where I have either given or received an "unspoken thank you." It seems that there are either two ways to go about thanking a person for an extremely kind, generous, thoughtful act; you can either thank them profusely to the point where the person becomes either annoyed at your thanking them or angry for not thanking them enough; OR you don't thank them at all because you don't think the act was really ALL THAT kind or generous and they get really pissed and swear you off as a cold selfless asshole or bitch. Maybe, we should take our cue from movies and start to go with the "unspoken thank you." So, if you do anything kind or generous for me in the future and I don't say anything, just know that the thank you is unspoken.
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2 comments:
Gabe-
I think "The Unspoken Thank You" occurs quite frequently.
I buy my lunch in the cafeteria nearly every day. I used to go to any random checkout lady. About a year ago I started consistently hitting Tina’s line. She seemed to be the most pleasant. A few weeks go by—mindless lunchtime banter “Hey Tina—any big weekend plans?” etc. One day, I bring through a chicken salad sandwich and a side of veggies. Instead of the normally exorbitant price for these two items she just hits “small special” and charges me $2.25. I don’t say anything—but give her “The Unspoken Thank You”. She smiles, gives me what I take as “The Unspoken You are Welcome”, and this has pretty much been the routine for more than a year now! Some days the discount is significant—other days, depending on who is watching—it is more modest. One time she even gave me “The spoken rules” and said glancing over her shoulder, “Oh, you’re early today…” I said, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just got hungry.”
So, I think they exist.
Part of the reason I felt compelled to share this is that today Tina was in absentia and I had to go to another lady. This woman not only charged me full price—which is fine—but proceeded to tack on an extra $.15 because I grabbed 3 packets of saltines for my soup rather than 2. For her—I extended the evil cousin of “The Unspoken Thank You”, none other than “The Unspoken F*ck You”!
Utah,
Nice, maybe I need to create more situations in which I can give the unspoken thank you. It seems you planted some seeds in order for this to take place, maybe I need to do some groundwork.
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