Flashback Friday-The Lather Effect

There's an absolutely great low-budget movie called "The Lather Effect"; I found it a few years ago on Netflix. Basically, a group of friends (who all graduated high school in the '80s) gets together for one last party at one of the character's parents' house before the new owners move in. I think it's such a great little movie; great soundtrack, pretty great writing, and I love the fact that the characters are suffering from a suffocating case of nostalgia. 

There is something in life that I find remarkable for many reasons, and that is perception and memory, which often results in nostalgia. Nostalgia is great, but nostalgia is often a liar and sometimes it makes us do stupid things in the present. It's our unicorn....we will never catch it once we have left it, the faded but glitter-laced flicker of time that once was.  The people, the time, the feelings, the circumstances....once it's gone, you can't ever get it back exactly the way it was. We are then forced to chase its tracks in the mud....a song, a show, a letter, a picture, a feeling in our gut. 

The idea of constantly being thrust into the past, not being able to move forward, is unsettling because it means you aren't living fully your present. The main character in the movie never really gets over her high school boyfriend, he has never gotten over her, and 20 years later, they are faced with a bunch of What-If's and also, the opportunity to experience their past in their future. Or are they? 

The title, "The Lather Effect", refers to the idea that when you wash your hair, rinse, and then repeat the process again, you get twice as many bubbles. If you experience your past again, will it result in twice as many bubbles, more feelings, more lessons, etc, or is the memory of the experience more than what it would be in reality? In the present, would the attempt to create the past fall flat, like over-conditioned hair? 

Take a past experience with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sometimes you only remember the good things, the good feelings. As time goes on, you've changed. On top of that, you've also forgotten the bad. So here you are, cycling your legs against the heavy current that will always force you forward. 

Have you ever had a hard time getting over someone and then you realize it isn't the person you're mourning, but rather the feeling you had about them in the past? Wash, rinse, and repeat with that person, but it's a good chance your hair was clean the first time and you're just wasting soap.  It's a shame to ruin your future because you're chasing your past. 

This song was in the movie, and it's great. Sorry about the link. I'm using the Blogger app and it doesn't always do things the way I want.....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pekhxxngQ3s