“I too once met a girl in Central Park, but it is not much to remember. What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine as he was falling to the dusty street in Stagecoach, and the time the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”
In this passage, and as we encounter Binx’s reminiscence of meeting a girl in Central Park, he notes that it’s a memory with fleeting significance. What truly captures his imagination and lingers in his recollections, however, are moments from the movies. This contrast between real-life encounters and cinematic experiences, as well as the notable differences in Binx’s recollection of them, highlights a central theme of the novel, being the allure of the cinematic world as a means of escape and a source of emotional resonance/recharge for Binx. In Binx’s recollection of John Wayne’s heroic act in “Stagecoach,” we witness his deep emotional attachment to the movies. The imagery of Wayne’s character dispatching three men while falling to the dusty street captures the essence of Binx’s connection to the cinematic world. It’s not just a passive pastime for him; it’s a realm where he finds meaning, excitement, and a sense of heroism that might elude him in his everyday life.
This passage underscores his yearning for something more in life, as well as his emotions regarding routine and its existence in life in general. Binx’s fixation on cinematic moments suggests a desire for excitement, heroism, and a sense of purpose that seems to torment his being. The fact that he remembers these cinematic scenes more vividly than his own personal experiences in Central Park highlights his preference for the fantastical and the extraordinary over the mundane. The sense of attachment that is also displayed here and throughout the literary work to the world of movie and theatrics presents a realm where Binx has the ability to temporarily detach himself from his own problems and immerse himself in the captivating narratives of others. This escapism reflects his tendency to seek meaning in the artifice of fiction rather than confronting the complexities of his own existence.
June, I really like how you chose this passage. As you mentioned, it shows how Binx has a tight connection with movies and prefers them over his own personal experience. This to me shows how Binx looks for movies as a form of escapism. It’s interesting to me how when Central Park is mentioned, he prefers to think about “Stagecoach” rather than his own personal experience in that location. It’s interesting because many people dream of being in New York and Binx had the chance to actually go there but he did not find it as exiting as when he saw the location in “Stagecoach” which is odd.