The Good Old Days as seen in "Wonder Boys"

     In Michael Chabon's novel, "Wonder Boys," which was later adapted to a film directed by Curtis Hanson, we are introduced to James Leer, a college student in the writing class of the main character, Grady Tripp.  James is a socially awkward recluse, who happens to be the most talented writer in Grady's class.  He loves classic Hollywood films from the late-thirties and forties, especially those directed by Frank Capra and starring George Sanders.  He also has a strong fascination with the deaths of many of the movie stars from this era, particularly those who have committed suicide.  Although it might appear contrary to love these films hailed for their optimism, while also obsessing over how actors such as Sanders killed themselves by taking pills, this contrast is what James is so attracted to, how everything, no matter how good and peaceful, can also have moments of great depression.  At a time when Hollywood projected a specific image of America, particularly small-towns, James understood this image was not necessarily true, as he also believed his favorite director, Capra, knew this to be a romantic fabrication.  To quote the novel, "Capra was always thought of as a great sentimentalist, but the world of his films was filled with shadows--only one man's life, remember, separated Bedford Falls from the garish nightmare of Pottersville--in which there often lurked the specter of ruin and suicide and shame."  There are many times when I hear people over the age of 60 speak of how much better things were when they were growing up, how safe it was and how you didn't have to worry about what strange people were going to do.  You have to wonder how much of this perception was created solely by Hollywood films and television, or is it more the selective memories of the audience?  Did they simply choose to look past the bleak moments in favor of the white picket fences?  It is understandable to view the past in a positive light, but one may also be overlooking a whole other important aspect of life.