And kid you better get the picture.

Day Two: Your Favorite Movie

Yentl: If we don’t have to hide my studying from God, then why from the neighbors?
Yentl’s Father: Why? Because I trust God will understand. I’m not so sure about the neighbors.

I love this movie for so many reasons.  I first saw it when I was about 10 years old and my dad and I rented it from the video store on a whim.  The first time I saw it, I really connected with the message of Yentl trying to be a woman in a man’s world.  Despite my parents having a pretty egalitarian relationship at home, I was raised in a conservative Lutheran church.  Attending the school there, I was taught that women were subservient to men and did not deserve access to the same opportunities, so the message of this movie was not at all lost on me.  My dad and I rented it a few more times over the years (until it disappeared off the video store shelves) and I got something new out of it every time.  When it finally came out on DVD last year, I got a copy and watched it for the first time since I was a teenager.  As a woman with mostly male friends who wears mostly masculine clothing (albeit by choice), I still very much identify with the message of trying to be accepted as an equal while still being perceived as a woman.

This film was also a great acheivement for Barbra Streisand, who co-wrote the screenplay as well as directing and starring in the film.  The soundtrack is some of Barbra’s best work vocally and it actually won the Oscar that year.  This movie is also what got me hooked on Mandy Patinkin, who is awesome as Avigdor.  Is it the greatest movie in the history of all time?  Not really.  But it is my favorite for a lot of sentimental reasons and I recommend that everyone watch it at least once.