How Donald Trump ruined Breakfast at Tiffany's

The fact that Donald Trump has been elected the next president of the United States is bad news on an unmeasurable level. So what I'm about to write is absolutely insignificant on the grand scheme of things, but not unreasonable for a movie website. One of the coolest things about being a cinephile in New York City is that you're immersed in an environment that has been permanently embedded into the cinematic landscape of Hollywood films. There's too many famous landmarks and locales to count, and thanks to Breakfast at Tiffany's and my adoration of the film, the Tiffany & Co. flagship store in Manhattan has always been the location for me. I visited New York City for the first time in a while this past October, and one of the things on my very simple itinerary was to stop by the store while sipping on a cup of coffee. As luck would have it, this was right in the heat of election time coverage and the surrounding entrance was unfortunately packed tight with security and news crews. But I remember thinking to myself, 'Hey, I can just do this the next time I'm back'. Given the turn of recent events, however, 'next time' might not come for a while.

Now, you could easily argue that the presence of the Donald was looming over ever since Trump Tower was built, and that the looming shadow only grew as his persona evolved over the years. But all that seems like a drop in the bucket compared with the post-election climate we're currently in. This sentence could easily follow with an endless paragraph on the dire sociopolitical implications his presidency holds, but I'll stay on topic and just focus on what this means for a Breakfast at Tiffany's fan (of which there are many). If you were hoping to get a whiff of nostalgia and Hollywood magic by enjoying your breakfast while walking past the flagship store in the early morning, those days are essentially over. At least for now. Walking past the flagship Tiffany store in Manhattan might not just be depressing, it might be unfeasible depending on what the security detailing happens to be.

I'm obviously not talking about real world issues here, and all this is nothing more than a silly rant. But in an strange way, Breakfast at Tiffany's feels oddly relevant right now. To get into the mindset of Audrey Hepburn's character in the film, the end of 2016 marked a period of 'mean reds' for a lot of people, and there are times when we all just need to stop by your own version of Tiffany's. And despite how dire things might seem right now, we all hold value to specific traditions and institutions that came well before the results of election night 2016. Whatever your safe haven or comfort place is, it'll always be there - if not physically, then in the figurative sense at the very least. The point is, we all need to find our version of having breakfast at Tiffany's, especially at a time like this.

Okay, this is getting a bit too serious for a movie website! Enjoy the rest of your holiday season.