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MoPgh

Posted in films, pittsburgh, travel by Dan on 15 April 2009

Uf. The poster for The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is everywhere in NYC. They’re finally pushing it out to the masses.
mopgh
The book was rubbish. Michael Chabon was clearly an outsider writing about a city he had only an imperfect understanding of–a city that he tried to transform into something it’s not.

I met a girl just Monday night – in NYC, not State College – who was introduced to me as “The Queen of Pittsburgh” before either the introducer or the introduced knew that I’m from Pittsburgh. (I was heartily reminded of Chabon, because both he and the girl claimed Pittsburgh as their own only because they went to college there.) I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at her expense; the hyperbole of her introduction coupled with her profound ignorance of the city was painful to witness.

Despite the poor source material and the fact that Sienna Miller (the bikini-clad, vacuous smiler, above, in case you didn’t know) talked some serious smack on Pittsburgh, I’ll probably go see it. There should at least be some great, familiar views of the city.

Image via The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Poster – Sienna Miller – Empire Movies.

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5 comments

5 Responses

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  1. ref said, on 15 April 2009 at 4:52 pm

    god i thought somebody introduced *you* as the “queen of pittsburgh.” now THAT would be a worthy blog post.

    thanks for the postcard!

    Reply
  2. Frank Anthony Polito said, on 16 April 2009 at 9:30 am

    If you thought MOP the novel was rubbish, you might actually enjoy the film. It’s NOTHING like the book. They gay character of Arthur Lecomte has been completely removed, Phlox has been reduced to Art’s ex g/f, and Jane (bikini-clad Sienna) has been elevated to leading lady status, while Celeveland is now a bisexual.

    MOP has long been my fave book, which is why I launched the Official MOP Film Boycott back in 2006: http://www.myspace.com/mysteriesofpittsburgh

    While I can’t consider myself the “Queen of Pittsburgh,” I also claim the city as my own after spending two years at Carnegie Mellon… I happen to love that town.

    Reply
  3. Dan said, on 16 April 2009 at 11:51 am

    Ref: Glad you enjoyed the postcard and got a chortle out of “Queen of Pittsburgh”.

    Frank: I’m surprised you’re not offended by my brief criticism of the book (as rubbish), but whatever. Probably an excuse to link to your MySpace page, right? Kudos for actually reading my post. Haha.

    Reply
  4. lainer. said, on 21 April 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Here I’d always thought I was the Queen of Pittsburgh!!!

    Dan, see Adventureland instead! The magic of Kennywood!

    Reply
  5. Dan said, on 21 April 2009 at 10:30 pm

    I know from Kennywood Memories that I respond favorably to this kind of nostalgia. I will see it!

    Reply

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