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When Beads Collide
I confess I am one of the few who stay behind in the movie theater to watch the credits roll. Sure, I am interested in the production value linked to cinematography, having majored in communication studies. Deep down though, I cannot deny that I am watching out for names ending in “ian” or “yan” like a hawk. And when I spot one, I triumphantly announce the name to the person accompanying me, as though I have just made a great discovery…
Many of us scattered beads carry a self-appointed mission of seeking out other Armenians throughout our daily lives—likely a coping or survival mechanism that has stuck with us over the years.
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Lalai,
I love your writing style.
That said, I too practice the national sport of spoting IANs while the credits roll at the end of a French or Foreign film (not particularly interested in Hollywood movies). How great is the tingle when we notice more than ONE -IAN?
Very well-expressed, Lalai. I can only add that I somehow don’t remember when and how I even started seeking “-ian”s and “-yan”s during end credits. It wasn’t like someone told me to do so… Could it be some sort of strange instinct, automatically adapted by the time moving pictures came out?
I remember watching an Armenian film some years ago, and noticing that, at the end of that one, ALL the names ended in “-ian”/”-yan”!
Spotting -ians is a national sport at least for those of us who still have an affinity for anything armenian. I think this will become rarer in the future with subsequent generations. It’s not easy to be optimistic about the fate of our people.
Hey, I do the same thing! I read all the names on movie credits and when I find an Armenian name, I read it loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. I also read telephone directories wherever I travel. And scan lists of names, anywhere. Years ago, I found a relative in Armenia by scanning a list of names in the Armenian International e-mail directory. Maybe it’s a type of Diaspora disease/separation syndrome.
Oaxaca, Mexico would be one of the last places I would expect to run into an Armenian. Then again it was in front of a church. I met some Armenians from Mexico (Guadalajara) at FOCUS in Chicago. My spanish is not the best, so when I first approached them it felt distant. Once we switched to armenian, it was like there was an instant connection and we were long time neighbors. Never ceases to amaze me how powerfully our language draws and connects us with eachother.