I just watched Stranger Than Paradise on YouTube. Younger journalers may not have heard of this movie—it's from 1984 and was Jim Jarmusch's second film. Back then, it was all the rage. It came to Japan a little later, I think around 1986, and I clearly remember reading about it in the newspaper when I was a high school student in Toyama. I decided to definitely see it when I moved to Tokyo, and I actually watched it in 1989.
In this movie, Willie—played by one of my favorite musicians, John Lurie—tells his cousin from Hungary that people in New York call vacuuming the floor choking the alligator. Here's the scene.
https://youtu.be/lB_hanm9QdI?si=wy6Y64GjqDb-DkAS&t=89
I had totally believed this for 36 years and thought it was cool, but this time, it struck me as odd. I looked it up and finally realized it was just a joke.
Even in Japanese, I sometimes take jokes too literally.
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I'm busy preparing for a move and don't have time to watch movies! This post was left as a draft, so I completed it for a change of pace.
Often choking the something-or-other means male masturbation, so I was surprised to find it's apparently not true for choking the alligator.
@schmamie Your comment made me research more and I've found this page. I guess Willie uses alligator instead of chicken to sound more credible and to mock her. Omg, I got wiser and wiser! Thank you for this helpful information!
After seeing this movie for the first time, I kept saying I'm choking the alligator in Japanese whenever I vacuumed. 「さーて、ワニを窒息させようかな！」
Excellent post! I've always meant to watch that movie and never have. Now I'm definitely going to make a point of seeing it.
Thank you as always, Uly! This time, I thought it felt unnatural that Willie, who is supposedly from Hungary, never speaks Hungarian at all 😅 However, no one can play this role like John Lurie, so it can't be helped. The characters travel from New York to Cleveland, and then to Florida, where you live!
I have never heard of this movie! Thanks for mentioning it, I'll try find somewhere to watch it. John Laurie sounds like a very interesting, talented man. I never knew about the expression Amie commented about, so we both learned something new today haha.
@via-chan The full version of the movie is on YouTube! John Lurie is best known as the leader of The Lounge Lizards. After he stopped touring as a musician due to health issues, he shifted his focus to painting.
I learned a lot about Australia from your posts, too. Journaly is really informative!
Thank you for the link! Maybe I'll watch it tonight :D Yes, people always write such interesting things here.
I've now seen the movie. That dress really was hideous.
@schmamie Thank you, Amie! Hideous is a new word for me, and I’ll always remember it now because of that dress!