I love the 70s and 80s era and one of my favourite films from that time is 'Love At First Bite'. It starred George Hamilton as Dracula. There is a wonderful line which occurs in a scene quite early on in the film when George Hamilton is being chased out of Bucharest by the inhabitants who, frankly, are fed up of him feeding off them. As he leaves he curses them with the words: 'Without me Transylvania will be as exciting as Bucharest, on a Monday night!
I have always wondered what prompted the script writers to come up with that quote. Was Bucharest really that boring? I may finally have my answer but with a twist to the tale. Apparently, 'Polenta does not explode', was a catchphrase in Bucharest because it summed up the meek nature of society there.
Not anymore though, protests are taking place in the same vein as the Arab Spring demonstrations because the people of Bucharest are fed up with their country's (Romania) president, Traian Basescu, for his alleged mismanagement of the economy. At the weekend protesters shouted, 'Get out you miserable dog' and threw paving stones and smoke bombs at riot police.
For a city that was once known as the 'Paris of the East' and for provoking such a memorable line in a very funny movie I pray for peace in Bucharest.
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