BY ALANA REIBSTEIN

After watching Woody Allen’s “Vicky Christina Barcelona” two times in a matter of three days, I reflected upon what it was exactly that drew me to this movie. Maybe it was the beautiful images of Barcelona, or perhaps the soundtrack or maybe the cast? Why did this movie settle so uniquely with me? Why did I keep going back to it? After much pondering, and a refusal to believe that a movie suddenly joined my “top movies list” because of the attractive male lead role with the thick accent, I came to a conclusion – the differences between European and American mentalities illustrated in the film left me awestruck.

Granted, this is a fictional story, and Penélope Cruz may be a little dramatic at times, but this movie was so mesmerizing because it exhibited another way of living that, as an American, seemed strange and out of the ordinary. That, right there, is part of the problem: Americans have become too sheltered. We are being coddled so much, and so much more than Europeans, that America, supposedly the most powerful nation in the world, will soon be crawling with indifferent and overly dependent citizens.

Recently, a picture of the Capitol in Washington D.C. flipped upside down graced the cover of Newsweek magazine, with the line, “How Great Powers Fall” written in block letters over the image. The article depicted America’s economic downfall in comparison to other countries. While that is definitely a factor of America’s undoing, what the article didn’t focus on, and what I believe to be just as influential, are the social and political aspects of American society.

There is a term coined for the intervention that I fear is leading to America’s softening. It is called the “nanny state.” It involves government meddling, protectionism and interventionism. If we are constantly being monitored, how are we going to continue to lead the world in the next generation?

Issues of the same nature are evident in many parent-child relationships. In fact, another new term is used to describe today’s parents: “helicopter moms,” meaning hovering parents. Parents have become too involved in every aspect of their children’s behavior. Although this is better than being negligent, their micro-management has gone too far.

For example, some parents now link their phone numbers with their children’s. This enables any text message sent to a child’s phone to be forwarded to the parent. Our school board urges parents of middle schoolers to do this in order to monitor any inappropriate conversation. However, in this way parents are not only grossly intruding on their children’s privacy but also sheltering them from many adolescent experiences and difficulties that may make them stronger.

The phrase “you learn from your mistakes” stuck around all of these years for a reason. Kids do in fact learn from their mistakes. Children need to be more exposed to the real world, rather than blinded from realities that their parents don’t want them to see. The intervention on the parents’ part has become so extreme that it will be difficult for the children to find their own ways.

As time goes on, and we continue to shelter our own, there will be fewer Americans equipped to lead our country.

Now back to Woody Allen’s film. The character Juan Antonio Gonzalo – whom we Americans looked down upon when he presumptuously asked both Vicky and Christina, strangers, on a spontaneous trip to a nearby city and bluntly suggested that all three of them engage in a romantic night together – could potentially be a better leader than a thirty-year-old American who is still badgered by his parents and living under an intrusive government.

I’m not trying to stereotype. It is duly noted that not all Europeans are this upfront and that not all Americans are this reliant on others, but certainly Europeans are less uptight than Americans. For example, let’s compare Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, to our Bill Clinton. Berlusconi had many affairs that were regarded only as an amusement, while Clinton’s scandal was enough to get him impeached.

I’m not saying that in order to be a good leader you have to condone infidelity, and yes, infidelity does reflect bad judgment, but this is merely an illustration of the difference between Americans and Europeans.

So how does this show that the European lifestyle is superior to our own in terms of producing stronger leaders? Well, the extreme example of infidelity proves that Europeans have thicker skin. If Americans were more upfront and personal, still to a civilized degree of course, they could face harsh truths and grapple with their pain. They would become stronger, more independent and self-confident, personality traits required of any leader.

So, maybe “Vicky Christina Barcelona” is in fact just a fictional movie, a figment of Woody’s vivid and sensual imagination, but the European characters represented are carefree and open. These qualities enable one to persevere through anything, whether it’s an insult about your new haircut that you loved so much, or a threat from another nation.