HillSide Story: Dot dot dot

This week we watched “Mamma Mia” (2008) and welcomed our first special guest: peace and justice studies advocate and study-abroad-in-Greece aficionado Abigail Alpern Fisch (AAF). 

In an ideal world, we could attach the audio of us singing along, but apparently that is not an option in print media.

Allie Morgenstern (AM): If you have not seen this movie, please go watch it. This film never fails to brighten my mood, and I can never choose which song is my favorite because they’re all great.

Anna Hirshman (AH): When I had the flu in 2008, all I did was sit on the couch and watch “Mamma Mia” and “High School Musical 3” (2008) over and over again. 

AAF: To start off, Donna clearly has the self-awareness to be writing in a journal about her boy troubles, but she loses points for not realizing the impact it will have on her future child's #socialemotionalcompetencies. Look how tortured Amanda Seyfried is!

AH: While I’ve never been in her position, I cannot imagine being okay with the uncertainty of having three ‘dads.’ I would want to know which one is my actual, biological father. They are all there and able to submit a hair sample. 

AM: Plus, the other two could just be her fun uncles.

AH: There are at least three 50-somethings who are able to sing and act effectively alongside Meryl Streep. None of them are in this movie. 

AAF: Also, how did Amanda Seyfried become Meryl Streep’s counterpart?

AH: How does anyone earn that honor, though?

AM: Meryl Streep is a goddess. Whether she (as Donna) is crying in the bathroom after seeing her three former lovers or dancing in fantastic outfits with the Dynamos, she is just great. I also think that Streep and Seyfried have great mother-daughter chemistry. 

AH: While watching the movie, the three of us decided to take a Buzzfeed quiz to see which Dynamo we are.

AM: I’m not going to lie, this is a matter that I think frequently about. I always want to be Donna (mostly because it’s Meryl, but also because she’s fun-loving and chill), but I can never decide between her and Rosie.

AAF: It’s like the Myers-Briggs test but different.

AM: Sure. The results are in: Abigail and I are Donnas and Anna is Rosie, so we just need a Tanya.

AH: I maintain that the best thing I did abroad was going to ABBA The Museum. I danced and sang alongside hologram versions of ABBA. 

AM: I maintain that one of the best things I did while visiting Abigail in Greece was getting to sing “Mamma Mia” songs on a boat in Santorini.

AAF: I’d like to leave the readers with some parting words. One, “Mamma Mia” proves that all women are shimmery no matter their ages, as long as they believe in their own power and continue to sing in bell bottoms. Two, I went to Greece thinking I’d find my Kostas (from “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005)), but instead, I found myself. Three, Greek taxis in the movie do not look like the Greek taxis in Greece #fakenews.