Wow,
@Jerry, you are asking me a question that will elicit a personal response. I am getting the vibe that my digressions are a distraction. Apologies to those who are losing patience with me.
To keep it ‘on the topic’, maybe it will serve as a case study on why someone should become a Patreon of Kylie. I don’t know how ‘typical’ I am. A little before Christmas 2020, I decided to subscribe as a Patreon, and I had been watching Kylie’s videos since the late summer of that year. I had been stuck in Qatar since early January 2020, not being able to see friends, family, things or people I care about. Although I have exciting work, working here is ‘psychologically difficult’. One needs to travel every three to four months for one’s sanity. Every year, pre-Covid, I made pilgrimages to my favourite places … Venice, Florence, Paris, the Côte d’Azur, London and Vienna. As an art historian and specialist in eighteenth-century Venetian art, I travel for the culture. I felt deprived after almost a year in lockdown. It was also frustrating as I had to decline a scholarship that would have taken me to Florence, Rome and Arezzo. I had always wanted to visit Arezzo after watching La Vita è Bella. I was dreading Christmas in Doha. Although some effort is made in the international hotels &c to hold celebrations for ex-pats, as we make up a large percentage of the population. It simply isn’t the same. So, perhaps you can begin to imagine why the opening five minutes or so of this video (from 1 min. 41 seconds to 4:14) seduced me at a time when I was feeling particularly isolated.
.
Briefly stated, I wanted to do something nice for somebody, and so I became a Patreon. I was also emotionally hijacked when Kylie prepared one of her post-Christmas videos on love with a discussion developing on Instagram. It caught me off-guard and hit me in the solar plexus. I revealed, though quickly deleted, how I had lost my husband to Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Though not before Kylie and several people had read it.
I had been in a May to December relationship and my husband was considerably older than me. He had gone into remission in 2014, but the cancer returned in 2017, and I spent two frantic months flying between Qatar and the UK. I was with my husband at the moment of death, which was painful and horrific. He no longer recognised me on the last morning of his life, but just 25 minutes before he died, he opened his eyes, and they locked with mine. He could not speak but waved at me as though he were taking a train or a plane for a very long journey, and I waved back. His breathing altered, becoming increasingly sporadic, and 25 minutes later, he gasped his last breath. It was the most special farewell of my life. It touched Kylie’s heart and as well as the hearts of some of her Insta followers, and she sent me the sweetest email. I mailed Kylie a modest gift of a book I had recommended, together with a pair of Richard Ginori, Oriente Italiano espresso cups. Ginori is one of my favourite Italian porcelain manufactories, and I adore the shop in Firenze. See 2 mins 46
I became disenchanted with it all when there seemed to be this concentration on the renovations, love, marriage &c. Maybe I lost empathy because it didn’t resonate with me. I did get tired of the sycophantic followers. I also felt that Kylie was beginning to cater mainly to her North American fans (I think most followers must be North American). I don’t entirely feel good about myself for coming onto this thread, as I don’t want to gratuitously hurt people or be overly critical of their endeavours. I try to be as measured as I can for the most part.
Two disclaimers: Kylie genuinely touched my heart, and that is why I did what I did. She has not extorted money from me, and I didn’t offer her anything I could not afford to give. When her creative output became tired, I stopped. I am not a vulnerable old lady who was tricked or deceived in any way. No two bereavements are the same but it took me approx 3 years to process my loss and when I felt ready to move on COVID happened.
Second, I am not a fan of holocaust movies (too tragic), but there are two moments IMHO in
La Vita è Bella which are so poignant. This is one …
So, with a few customary Pliny digressions, there you have it
@Jerry!
one of them was me, waiting to see if she deletes me again.
You are a highly valued member of this group and have added immeasurably to the interest and depth of discussion about all things Italian, artistic and cultural. All of us appreciate our digressions, often more interesting than the K subject!
Not just “uploaded” or “posted” but “premiering” on her YouTube channel as if it’s a major feature film