Smooth Talk

A brutal crime that happened in 1966 influenced Joyce Carol Oates to write “Where are you going, where have you been?” “Smooth Talk” was a movie of Oates story but with a bit different ending. Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” talked about moving on in life, which I feel can be best fitted to Arnold Friend’s life. The youtube link was a semi-parody version of “Where are you going, where have you been?” by adding a different ending to it.
In 1966, Charles Schmid killed 3 girls in Tuscon, Arizona. The victims Alleen Rowe, Gretchen Fritz, and Wendy Fritz were teenagers, as Oates portrayed Connie as. Charles Schmid was a bit older than these teen girls, as Arnold Friend was. One of the crimes took place in a desert, where Charles Schmid drove the Fritz sisters to. In “Where are you going, where have you been?” Arnold Friend was a very strange character that had a strong lust toward Connie. He threatens Connie to take a ride with him by talking about a lady that died in the neighborhood recently and also compare her house to a cardboard box. These two situations are very similar. Oates version of “Where are you going, where have you been?” , this is where the story ends. In the movie, she comes back safe and finally comes to an appreciation to her families that she, until then, treated very poorly. In the youtube version, she drives off with Ellie and leaves Arnold Friend alone, trying to make a parody ending to it. All three has unique ending to it from the same story background.

Now, Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” can be interpreted a couple of way but I feel like this song can be best related to Arnold Friend’s feeling. The lyric, to me, struck as “you have to move on”. Arnold Friend, aforementioned, had a very strong lust to Connie in “Where are you going, where have you been?” but that is not true with Connie’s feeling. In fact, she rejects him but was threatened to accept his feeling. Arnold Friend had to notice Connie’s rejection and move on but he decides to force her to do what he wants, which can be a victory at the time but eventually there will be a slight loneliness behind. In a sense, the youtube version pictures this feeling of loneliness very well.