After the jump, we use the Netflix Local Favorites list like it’s some strange evidence of a past civilization to see what it can tell us about us.

1. Philadelphians have an all-but-inexplicable love for dance movies. Dance with Me, Flashdance and White Nights (whhhhhaaaaat?) are all on the Top 20, and, uh, wow. We had no idea that we, as a city, had such a thing for forbidden daces and Gregory Hines in tights. You learn something new every day!

2. The appeal of Tyler Perry and likewise chitlin’ comedy is not lost on us. You can look at this one of two ways: Either Katt Williams is a goddamned genius, or somewhere in the city, there is a renegade gang of Minority Studies undergrads who are learning everything they can about Tyler Perry in an effort to take his ass down forever. We prefer… both.

3. We are smarter than we look. Ooh, look at you, Philadelphia: The Piano! The Brood! Explicit Ills! You tryin’ to get laid or something? On the other hand, none of this explains the presence of Michael Jackson: Live in Bucharest. We’ll count it as kitsch.

4. Everybody loves Isaiah Zagar. In A Dream, Jeremiah Zagar’s utterly gripping documentary about his father, Isaiah, has been riding high on the Philly Netflix list ever since we first noticed it a few months ago. (In fact, it only just dropped from Number One; 10th & Wolf has been out on DVD forever, and we have no idea why it’s suddenly tops.) If you’ve spent any part of your life in the South Street area, you’ll realize how much Zagar’s work (and indeed, life, as he and his family played a big part in the redevelopment of South Street in the 1970s and 80s) is fully embedded into your own subconscious. We can’t say enough about this great film. After watching it, it’s hard not to feel like the Zagars are part of your own family. If you’ve not seen it, put it in your queue today. Here’s the trailer:

5. At any given moment, someone in Philly is watching Rocky. And, err, that somebody just might be me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm.