In the dark theatre I couldn’t see my friends’ faces as they watched, so I waited in anticipation to hear them share my laughter. I’d already seen the movies, and it was as if I’d waited my whole life for this dialogue:

Allison: I’m in the midst of doing my thesis.

Alvy: On what?

Allison: Political commitment in twentieth century literature.

Alvy: You, you, you’re like New York, Jewish, left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central  Park West, Brandeis University, the socialist summer camps and the, the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right, and the really, y’know, strike-oriented kind  of, red diaper, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself.

Allison: No, that was wonderful. I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype.

Alvy: Right, I’m a bigot, I know, but for the left.