My presence has been lacking a little on this blog, as I've been running on what seems to be a life-sized hamster wheel called work. Egads! I wish I could linger a little more in the present, but it seems my days are broken up hurrying from task to task, until I come home, collapse on the couch and watch a movie. Ahhh, to be young and overworked.
That brings me to a quote in a Donald Miller book I've been reading. A quote that hit really hard:
"But I like movies. There's something about a good story that helps me escape...if it was a good movie, the experience felt like somebody was resetting a compass in my brain so I could feel what was important in life and what wasn't. I'd go to the movies because for an hour or so I could forget about real life."
Lately, I've been watching a lot of movies.
Movies are all well and good and fun. But Donald here brings up an excellent point. When do we ask ourselves why we are watching so many movies? Is it to admire the art, or is it to forget about reality? After Donald decides to create his own interesting story within his life, he brings up the subject of movies again:
"Once I understood the power of story in my personal life, I wanted to know more about how to create a good one. I was getting up a little earlier, and interestingly enough, I was going to fewer movies...I didn't need to escape my boring life anymore."
Even a busy life can be boring. So even though I'm running, running, running...where is it that I'm running to? I think it's about time to plot my story.
Here's a good way of looking at life. Movies, or the stories of movies are really just a small section of that character's real or fictional life. If that's true of movie characters, that could also be true of real life.
ReplyDeleteIt's just knowing that when that section of your life comes, when you make the right or wrong decisions, to let that experience be your life's story, good or bad.
Or people just watch movies as some weird mass hysteria we're all suffering. I rather prefer the more poetic viewpoint.
Movies were traditionally all about escapism, and there's definitely room for a little of that in all our lives. But yes, a person can watch too many. I've actually just started watching more movies again, although in my case it's to escape the internet in my spare time. Baby steps!
ReplyDeleteAlong with escape, I think movies can also make us think...even if it's just the consideration of a character you didn't like's thoughts/motives/etc. Then again, I think way too much.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is constantly on the go, doing, moving, doing more etc I've discovered that there doesn't need to be a destination in mind or a plot to your life so long as you are learning and experiencing along the way.
Does watching a complete season of True Blood in one day count as escaping into movies? :)
ReplyDeleteSorry - The chocolate penises didn't turn out good. Too soft... I used an old ice cube tray I got ages ago at a comic store.
A truly good film, like a good work of literature, can be considered like a living, breathing, human being--in the sense that almost all human beings are inherently knowing the difference between right and wrong. A good film is able to teach us sometimes, in its own experience (as inherently moral people do), how to act or how not to act. The anti-hero plagues earlier generations because of his lack of moral judgement, or his/her desire to do the wrong thing. What most people don't realize is that the interpretation is subjective, and that you can find just about any moral lesson in a film, even the opposite of what it may represent to the public. In other words, films are not just about escapism; sometimes, they are like platonic friends, who just want to share a short experience with you and for you to figure it out on your own. That's the best kind of friend to have.
ReplyDeleteI think I want to further my post in clarifying something...I love movies. And I won't stop watching them and gaining something from them. But what I DO want to do, is make sure my life is also a good story. I think I can have both :)
ReplyDeleteI used to treat books that way when I was growing up. It was like I was living through them instead of living my own life. Sometimes I miss that a little bit, because I don't escape to them anymore, but it's a good point that you have to create something for yourself. Books and movies can help and entertain you along the way.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big movie guy, but I definitely relate in having my forms of escaspism in TV shows (so just shorter movies, heh) and music... I've always wanted my life to script out like my favorite shows (to an extent - I don't need to crash on a Lost-like island) or to have songs that perfectly complement my life story... but they can also serve as inspiration to get me moving.
ReplyDeleteAnyways - did you know that Don's "Storyline" conference is happening next weekend? All about plotting one's story.
When and where is this??
DeleteThe closest one is happening in Santa Barbara - id be going if I didn't have an important rehearsal next sat. I think there are a few other locations around too, at different dates.
DeleteHey there, stranger! You know, I could have totally written this post with very few edits. But my answer would be to escape reality. After one of those hamster wheel days, putting Sketches of Spain on the turntable or watching The Terminal or High Fidelity multiple days in a row can be nothing else. Of course its a brilliant album or film, but still. I'm still looking for my next move, except it'll take longer to make than I'd like. I guess that's how it goes.
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