People talking about the magic of movies can sound cliche, but there truly is something special about the effect that this form of storytelling can have on us. I think of how my sister and I bonded as kids over our favorite movies. We were obsessed with Pixar films. We laughed and cried together so many times watching the same movies. Movies are so captivating because they give us an ability to gain experience that is not really ours in a traditional sense.
Movies have been letting adults and children alike live out their fantasies for years. I think this is one of the main reasons I like westerns. As long as a western is not bad, I will love it. Why? The same reason almost every other dude and his grandpa likes westerns. I wish it was the late 1800s and I was walking around with a Peacemaker on my hip and a cigar on my lip, dealing with outlaws and bad sherriffs. The closest I get to this feeling (besides fanning my Heritage Rough Rider and missing every shot), is watching The Magnificent Seven and then adopting the Chris Pratt character’s personality as my own for a couple days. Watching a movie like that lets me trick my brain, or part of it at least, into thinking that I had that experience. Some would say that is escapism, but I think a reasonable amount of “escapism” is a good thing lol.
Even more simple than letting us experience our fantasies, movies give us an opportunity to feel. They let us laugh and cry as we become invested in a story and its characters. This is a base function of entertainment, and it honestly is more important than people think. Laughter truly is good medicine, and sometimes life loses its funny and we need a movie to find it. Laughing with friends at a movie actually does a lot of the heavy lifting of bonding too. It’s weird, but it does. And I think the crying aspect can be good, because sometimes I think our emotions are like an engine that needs oil to reach all the right places. Watching a movie is like when you change your power steering fluid, and then turn your steering wheel to pump it through the system.
Movies give us the opportunity to have a partial experience in the thoughts and emotions that would only be permitted to those with extreme or unique experiences. Movies have forced me to grapple with the idea of loss more than my life up to this point ever has (for this I am thankful). Movies have caused me to grapple with a fraction of the emotions, thoughts, and what moving forward would look like. Movies have shown me just how intense life can be, and what real pressure looks like. I think of Saving Private Ryan, and how it helped me as a kid to think of war differently. I saw the darkness of the landing at Normandy. The fear and harsh reality of war combatted my childhood romanticizing of soldering. That movie is what made a young me lose all desire to join the military haha. Movies offer us a chance to get an idea of how we might act under certain circumstances as we experience those circumstances through the lens of the main character.
That’s another cool thing about movies, we get to learn from the protagonist as we identify with them and in part become one with them. Simultaneously, we also get to experience and interpret the events of the film through our own lens and perspective. Trippy lol. But really, really helpful. It is said that experience is the best teacher because everyone learns from experience. Experience hits ya over the head so you don’t really have a choice. But the truly wise are able to learn from the stories of others’ experience. Movies are this unique chance to learn from the made up experience of made up characters, instead of experience hitting you over the head. So basically watching movies is smart.
Movies are kinda cool. They were a large part of the joy in my childhood and the dreaming and playing that it so nice. But now, they still offer so much: inspiration to act, lessons from lives I haven’t lived, and some nice little escapes from reality.
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