| Movies and Our Hearts |
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| Written by Teri Haux |
| Thursday, 06 November 2008 17:02 |
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People everywhere often describe movies as "Two hours of mindless entertainment," but are they really? Are there no consequences or lingering influences after the end credits roll? In other words, are we the same emotionally and spiritually after spending two hours immersed in a different world? The answer is no, never.
Life is a collection of stories we play and replay in our minds. Our own reality is based on our interpretation of our personal experiences; experiences which have been repeated daily for thousands of years. Everyday someone falls in love, forgives another, brings in new life or loses one. Our human condition is not unique to us as individuals, only our feelings, thoughts and longings. This is also the same realm in which movies reach us. Watching movies is a truly magical experience because during the time between the credits our minds are released from their daily existence and thrust into a new world. We watch stories unfold through the eyes of the main character, as if we were in their place, especially in well made films. We join this new world, supplanting the characters feelings, thoughts and longings as our own. We watch movies with our hearts. The movie Titanic wasn't the highest grossing film of all time because of the cinematography or script. It succeeded because the movie took the audience on a very real emotional and physical journey, along with the characters Rose and Jack. It was a tender love story set in one of the greatest tragedies of its time. My grandmother watched it in the theaters five times. The feelings of liberation and euphoria that lingered with many audience members (including me) lasted for days. I remember people everywhere talking about it in conversations that approached a religious fervor. This movie became part of their own life story. Therein lies the magic. The mystical properties of film do not solely reside in uplifting and inspiring stories, but in their antithesis as well. Movies with immoral main characters can undermine faith in God and allegiences to our families. They can turn our sympathies away from our spouses and children through parading enticing scenes of violence and whoredoms. We can be inspired to emulate greater individuals or degraded with spectacles that demean all that is noble and good. With the connotation of being benign, the answer is definitely no, movies are not two hours of mindless entertainment. However in another way they absolutely are mindless, in that they reach all the way to our hearts.The book Movie Viewer Extraordinaire, by Teri Haux (available on amazon.com) shows you how to recognize the subtle ways movies effect people so you may use them to you advantage and defend against unwanted negative influence.
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 05 March 2009 10:44 |