Out to the Cinema
I love watching movies. I have, ever since I can remember. It's not simply a diversion or entertainment. It's a way to experience places I haven't been and things I haven't done. And it's a way to revist them when I can't.
I usually end up getting totally immersed in whatever movie I'm watching. Whatever I'm supposed to be feeling, I do. I can't help it. It's a way to let go of emotions and get completely lost. It's almost like dreaming. My body shifts into neutral, allowing my brain to rev the engine as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, that leaves me in a bind as far as movie selections go. There are certain emotions I don't particularly care to revisit in my "relaxing" time. There are certain cathartic experiences that I simply can't go through again.
I've only seen Schindler's List once. It's a moving, disturbing, horrible and wonderful film. I don't need to see it again, yet it contains one of the most powerful displays of emotion I can think of. To identify with the scene is to comprehend more about myself. It only takes one time understanding why a man literally can't stay standing after realizing that by selling his lapel pin, a trinket he didn't even like, he could have saved one more life.
Or in O, the modern retelling of "Othello". It's not a spectacular film, but it contains the most intimate, brutal, and shocking murder I've ever seen on film. That scene has no blood, no guns, no swearing. It made me so psychologically uncomfortable I couldn't sleep. I tried to understand it! I would never wish to see it again, but it left its mark on my life.
I can't imagine not having seen these things. Because to me, it's more than just actors being paid to talk in front of a camera. So tonight, I watched a film because it was free from the library. I've only seen it once before, so it was still practically new to me. And aside from the drama itself, the film has happy memories attached to it. Memories which I honestly didn't remember until the movie finished.
And despite not even thinking about being in a bad mood, I was in a good mood by the time it ended. I guess I was right to put off watching it until after I finished my paper.
I usually end up getting totally immersed in whatever movie I'm watching. Whatever I'm supposed to be feeling, I do. I can't help it. It's a way to let go of emotions and get completely lost. It's almost like dreaming. My body shifts into neutral, allowing my brain to rev the engine as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, that leaves me in a bind as far as movie selections go. There are certain emotions I don't particularly care to revisit in my "relaxing" time. There are certain cathartic experiences that I simply can't go through again.
I've only seen Schindler's List once. It's a moving, disturbing, horrible and wonderful film. I don't need to see it again, yet it contains one of the most powerful displays of emotion I can think of. To identify with the scene is to comprehend more about myself. It only takes one time understanding why a man literally can't stay standing after realizing that by selling his lapel pin, a trinket he didn't even like, he could have saved one more life.
Or in O, the modern retelling of "Othello". It's not a spectacular film, but it contains the most intimate, brutal, and shocking murder I've ever seen on film. That scene has no blood, no guns, no swearing. It made me so psychologically uncomfortable I couldn't sleep. I tried to understand it! I would never wish to see it again, but it left its mark on my life.
I can't imagine not having seen these things. Because to me, it's more than just actors being paid to talk in front of a camera. So tonight, I watched a film because it was free from the library. I've only seen it once before, so it was still practically new to me. And aside from the drama itself, the film has happy memories attached to it. Memories which I honestly didn't remember until the movie finished.
And despite not even thinking about being in a bad mood, I was in a good mood by the time it ended. I guess I was right to put off watching it until after I finished my paper.
We should go see a movie this summer!
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