I love movies. No, really. I love them. Just this year, I have watched 327 movies. That’s nearly one for every day of the year so far. Sometimes, I think of that number and it really makes me wonder if I have my priorities straight. But other times, I marvel at my own appreciation of one of the best forms of art in existence.
I like to believe all of the hours spent watching movies are not hours lost, but rather hours I have spent learning and immersing myself in unique cultures and perspectives. I have definitely learned a lot about life through putting myself in others shoes, so I thought I’d share three of the most significant ones.
1. Apathy isn’t “cool”, it’s detrimental.
Last year, I watched a French film called “The Man Who Sleeps,” or “Un Homme Qui Dort,” which follows the story of a man living a very dull and repetitive life. He exacerbates his depressing state by isolating himself from not only his friends and family, but additionally from humanity. He decides that being indifferent in life is the only way to survive the constant highs and lows. He even goes so far as to believe that he is superior to others because of his isolated and uncaring ways.
In the end, however, the man is proved wrong. The viewer is forced to reckon with the fact that life is indifferent to your indifference. Not caring about things doesn’t make you cooler, or more easy going, and it definitely doesn’t make life easier to live, although it sometimes feels that way. Life just leaves you behind as the rest of the world around you continue to grow and progress.
This film taught me that while it’s completely normal to feel depressed or numb from time to time, it is never the answer to force yourself into the coma-like state of complete indifference. In any circumstance, letting life pass you by will never equate to actively existing in the world.
2. Stay true to yourself, through and through.
This sounds like something you might read on the ridiculously clichéd side of Pinterest or on a corny kitchen sign in your grandma’s house, but it’s true. I mean, I had to watch a movie called “Frances Ha” to realize it, but it’s true! The film is about a woman in her late 20s named Frances who leads a satisfying, but not successful life which is uprooted by her best friend and roommate moving out. People look down on Frances’ lifestyle, often considering her immature or a “failure” even, however she never gives in to this crushing negativity.
Without any spoilers, I can say that the film has an extremely touching happy ending that makes the audience come to terms with their problems in life. Although Frances has a million, she never seems to change her beliefs or values to make herself seem more put together. She deals with things as they come and this is something that can be really inspiring to watch.
The movie makes you realize that when it comes down to the big picture, you will find a way to make things work, because you are you and that is enough. Which connects well with my final lesson about:
3. The importance of strength in the face of uncertainty.
Almost everyone is already familiar with this life lesson. We spend so much of our lives with uncertainty looming imminently in the future that we have been forced to come to terms with it. But the Spanish film “Pain and Glory,” or “Dolor y Gloria,” does a brilliant job in restating an old idea in a new and eye-opening way. The movie is about a film director who comes to terms with his past, while facing lots of health issues and uncertainty about his future.
The movie brought on the first time I truly thought long and hard about the way we as humans cope with the fact that we literally have no clue what could happen next in our lives. Some of us don’t know what we want from in our future. We don’t know what career we want to work towards, or what relationships to pursue. We might not even know what we’re going to eat for lunch!
I feel as though people don’t talk enough about how overwhelming it all can be. But at the same time, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If we simply strap ourselves in for the ride, it won’t matter what comes next. Being open and welcoming the ever-changing future and reality is strength, and will help all of us wherever life takes us.
In a sense, it’s somewhat ironic that these major lessons of life were revealed to me when I spent time watching movies, instead of actually going outside or living my life. But I think this just goes to show the beautiful ability of film and art as a whole to make clear to us all the things we might already know deep down.