I love watching movies because for a few hours, my personal life melts away. Movies are a distraction; but a welcomed one at that. It feels like a new movie is getting made every second, and I watch a lot of films so it makes it hard for one to truly stand out. A subgenera of film that I particularly enjoy are ones that teach me something. Whether that be what caused the stock market crash in 2008,
or what true love is like. When I watch a film, I take it for what it is. I have a special place in my heart for the cutesy romantic comedy, but the ones that hit deep aren’t as pleasant to watch.
Something that distinguishes the regular old movie from something outstanding is the uniqueness of a story. A film that really makes me think differently about the world and about the universe. The first movie to really make me question my life was Everything Everywhere all at Once. I took a trip to my favorite movie theater on a day when no one could go with me. so I went alone. This isn’t an uncommon thing for me to do but if you know anything about that movie you know that in hindsight, that was a bold choice. The movie started and I was confused from the get go. I hadn’t done any research on what it was about, but when a friend of mine knocked on my door the night before and told me I had to see it, I believed her. The complex premise of the movie mixed with the outlandish presentation of it could have been enough to steer me away and make viewers feel lost, but by some stroke of luck, it didn’t. It talked about multiverses and different lives and the American immigrant struggle, which surprise surprise, I know nothing about. And yet, I left the theater with a newfound appreciation of the life I get to live and the things and people I have in my life.
But, like most things that shake you to your core, you go on living your life. You go to work and school and sorority and the bar and you sleep and you eat mediocre food, and you struggle to pay your bills, and then before you know it, you’re almost graduating college. I saw that movie two years ago when I was in a completely different place, and if I saw it now for the first time, it would probably mean something totally different; but thats just it. I didn’t see it now, I saw it when I saw it and that will never change. Life is a series of choices, as EEAAO so clearly put. The little choices like what you eat in the morning and if you snooze your alarm clock, as well as where you go to college and who you marry. Big or small, the choices that you make are eventually the person you become. The people you choose to surround yourself with, the hobbies you choose to occupy your time, the doctors appointment you go to, the clothes you wear. These are all seemingly insignificant things that put together: make a life.
I recently watched the movie Soul and for being from Disney, that movie packed quite the existential punch. The premise is that this man waits his whole life for his big break and then dies before he can get to it, the lesson is that you can’t wait around for something extraordinary to happen when extraordinary things happen every day. The leaves change, a stranger helps you, you taste really really good pizza. The life that you have is so precious and coasting is a waste of a beautiful gift that we are given. One life. One chance. The beautiful thing about these messages are that they aren’t telling you to follow your dream and become an NBA player or an astronaut or a scientist (even though those things are cool). They are saying that the normal is enough. A normal life filled with normal moments is beautiful. People wish their whole lives for things that may or may not come true and forget to cherish the time that they have now. Your parents will never be this young again. You will never be this free. You will never have as many opportunities as you do now, so what are you waiting for?
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