Flipping through
the channels this weekend I found myself in a rare situation. Rather than the usual schedule of
reruns or overplayed movies, my family and I were torn between two incredible
films: To Kill a Mockingbird or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ultimately, we were unable to commit to
just one, and ended up watching bits and pieces of each. Realistically, most of what I saw was
probably just commercials.
The uncommon
occurrence of having quality films on basic cable started a rather interesting
conversation between my parents and I.
It started with Mom and Dad reminiscing about the first time they saw
each of these monumental movies, but moved to the topic of when I first saw
these movies. More specifically,
we discussed the decision behind first showing me these films. Almost every film that has ever had a
significant meaning to me was introduced to me by my parents. So I asked them, do parents have a
responsibility of bringing important movies into their children’s lives?
The short answer,
of course, is yes. But the long
answer… that took some time for my parents to articulate. So I broke the question down for
them. I turned to the first movie
I ever remember seeing as a child, The
Wizard of Oz. After much
discussion I was able to discover that my parents had made a conscious decision
to sit me down and make me watch this film as a child. When I asked why, Dad revealed that he
wanted The Wizard of Oz to be a movie
that always gave me comfort in life.
“Movies are feelings,” Dad said.
“I wanted you to be associate certain movies with different stages and
feelings in your life. The Wizard of Oz has always been able to
console me, and I wanted that for you too.”
Aside from being
incredibly sappy and slightly embarrassing in that moment, I understood the
point that my father was trying to make.
Movies can shape a person’s life and as a parent, he is partly
responsible for that. And I also
understand the emotions that he was using movies to instill in me as a
child. Each time I Dorothy
encounters the Scarecrow on the Yellow Brick Road or the Wicked Witch throws a
fireball at the Tin Man, I feel at home.
I feel comforted by a scene, a memory that has been with me my entire
life.
Now,
as a look to my future, I wonder what films I will deem as “important” for my children. Will I follow in my parents’ footsteps
and introduce my kids to the same movies, hoping that the same messages and
values will come through? Will
they understand that the final scene of One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is meant to express a small glimmer of hope, or
that Dog Day Afternoon should teach
us to fight social injustices? Or,
will I make the wrong decisions and show them the most unimportant movies of
our times? The future is certainly
unknown, but maybe this is something that every potential future parent should
put some thought into.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteWhile your story may-or-may not-be "incredibly sappy," it's something that I've thought about quite often: what the hell am I going to do with all the crap I've bought over the years? Typically, I don't do much long-term thinking-- it's too much work, and I'm a very impatient person--but if there's a justification for my constant purchasing of DVDs, Blu-rays, video games, and other necessities that have long since been available for free on the internet, it's that these things I've amassed over the years can be handed down to my "spawn babies." Much like the proverbial father handing down the keys to his kingdom to his child, so shall I give my sons/daughters/grandchildren/whoever the hell happens to be in the room at the time all of my movies, and I'll watch with glee as they take them with much disappointment and bitterness.
But seriously, it is important to get the next generation of people interested in film because--who else is going to do it? Right now, we're living in what must be some treacherous alternate universe where kids have never watched a Star Wars film, will never know Arnold Schwarzenegger as anything other than that "old German guy" from The Expendables (especially since I grew up knowing him as that “old German guy” who once shouted a specific action about helicopters), and will never understand joys of randomly screaming “Who is Keyser Soze?!!!” It's up to us to force our tastes down their throats, or god help us all!!! Without a vested interested in the “arts,” I actually do fear a future where classic films are just as lost as dead languages or Steve Guttenberg.
Bad jokes aside, I do admire your parents and it’s clear that they did right by you. If I ever do become a parent, I’d like to think that the one thing I get right is passing along my enthusiasm for film to my kin. Movies are such a wondrous tool for imagination and discovery; it’d be a shame for such a thing to disappear.
*besides I’d totally kick my kid out if he I deemed he had horrid tastes.
I’m glad that someone brought this topic up, because I once had a similar conversation with my old boss a few years ago. I like to call such films “comfort movies” because I can watch them all the time without growing tired of them. Whenever I’m feeling anxious, lonely, or depressed, I pop a movie like GoldenEye into the DVD player, and for some reason it comforts me for its entire duration. Other “comfort movies” of mine include Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Lord of the Rings, Return of the Jedi, Spaceballs, and many others. I’ve spent many a daydream pondering why these movies soothe me, just as The Wizard of Oz soothes you. My best guess is that all the movies I’ve named serve as some sort of link to my past – fragments of nostalgia that build upon one another over the years, forming a protective wall of security around my psyche.
ReplyDeleteThink about it – don’t most of everyone’s “comfort movies” end with happy endings that are only achieved through the strife, struggles, and sacrifices of the characters? Since human beings are naturally attracted to such stories and archetypes, perhaps our “comfort movies” are the culmination of our inherent love of a good story that features characters that we see as projections of ourselves. Our daily lives – though mundane when compared to the exploits of our favorite characters – are just as full of struggle and conflict as the film plot, and by achieving the film’s happy ending, we feel reassured by the characters’ success. Take The Lord of the Rings, for example: the books and films are some of the most globally celebrated and loved stories of all time; perhaps the reason lies within the consoling nature of the narratives. Let’s not forget that while writing The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien used archetypes and concepts that stem from mythologies that have been a part of the human condition for millennia. Even when we as film fans lament the apparent lack of new ideas in Hollywood, we must remember that some of our favorite films owe a great deal of their existence to thousand-year old concepts.
Hey Jessica!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting topic! I’ve always had a special bond between my mother and horror movies. The first movie I remember “watching” as a kid was Beetlejuice, and the only reason I saw parts of it was because I would sneak peeks at the screen from the other room. It’s interesting the kind of films that parents pass on to their children. Besides horror movies, my mom loves romantic comedies and comedies in general. She likes movies that put her in a happy, desirous mood, and because of this, I think I’ve developed a certain personality due to the things she has chosen to share with me.
We take in many things from movies, whether we realize it or not. To play devil’s advocate, we know that movies have the ability to shape society positively and negatively. When films reinforce certain stereotypes or prejudices about a race or group of people, we learn and adapt that to our lives. But not to stray off topic. Films open the door to many other things, like an appreciation for them. I like looking at films as an art form because there is so much that goes into them: writing, staging, costuming, storyline. All of these almost fantastical details go into making the perfect films, which have the ability to open us to new things. When we’re sad, we watch a happy movie. When we’re adventurous, we watch a horror movie. What makes a romantic comedy so promising and upbeat? It’s probably the films ability to allow us to enter a world where we can shamelessly lose ourselves. We can become a different person at almost any time when we watch a film. We want to project ourselves on to the screen, so it makes sense that we can learn such valuable lessons from something as influential as film.
I’ve often wondered about the different films that I want to share with the people in my life. I recently gave a friend of mine Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris as a gift. My friend and I share the common female flaw: we’re hopeless romantics. But I think Allen’s film helps highlight the here and now. We can’t always look to the past in order to solve our present. Your taste in film is wonderful; I’m sure you’ll have plenty of great things to share with your children!
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYour Blog post go me really thinking because around Christmas time me and my whole family on Christmas Eve were flipping through the television channels and come across the most famous movie “It a Wonderful Life”. Like what you said about the “wizard of oz” on being a classical comfort movie for you. The same is like for me and mine whole family went see “it a Wonderful Life” every year during Christmas Eve night before we wait for dinner to be ready. Even though we every year we have it in the background, but this past Christmas Eve we actually as whole watch the classical movie and talking about the movie when my dad and uncle was little when they first watch the movie and what they though about the movie. It was so nice and relaxing to watch the entire movie it a comfort to our night.
I totally see your point when it comes to these classic movie it like they don’t make films like these especially Christmas one. It modern day Christmas movie you get twisted plots that something really doesn’t give the true meaning of the Christmas season and a wonderful life gives you that feels to get you in the Christmas season and especially on Eve of Christmas.
I want to conclude by saying that comfort movies that are play on television all time by the TV network add a special meaning went it comes to these old movies that have a excellent positively message when it comes to Christmas time and just on a cold and rainy night. I really enjoy your blog post on you views on these television movies.