Those who are closest to me know that I’m a movie fanatic. When I was a kid I used to collect newspaper clippings of movie posters from the paper. That would then evolve into watching every movie that came through our local theater to the point where I’d have to wait for new films to circulate in because I had already watched everything. Whether for good or bad, movies have been an integral part of my childhood. Some of my fondest childhood memories has been traveling down the Maui coast with my grandparents to go to a theater on the hot side of the island, Lahaina. The smell of movie popcorn and the feel of the seats pulls me back into the past. Movies bring back warm feelings of comfort and joy. It is where I remember my grandpa being the nicest. Where my grandparents would end up sleeping halfway through the film. It is where I could leave my family problems behind and live in a world where the good guys always won. Where people like my father can have a redemptive arc and become the person he wanted to be. I needed to believe in this and the many other narratives portrayed in cinema.
I didn’t realize it as a kid but movies has and still is therapeutic for me. I often cry in the films that I watch because of the connection I feel with that character. I think many of us love the movies that we feel connected with but less of us ask why we relate to a certain film. How many of us has asked why certain characters make us angry while others we hope will succeed. Some fans become so invested that they lose their lunch on youtube over deaths of their characters. Why? Is there something about the characters we hate and love that says something about us? Can cinema be a window into our own psychology? If it is then how can we benefit from it?
The power of film has not gone unnoticed and has become a form of therapy. The links below are examples of this trend.
Since I love movies I’ve decided that I’ll do a movie review at least once a month. Unlike other reviews I’m planning on focusing on the messages within the film and how they may help others with their personal issues. If you have any movie suggestions, please let me know and I’ll do my best to watch and write a review on it.
Thank you and enjoy the movies.
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