In my film “The College Murders,” one character says to the other, “We know so much about movies, actors and actresses and so little about our own lives.” The reason I wrote that line was not only to express the feelings of a character but also to try to confront an interesting truth in today’s culture. The truth is a lot of us have been moved more by popular fiction than the people, the relationships and the events in the real world.
If you don’t believe me, just ask people what they remember most about being younger. More often than not you’ll hear a barrage of film quotes rather than vivid memories about their first house, the taste of their first cookie and the friends of their old grammar school. You’ll hear about classic movie scenes rather than classic real-life moments.
The reason for this is because we’ve learned to step back, take little action in our own lives, and cathartically live through our favourite actors and celebrities. We’ll line up to see them opening day at the local movie theatre, but we won’t exactly take such initiative in our own lives. Are we escaping too much into escapism?
The fact is film moments like Indiana Jones trying to outrun the boulder, Elliot and E.T. flying across the moon, and Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star should simply be wondrous images that accompany us upon the journey of our lives. They should stir our imaginations and help us return to the real world with a deeper understanding of it.
The movies tell us for two hours in that darkened theatre that it’s OK to dream, to hope, to fear, to be brave, to love, to hate and to connect with a myriad of universal emotions. When the lights come back on, it’s time to return to real life. The good news is that you will always return differently than when you came in. Hopefully you will be more in touch and inspired.
In 2005 I attended the premiere of the film “Dark Fantasy” in the Clearview Cinema in Red Bank. It was a wonderful experience watching the cinematic work of local director Ian Keeney, also my cinematographer for “The College Murders.” It was frightening and thought provoking, and it was a pleasure to have acted in it. When I left the theatre, I was changed yet again. The great bonus of film is how you incorporate its lessons into your own life and experiences.
Some feel real life can be so routine and mundane that we need film now more than ever. Some feel we need it to escape this age of terrorism and violence. Some feel we need the contemplative aspect of it.
The main character of Maxx in “The College Murders” gets lost in the movie world, as did I for several years. The fact is we sometimes get lost for a reason, but when we find ourselves again we gain perspective. Films should reflect truth even in the most outrageous types of fiction. It’s OK to get lost inside our favourite characters and the worlds they inhabit, but one must emerge and face them self.
The lesson to be learned is this: We are every bit as complex, as daring, as fearful and as brave as those we try to emulate upon the big screen or admire in the zany world of celebrity. Popular fiction should move us but not away from ourselves. If anything, it should move us closer. In life, we should all be able to remember the moments of our lives as clear as we remember Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life” running through the snow screaming, “Merry Christmas movie house!” Life is what’s happening now, and as Humphrey Bogart says to Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca,” “Here’s looking at you, kid.” See, film and real life can go hand in hand.
Darren
10 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
It’s easy to escape into films, especially at times like these.
Some films are good, but I think movies have had a major negative impact on the creativity and imagination of our society. What ever happened to escaping into books?
People have become so dependent on actors and actresses to shape how they behave.
I agree, the result of that is a lot of people who try to act like characters in movies. I know a couple guys who literally use Will Ferrel lines constantly. That is their only sense of humor. It’s like they don’t think for themselves.
We should blow Hollywood off and just watch independent films, thats where the true art in films can be found
I hear that Miles, those Hollywood rats are just in it for the money
Films just stimulate creativeness and imagination in a different way than books.
Films just provide less thinking than books, which makes them easier than books, but they can never compete with a well-written book.
Both books and movies make you think and stimulate creativity and imagination in different ways. Great article, Darren!
Film is not meant to “compete” with books, nor any other creative form, just as novels are not meant to “compete” with poetry, or sonnets with haiku, etc, etc. The human spirit has a wide array of access pathways that are touched in different ways by different types of creativity, each bearing its own gift. Are there not days when we are particularly moved by classical music, and other days by jazz or folk or rock and roll? As far as negative impact and getting lost in roles, I think part of the point Darren makes is that there is a viewer’s choice and responsibility to absorb a message and be enriched by it, not be lost in it.