The Golden Age Fallacy has always been popular with unhappy people, but the romanticization of the past has intensified recently because of the overall level of comfort we have reached as a species. I won't minimize the severe poverty in certain parts of the world, because it exists and it is horrible, but for the vast majority of us, especially in America, everything is easily available. That's not a bad thing (netflix and air conditioning are awesome!) but we find new things to complain about that look absolutely petty when compared to many of the complaints of the past, or when compared to people with real problems in the present day. All of this is so common and pervasive in our society we even came up with a trendy hashtag term for it: #firstworldproblems. The phrase was intended to spotlight how petty these complaints are, but, it has evolved into just another opportunity for privileged people to still complain about petty bullshit, showing the power the privileged have to ruin everything.
There's something about the human brain that makes us focus on the negative. Or maybe it's just a natural reaction to the overall shittiness of the human condition. Despite our relative comfort, life is hard. Death is inevitable. We complain that the glass is half full, when in reality it's never full. Nothing is exactly how we want it. There is no utopia, and a half full glass is more than enough to quench your thirst. Drink it. It will quiet your complaints for a while.
Appreciate one moment, any moment, as much as Wes Bentley enjoyed that bag.
I always loved the idea of karma, and the idea still means a lot to me personally, but I've come to the sad realization that there is no karma in this lifetime. It's certainly not immediate anyway. The fact is, the only reason to treat people well and to be good is, well, to be good. There's no real reward; being a good person is its own reward. Bad people get away with shit all the time. Their actions hardly ever "catch up" with them. It's a great notion to think that people will pay for their actions, it's why the idea of heaven and hell is so popular, but in reality, "bad" and "good" are not objectively quantifiable. You can get arrested for doing certain things on one side of an invisible line that won't get you arrested on the other side, just like doing something in one time period would make you evil in another. Getting into heaven would largely depend on when you died and who was manning the gates.
Motivation to be a good person shouldn't come from a desire to stave off hellfire or as a way to gain positive karma points. Once they become habit, the benefits of positive thinking and living are obvious. It's not the magic that pseudo-psychologist self help gurus make it out to be, but it does make for a more satisfying existence. There are moments of relapse into negative thinking, and it takes effort to maintain consistency, but it is possible to keep the scales tipped in favor of positivity. The hardest part about treating people well and not responding to negative behavior with more negative behavior is the lack of immediate satisfaction, but even that is something that gets easier over time.
In an era that emphasizes instant gratification and encourages the voicing of meaningless grievances, it's important to see the long term benefits of positive thinking and acting, and the importance of shutting the fuck up every now and then.
I love movies. I believe my taste in movies truly reflects my identity, and that movies have helped shape my identity. When people complain that entertainment is influencing the youth, it is much more complicated than simply "see violence on tv, cause violence in real life." I think movies have an effect on your personality and your outlook on life, rather than any direct effect on your actions. For me, seeing violence on the screen was always really cool, but it also taught me that I wanted no part of it in real life. When I saw someone smoking crack in a movie, I wanted no part of it in real life. But it was really interesting to see those things and learn about people who do those sorts of things. Watching a variety of movies with a variety of characters taught me that there are many different ways of living and different ways of seeing the world. Movies taught me about personal relationships. Even trashy movies with no morality whatsoever taught me things; they showed me the dark side of life so I didn't have to experience it personally (even though I sometimes did).
I also had positive role models and concerned parents, so I wasn't relying solely on movies for my life lessons, something too many kids are left to do.
Movies are important to me. I can be picky, but I can also enjoy every genre; as long as the movie is done well, I can find pleasure in watching it. On the other hand, I can also enjoy a movie if it's horribly executed (i.e., the last decade of Nic Cage's career). Movies are such a big part of my personality that I judge other people by their movie tastes. I can always make exceptions for a few bad movies or a weird movie fetish (i.e., the last decade of Nic Cage's career) but if you have consistently bad taste, I can't respect you as a person.
There are also a few movies that are deal breakers. If you don't like certain movies, or the opposite, if you do like certain movies, I have no use for you. For example, I went on a date several years ago and five minutes in, she said she hated American Beauty. I ended the date as soon as possible and never called her again. For another example, if you like anything with Jason Sudeikis in it, you should stop breathing for a while.
"I have to shit. Oooh, film it and let's call it my next movie."
Movies can leave lasting impressions on your identity. From simple things like quotes you use with your friends, to bigger things like how you view the world. Hell, some people base their whole lifestyles around certain movies.
Not that I'm complaining.
Although I've never been one to base my entire personality and world view on one particular movie (I'm not joining the Dudeists no matter how much I like The Big Lebowksi) movies have definitely helped shape my sense of humor and my way of looking at certain situations, relationships, and life in general. In fact, they have helped me get through life. I can't imagine college without movies. Or high school. Or my childhood for that matter.
Movies can define an era in your life. The stage of your life in which you watch a movie can also affect your perception of that movie. If I watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas during middle school, I'd have no idea what was going on (it was hard enough to figure it out in college). It would have been one of those forgettable movies that have zero impact on your life, like every Judd Apatow film.
The best movies illustrate the complexities of living life as a human being; some try to offer answers and solutions, others ask you to come up with your own solutions, and some just make you laugh until you realize the absurdity of it all.
Dumb and Dumber: responsible for a bigger part of my identity than seems reasonable for any human being.
Below, I have listed a few different stages of my life and the movies that had the most impact during those times. "Childhood" is the most broad category, and many of the movies listed may have been watched more as a teen or a college student, but I feel they made the most impact during my childhood years.
Some categories overlap. For example, my early teen years are essentially my "childhood" too, and I was in college for my last 2 years as a teen. Also, I included my years as a graduate student in the "college" category. This isn't an exact friggin' science here, people, give me a break.
Some movies are listed twice because they made a separate and distinct, but equally powerful, impact on more than one stage of my life.
Within each category, movies are listed in no particular order.
Childhood E.T. An American Tale A Land Before Time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Alice in Wonderland (1951) Dumbo Batman The Neverending Story Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Star Wars Episode IV: The New Hope The Empire Strikes Back The Return of the Jedi SpaceBalls National Lampoon's Vacation National Lampoon's European Vacation National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Ghostbusters Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Karate Kid The Goonies Who Framed Roger Rabbit Airplane! The Naked Gun The Naked Gun 2 and 1/2 RoboCop Beverly Hills Cop Nightmare on Elm Street Friday the 13th Part 3: Dream Warriors Hellraiser Platoon Alien Aliens Back to the Future Back to the Future 2 Stand By Me The Dead Poets Society Die Hard Glory A Christmas Story The Untouchables Scrooged The Running Man Coming to America Muppets Take Manhattan Pee-Wee's Big Adventure Gremlins Rocky Rocky IV Predator Commando UHF Ferris Bueller's Day Off Beetlejuice Stand By Me Weekend At Bernie's Jaws Stephen King's IT Halloween Bloodsport Edward Scissorhands Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Teen The Mask Dumb and Dumber Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls The Naked Gun 33 and 1/3 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Groundhog Day Usual Suspects Pulp Fiction Reservoir Dogs The Shining The Shawshnak Redemption Psycho Raging Bull Taxi Driver Full Metal Jacket Mississippi Burning Good Will Hunting The Crying Game (I did not enjoy this film or even want to see it, but my parents dragged me and my brother...I think we were all equally traumatized) Scarface Do the Right Thing Eddie Murphy: Raw Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip The Exorcist The Godfather The Godfather Part 2 One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Scream Forrest Gump Silence of the Lambs Goodfellas Leaving Las Vegas Fargo True Romance Natural Born Killers Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
College Freshman (I'm including this as a separate category because my freshman year, especially my first semester, was a lot different than the rest of my time in college. My roommate was barely around, I didn't have a grasp on the college scene yet, and I still hadn't realized the amount of school work I needed to do to succeed; so instead of partying or studying-the two activities that later defined my college career-I watched a lot of movies by myself in my dorm room on a 10 inch tv/vcr combo. I only owned a few movies, and I didn't have a lot of money to rent movies, so there were a handful that I watched over and over. Not all of them would be considered "classics" by any stretch of the imagination, but they will forever hold a special place in my heart)
ConAir City of Industry Lost in Space (with Joey from Friends) SpaceBalls Kalifornia
College Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Magnolia Gladiator Rocky (what up Skinzz!) Doc Hollywood (what up Skinnahhhhhh!) Half Baked Alice in Wonderland (1951) Blazing Saddles Usual Suspects American Beauty Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Monty Python and The Holy Grail Monty Python's Life Of Brian Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Clockwork Orange 2001: A Space Odyssey Tango and Cash Deliverance Wizard of Oz (with Dark Side of the Moon) Bowling for Columbine Man on the Moon Fight Club The Matrix Girl, Interrupted (Shut up. This is when I fell in love with Angelina Jolie...and it's a good movie) Lost in Translation (When I fell in love with Scarlett Johansson. And Bill Murray, all over again) The Blair Witch Project South Park: The Movie There's Something About Mary The Big Lebowski Being John Malkovich Memento American History X Pulp Fiction Reservoir Dogs Jackie Brown Boondock Saints Adaptation City of God Almost Famous Pi Requiem for a Dream Snatch O Brother, Where Art Thou? X-Men Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
There are many great movies I watched after college, some of which I consider my favorites, but I can't say they had the same impact on me as movies did in college or in my childhood. I'm not saying movies are not as good as they used to be (there's a lot more crap, but there was always crap) I'm just saying they just don't strike me the same way they did before. Maybe real world responsibilities have lessened the influence of movies on my life, maybe those responsibilities give me less time to focus on and enjoy movies, maybe Youtube and HBO has lessened the significance of the big screen, or maybe I'm just more stuck in my ways as I've gotten older and I've become harder to influence. I guess that's normal. We're like sponges as young people and like rocks as adults. Whatever the reason, there aren't many movies that have truly made an impact on me in a long time.
Except maybe Avatar. That shit was incredible (despite the corny dialogue). Nowadays, the pure talent of the movie-makers is what strikes me rather than the actual content, whether it's visual effects (Avatar/Inception), performance (Lincoln/There Will Be Blood), or story-telling (Inglourious Basterds/Django). I still appreciate and enjoy great movies, they just don't have the same impact as they used to.
.jpg)
