Movies; they allow you to time travel and connect with complete strangers. They let you feel the deepest of heartbreak and the greatest of victories; all while sitting completely still. At any given time you can be the hero, the villain and the victim. Movies help you face your deepest fears, reinforce your strongest values, and expose you to elements of life you’ve never experienced. What I love most about movies is that they make you FEEL, and the good ones don’t let you forget it. Fellow Geeks allow me to grant you access to enter the life; a cinematic universe.
It Starts With a Bang
I’m about 8 and like a lot of other kids my age I thought it was just the coolest to see one dude knock out 15 others, then proceed to walk away without a single hair being out of place. There was something about seeing one person, (women kick serious ass too), have the skill and strength to get the job done. Being the hero was something I was drawn to, though I didn’t understand the nuances, and I couldn’t get enough.
I started going through your typical 80s action bro phase with Arnie, Stallone, Van Damme but especially Seagal. Seeing a guy throw people with what looked like zero effort and then proceed to use pool balls and cues to get shit done was mesmerizing. A+ to those of you who recognized the movie based solely on that sentence. I couldn’t get enough of the bravado, the spinning kicks or the brutish strength. Above all though I connected most to the fact that these characters were unstoppable in their cinematic universe. They were practically gods in human form and no matter what they overcame any plot. I guess to a young kid it feels great to see this when it isn’t always visible in real life.
Enter the Fellowship
As I grew older I also grew more open to the world of film as I grew more open to the world itself. Not everything had to be a one man army showcase, there was far more out there to connect with and boy did I find it. It’s 2001, mom comes home from Blockbuster with a new VHS that she says looked “fun”. I was skeptical of course because as far as I knew, fun for mom was watching My Best Friend’s Wedding and singing Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Say A little Prayer for You” (something I do today). So with heavy skepticism I grabbed the VHS and looked upon possibly the greatest movie cover of all time.
What’s the Lord of the Rings? I asked
I don’t know but maybe you’ll like it. Mom replied
Yes mom, I liked it, I liked it alot.
Universe Expands
The perfect blend of adventure, fantasy, action, mystery, all things that I truly love to this day. So of course I was hooked and everything that resembled LOTR was on my radar. The next time mom went to Video Signals, a magical store for a young man falling in love with film, I went in with a mission; to find things that looked like LOTR. I grabbed Willow, loved it. The Dark Crystal, amazing. The Labyrinth, wild and awesome. The NeverEnding Story, yes please. Warriors of Virtue, talking kangaroos that are martial artists, are you kidding me! My inner Geek had been turned up to 11.
The more movies I found the more comfortable I was to expand in my life and my own cinematic universe. I jumped into Sci Fi without any hesitation. Star Wars, Men in Black, Alien, and countless more, all hit the spot. I explored the world of horror as I came into my teens, still scarred by the sight of Warwick Davis as The Leprechaun, but a brave explorer nonetheless. Characters like Dracula, Freddie, Jason, were welcome to my universe. So too were the living dead, a baby from Rosemary and all The Lost Boys. By the time I was a wise fool in high school, movies became a part of who I was.
Universe Unbound
As I became a young adult, many things changed but my drive to expand my world of film did not. I challenged myself to really try out movies just like mom says to try new foods when we go out to eat. So as a good son and wiser fool I dove into everything and I mean everything. I told myself nothing was off limits and treated my movie selections like I treat my music selections, open to everything even if I don’t end up liking everything. This would prove to be one of my greatest decisions. I found the beauty and creativity in musicals, the immense enjoyment of epic dialogue in dramas, and the rawness of coming of age films.
My new view on movies gave me a greater understanding of the world around me and the issues that people face that I hadn’t thought of. These films helped reinforce my understanding of the need for empathy and forgiveness. They helped make me feel like I could be more heroic with one word then any action star could be with their fist. To this day I enjoy watching all types of movies but I especially love the ones that make me FEEL and my favorites are the ones that don’t let me forget it.
If you made it this far, I thank you for entering my cinematic universe and I wish you the best. All comments are welcome below, enjoy the Haven Geeks!