Thought On The Movie-Going Experience

I enjoy movies.

I see a lot of them.

And, I think the reason I enjoy them so much is that I enjoy a tale well-told (which, is the reason I read a lot, too). Movies are works of art--some better than others--and I like to try to discover what the messages are. Rarely do I disengage my brain in the theatre. In fact, much of what I see is used in classroom settings to illustrate a point. It seems to be effective as a teaching tool because so many people make a connection because they've "seen that movie."

So, I mixed up my hobbies of reading and movie-going and I'm reading a book on how screenwriters work their craft. It's by Robert McKee, who has developed quite a resume as his students have gone on to write some of the most well-known films & television shows in the last 20 years...they've done everything from "Beauty and the Beast" to "Forrest Gump" to "Toy Story" to "Northern Exposure" to "Friends" to "Cheers."

Anyway, I came across this little nugget I thought we could kick around today:

"Never allow yourself the luxury of thinking 'It's just entertainment.' What, after all, is 'entertainment?' Entertainment is the ritual of sitting in the dark, staring at a screen, investing tremendous concentration and energy into what one hopes will be a satisfying, meaningful emotional experience. Any film that hooks, holds, and pays off the story ritual is entertainment...no story is innocent. All coherent tales express an idea veiled inside an emotional spell.

In fact, the persuasive power of a story is so great that we may believe its meaning even if we find it morally repellant. Storytellers, Plato insisted, are dangerous people. He was right.

Lastly, given story's power to influence, we need to look at the issue of an artist's social responsibility. I believe we have no responsibility to cure social ills or renew faith in humanity, to uplift the spirits of society or even express our inner being. We have only one responsibility: to tell the truth...for although the artist may, in his private life, lie to others, even to himself, when he creates he tells the truth; and in a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility."

Oh, man.

Have at it, kids.