Saturday, November 1, 2014

What has Happened to the Movies

One of my favorite subjects to talk to someone about is movies. I love movies, new ones or old ones, it doesn't matter as long as they’re good movies. I have had my fill with movies that tend to bring you down. I so much love a movie that, when you walk out of the theater, you're feeling good about yourself and the world. I hate the movies that leave you with no hope and tear your spirits down to nothing. I grew up in a generation that had TV from the cradle to the grave. Movies have been a big part of my experience of life. The actors that Star in these movies are just people. I have met several that are outstanding human beings and I have met others that, well frankly, weren't worth meeting, but thankfully they are few and far between, those that aren't worth meeting I mean.

I had a day off and I spent the day watching a mixture of movies, new ones and old ones. The ones that are outstanding are usually the ones that use some kind of a storyline to tell the real human experience of relationships, love and loss and ordinary people just trying to get by. I love the comedies most of all, especially the mystery or detective stories that are mixed with comedy throughout. My second favorite is spooky comedies or better known as “The Old Dark House” comedies. There have been many genres which I have enjoyed watching, but I return time and time again to those that tell the stories of the inner workings of human relationships that solve the problems of living and loving one another and, yes, hating one another as well. It has always been my feeling that human beings are basically good and if given the chance they can be extremely good and that things will usually always work themselves out for the best. I know that's a bit naïve because things very rarely work out the way we want them to, but that doesn't mean that they don't work out for the best.

I love magic and mystery in comedy and well even drama. I won't turn down a chick flick but I prefer a movie that has a mixture of all of those elements in them. When a movie connects with all of the magic and mystery, comedy and drama, life and love, you just can't beat that movie. A lot of people will tell you that the Golden Age of Hollywood culminated in 1939 with some of the best classics ever made, but I'm afraid I would have to disagree. I don't think that movies have reached their potential yet and I don't think that movies will go out of style no matter how they're delivered to the consumer. I believe that when there is an open mind setting down in front of the screen or even a hologram that the magic that comes from a well-written and acted and directed movie will always be the best source of escape from reality that man has or ever will have.

I hope that the actors, actresses, directors and movie studios understand how much they mean and what kind of influence they have on the general public, because movies have become so dark as of late, even my beloved Batman has become more of a horror picture than a hero picture. I just don't understand the mentality that has to make everything look more evil than it really has to be. That's why I love movies like The Good Witch, My Life In Ruins, The Quartet and so many others that have been made here recently. I can't name them all and I'm not going to try. These kinds of movies leave you with a good feeling and hope for tomorrow. That's not to say that the action movies that are being made today are all bad, it's just that most of them are so horrifyingly dark and give no hope for the future of mankind.

I'm sorry but I can't help but think that our youth is getting so conditioned to life being meaningless that that's why so much violence is happening to and among our children. I remember watching the Lone Ranger which I considered a very violent television show that I cannot remember ever seeing blood, but people were shot, people were injured, but I wasn't being desensitized to human emotion and feeling and the fear of death like our children today. I even picked up a comic book which many of our movies and television shows are based on over the years just the other day. It would have been considered pornography or too violent for anyone under the age of 18 in my day. I am no prude. I love seeing a very beautiful woman in all the glory that God created her in, but there's a difference between being sexy and slutty. I wish I had the words to say this more elegantly but here's my stab at it, people look down on a female that gets ahead by using her looks, where nothing is said about a man who gets ahead by using his looks. I have never had what I call “executive hair”. My hair has always been curly and somewhat unruly, so I would never be picked for anything that a person with executive hair would have been picked for. So you see it's not just a double standard for women, it's also a double standard for men. If you don't fit the movie star looks, you're most likely not going to be in a movie. There are actors and actresses today that aren't what I would call raving beauties which gives some hope for the future of normal people like me but there will always be more attention paid to what society thinks entertainment should look like and that's okay with me. I just want, for lack of a better word, Hollywood to try and uplift our society rather than dragging it in the gutter. I see so many bright hopes on television and then all of a sudden they're gone. Maybe I'm the only one that likes a more favorable view of the future.


Those are my thoughts for today. You'll have to forgive me, I have to run, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is about to come on.

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