I believe in movies. I believe that it is a medium that sparks change and ideas in the hearts and minds of it viewers. I believe that a good movie; be it a comedy, a documentary, or even a horror show can cause people to stop and think about things they might not have otherwise.
It’s something we’ve all done, watched a movie and then spent the drive home discussing its finer points and plot line. After watching the movie National Treasure my family sat up for hours talking about American history and the idea of the Masons who were and are, very real. Would that have happened if we hadn’t watched that movie? Would my friend and I have just spent most of the night talking about governmental elections and politics if we hadn’t been watching The Amazing Mrs. Prichard on BBC? The idea of having a government representative who truly spoke and ran the country by what the people they represented believed was best fascinated us. We imagined what the possibility of it truly working would be and debated on if it would truly change how things are run.
Did you think about global warming seriously for the first time after watching An Inconvenient Truth? Did you wonder about the paintings in the Louvre and the Knights Templar after watching The Di Vinci Code? Did the movie We are Marshal make you cheer for the little guy or Crash cause you to consider your place in society? Be it good or bad, the things that cause the most debates and discussion are coming to us from Hollywood.
Are movies inspiring change? That remains to be seen, but like Albert Einstein once said so brilliantly; “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Movies are today’s forum for our imaginations. I believe in imagination and that it can truly change everything. So, I believe in movies.