Favorite Films

Some of my favorite movies as of right now are: Into the Wild, Fight Club, The Fountain and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So the question to answer now is, what do they say about me? Well I guess the best way to go about answering that is to figure out what it is about the movies that make me love them so much. Then from there we can look at what symbols and pop culture myths can be found in the films.

The first of the films, and also the one seen most recently, is Into the Wild. I just watched the movie for the first time last week and have yet to read the book. The film immediately caught my eye. I think it was the whole search extreme solitude and the urge to do something that everyone else doubts is what I am a fan of. I also liked the message sent about living without frivolous items and unneeded possessions. This is part of the reason Fight Club also makes my list.

Along with the idea of or possessions one day consuming us, Fight Club lets viewers see that sometimes you must feel pain to really feel and appreciate your other emotions. The message that you are your own worst enemy could seem scary to some, but empowering to others, and all the countless other ideas that the film proposes. Many different people can see all of these in different ways. This is one of the great appeals of the film.

The Fountain appeals to the thought of immortality, but makes it seem like a horrible experience. Living with the grief of loosing someone is hard, but the thought of living with that for the rest of time is an emotion that no man can imagine. Loosing somebody is also the idea behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Except here it focus on the cultural myth of moving quickly to another to forget someone in your past.

As for what these films say about me, I think they say a lot. I am surrounded by common possessions that I feel as if I don’t necessarily need out of necessity, but for cultural acceptance. Knowing this, I have always had the urge to get away from everything and really simplify my life, whether for a day or a decade. I also see that we have a lot of losses in life, both physical and emotional. The important part is finding a way to make it through the losses, and to not let them bother you forever.