Films As An Art Form: Their Power to Enlighten And Educate

You’ll either relate to this post or you won’t. And if you don’t, that’s okay. Maybe you’ll learn something new, see a new perspective, and maybe you won’t. That’s okay, too. I’m writing this because it’s what’s on my mind, as per usual, but also because it’s something near and dear to my heart. I love to read. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to read. What they don’t always know is my favorite genre or why I like to read the books I do. I’m the girl obsessed with fiction, and  I’m obsessed for the same reason I love movies. . .which is my real focus of this blog post. I love a good story—one that comforts you, speaks words into your soul, makes you feel less alone, shares its love with you. A story that makes you feel something because, at the end of the day, that’s what art does. It makes you feel. Good or bad. Big or small. You always feel what you’re meant to, and there’s some sort of beauty in that. I guess that’s why I was so overwhelmed tonight. I saw the new film, Five Feet Apart, with Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse, and my heart ached with the woes and trials of their characters. I empathized with their longing for love and mourned over their deep want for the touch of the other. I also felt the blissful joy of their romance—two people falling in love with each other. We, who have experienced real love, know that overwhelming, wonderful, intense sensation of becoming attached to another being, another soul. Love is all very worth while, but what would you do if you couldn’t touch the one you loved? If their touch was what could possibly lead to your death? That’s hard to think about and hard to imagine, but part of me tries to do so in order to remember how lucky I am. You see, this movie was sad and wonderful all at the same time. Two aspects I’m quite a fan of in stories because I guess, to me, life is a bit sad and wonderful. It’s hard and ugly and sometimes lonely and confusing, but it’s also a special gift filled with laughter, joy, and love. For every bad day, there is always a good one to come. For every hard moment, there is an easier, much simpler one. And believe me, I’ve experienced my own share of sad and wonderful—both old and present friends of mine. So where am I going with this post? I believe today’s generation forgets to dig deeper into the art presented in front of them, whether it’s a painting, a book, or a movie. Movies are often forgotten as an art form. People say, “I liked it,” “it was good,” or “it sucked.” But why? Why did you like it? What was good about it? What made it so terrible? Those are the questions I’m curious about as well as this: What can I learn from this story? How do I relate? Empathize? What is the true meaning/message? Why does this story even matter? These questions are important. They help us understand different perspectives, different lifestyles, as well as our present era (or the era in which the film was made). This can be comforting, enlightening, and exciting. Movies—good stories in general—have the potential to help us feel less alone and give us answers we’ve been searching for (or possibly never even knew we needed). I want to encourage you with this, don’t forget to appreciate art forms. Don’t forget to feel. To experience. To really be there. Let it move you. Let it excite you. Let it cause you to cry. . .or laugh. . .or just engage. Art forms have the power to teach us things we never knew about ourselves and our worlds, and this can be an eye-opening experience. Tonight, an art form did make me laugh. . .and cry. It made me thankful. It made me question things—even politically, such as are these characters with Cystic Fibrosis being portrayed properly? That’s okay. It’s good, even. This is how we grow and evolve, how we keep moving forward. Never stop doing so.