Or is it?....
a response to Dre's "A good movie is hard to find" -posted on 03.05.06
"I remember my first movie."
I was interviewing a woman who had recently celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary.
"We drove up to Little Rock, Arkansas. That was the closest theater, you know. They were playing Gone with the Wind."
As I listened to her describe the experience of her inaugural visit to the silver screen, I couldn't help but get wrapped up in her seemingly vivid memories. She didn't speak of the lessons she had learned or the history of the United States. She enthusiastically painted a picture for me of what it was like to see actual events that weren't actually "actual events". I think these days we call that visual effects.
I remember my first movie.
My family and I drove all of 2 miles to the theater on main street to see Song of the South. I have no clue what that movie is about. I don't think that I have seen it since then. I remember a rabbit and a little guy covered in tar and an old man whistling zippedee-doo-da. Granted I was young- young, but impressed. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where that world was...the one with cartoon animals. I wanted to go there -wherever it was. The one thing that I remember vividly about the movie...visual effects.
Please let me paint for you a fable of sorts so that you will see how this fits with my opinion.
One day a man entered into a small village. Inside the village he saw a wee little man, slouched over and hard of seeing. He was holding a chisle and in front of him stood a sculpture. A strange sculpture, not square like other sculptures that that the visitor had seen in the past. It was smooth with no lines.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it," the visitor asked with hesitation hoping he would not startle the wee little man.
"I call it The Wheel."
The wee little man touched it slightly letting the visitor know that it was his proudest work.
"I see."
After staring for a good ten minutes the visitor walked past. Still amazed at what he had just seen, the visitor glances back over his shoulder for one last look. The wee little man, tired from his day starts to head home. Curious as to how the wee little man will carry his magnificent sculpture, the visitor stops and stares.
"I will go and help him," the visitor decides. But just before he turns around to head back, he sees what could be described as none other than a miracle. The sculpture was moving with only the slightest help from the wee little man. He didn't need any help at all. "Do you know what you've done!!" The visitor yells out to the wee little man, running to his side.
You see, the visitor was the head ironsmith in the town to the east. Everyday he made rods and sold them to the gate salesman on the other end of town. After a long day of welding he would pack up the large pile of rods and throw them over his shoulder for the long trek across town.
"How long will it take you to make another?" The excited ironsmith blurted out.
"Well....two days, I suppose, if I work hard."
Two days passed and the ironsmith set out on his journey with four rods he had made to fit the wheels.
On his way back home, everyone stared.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it?" the stable keeper asked.
"I call it the Wheelbarrow," the ironsmith said touching it slightly, letting the stable keeper know that it was his proudest work.
Here's the point... The Wheel is a sculpture to the man who made it, but the ironsmith saw something amazing that could be done with it. And who knows...the stable keeper could have something in store.
When I was a child I enjoyed movies for their entertainment qualities...which is a good thing. I still enjoy some movies for their entertainment qualities. The same as when the chariot is built by the stable keeper the people will still have a use for the wheel barrow. But, I think that if we stay stagnant (only view movies for their entertainment qualities) we will never get the chariot (The movies that can be used for a greater good like making people think about whether or not they are racist).
-shonnie
"I remember my first movie."
I was interviewing a woman who had recently celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary.
"We drove up to Little Rock, Arkansas. That was the closest theater, you know. They were playing Gone with the Wind."
As I listened to her describe the experience of her inaugural visit to the silver screen, I couldn't help but get wrapped up in her seemingly vivid memories. She didn't speak of the lessons she had learned or the history of the United States. She enthusiastically painted a picture for me of what it was like to see actual events that weren't actually "actual events". I think these days we call that visual effects.
I remember my first movie.
My family and I drove all of 2 miles to the theater on main street to see Song of the South. I have no clue what that movie is about. I don't think that I have seen it since then. I remember a rabbit and a little guy covered in tar and an old man whistling zippedee-doo-da. Granted I was young- young, but impressed. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where that world was...the one with cartoon animals. I wanted to go there -wherever it was. The one thing that I remember vividly about the movie...visual effects.
Please let me paint for you a fable of sorts so that you will see how this fits with my opinion.
One day a man entered into a small village. Inside the village he saw a wee little man, slouched over and hard of seeing. He was holding a chisle and in front of him stood a sculpture. A strange sculpture, not square like other sculptures that that the visitor had seen in the past. It was smooth with no lines.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it," the visitor asked with hesitation hoping he would not startle the wee little man.
"I call it The Wheel."
The wee little man touched it slightly letting the visitor know that it was his proudest work.
"I see."
After staring for a good ten minutes the visitor walked past. Still amazed at what he had just seen, the visitor glances back over his shoulder for one last look. The wee little man, tired from his day starts to head home. Curious as to how the wee little man will carry his magnificent sculpture, the visitor stops and stares.
"I will go and help him," the visitor decides. But just before he turns around to head back, he sees what could be described as none other than a miracle. The sculpture was moving with only the slightest help from the wee little man. He didn't need any help at all. "Do you know what you've done!!" The visitor yells out to the wee little man, running to his side.
You see, the visitor was the head ironsmith in the town to the east. Everyday he made rods and sold them to the gate salesman on the other end of town. After a long day of welding he would pack up the large pile of rods and throw them over his shoulder for the long trek across town.
"How long will it take you to make another?" The excited ironsmith blurted out.
"Well....two days, I suppose, if I work hard."
Two days passed and the ironsmith set out on his journey with four rods he had made to fit the wheels.
On his way back home, everyone stared.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it?" the stable keeper asked.
"I call it the Wheelbarrow," the ironsmith said touching it slightly, letting the stable keeper know that it was his proudest work.
Here's the point... The Wheel is a sculpture to the man who made it, but the ironsmith saw something amazing that could be done with it. And who knows...the stable keeper could have something in store.
When I was a child I enjoyed movies for their entertainment qualities...which is a good thing. I still enjoy some movies for their entertainment qualities. The same as when the chariot is built by the stable keeper the people will still have a use for the wheel barrow. But, I think that if we stay stagnant (only view movies for their entertainment qualities) we will never get the chariot (The movies that can be used for a greater good like making people think about whether or not they are racist).
-shonnie
posted by Shonnie Lewis Streder | 3:02 PM
2 Comments:
I really enjoyed your fable! Very nice post, shonnie.
I also enjoyed your fable... it was nice.
I hope you don't think that I was saying that I will only watch a movie that was entertaining. I was saying that a movie that is BOTH entertaning and "educational" is most affective for me... (I found Crash to be both) that's it...
dre :)
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