And... Action!: Why I Love Movies
A transcript to a homemade podcast
Over a year ago, I submitted a short podcast to a podcast competition for The New York Times. I had never produced a podcast before and I had absolutely no idea where to start, but I still wanted to at least try and make one. I'm personally proud of the final product, at least for an amateurly made podcast with royalty-free music. If you want to listen to the full podcast for yourself, click here.
I love movies. For me, they’re more than just a simple form of entertainment. They’re a form of art, a form of expression, a form of storytelling. I love the feeling of sitting down to watch a movie and feeling like I am being transported into another world, into the life of another character, into a place of awe and splendor and excitement. I love feeling like the characters unfolding on the screen are real, even when the movie itself is as fictitious as can be. Most of all, I love feeling what the characters are feeling and what the movie wants me to feel. When the elements of a movie all fit together perfectly-- direction, writing, cinematography, acting, editing, music, emotional impact-- magic is made and the viewer no longer feels like they are sitting in their seat in the cinema or in their recliner chair or in front of their computer. They can feel the action going on all around them and they experience the film like they are living it. That is what filmmaking is to me. To me, a movie shouldn’t be cut slack for being bad because it’s a kids’ movie or a chick flick or a silly movie just meant for entertainment, because incredible movies have been created from all of those genres before. If a movie doesn’t deliver the message that the filmmakers intended to deliver, then the movie has failed. It’s as simple at that to me. If the movie delivers its message well and gets all of the elements I mentioned right, however, it’s an experience like no other I’ve ever experienced before. A YouTube critic named Chris Stuckmann first opened my eyes to the idea of reviewing films critically. After watching Mary Poppins one night-- and The Croods shortly after-- I realized that I could analyze movies through my own perspective using the elements of criticism I saw Chris Stuckmann use. I started analyzing movies on my own because of that, and I realized I didn’t have to be some big-shot critic to review movies as in-depth as the critics on YouTube did. I just had to keep watching movies and analyzing them and enjoying them. Realizing that was huge for me. Now, the simple idea of going into college and studying history and film to go into a career where I can analyze films not just analytically, but also historically, is a huge driving force in my life. Movies can change the lives of those that watch them and inspire people to create their own stories, whether it be their own movies or another form of original work. The impact of some movies lasts for decades, with movies ranging from Casablanca to Back to the Future impacting their audiences just as much now as they did back then. Most importantly, movies demonstrate that any person can have reasonable, human actions for the things they do, even some of the most despicable characters ever created or portrayed. Viewing movies as an art form instead of as a simple form or method of entertainment is incredibly important to me. Who knows what a simple movie can do to change the entire world and the people who live in it? Reporting from Colorado, I’m Jamie Lammers.
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