Lights, Camera, Action, And As Many Takes As You Need To Get It Right

Words. We don't always know which ones to use. Nor do we know at which time to use them. In the modern world, words are as important as breathing. They set the tone for most of our lives, culture, successes, and failures. Wouldn't it be nice if we somehow knew which ones to use and when to use them? 

If you've ever been in an argument over something that was said and taken wrong, then you understand how complicated words can become. Not having the correct response to something can cost a person. I took a phone call one day from someone needing advice. I honestly didn't know what to tell them at the point they needed me to say something, anything even. Then the discussion broke down because of how desperately they needed to hear something reaffirming and how unsure I was of what to say. If only there was someone writing me dialogue for me.

One Group Always Knows What To Say

Actors are always able to know what to say and to say it. Wouldn't it be nice if we were as lucky as the characters in the movies and television shows we watch?

How many of you are parents? How many of you have discussed with a teenage or older child as they were suffering a crisis that made them doubt their worth or worthiness? A great example of a father speaking to his son comes from a dialogue in Dune, 2021. 

The new Dune was different, and far better acted than the old one. In one of the more personal scenes between Duke Leto Atreides and his son Paul, Paul asks his father what would happen if he's not ready to lead when called. Duke Atreides's (Oscar Isaac) answer is nothing short of brilliant. If only we could all be so eloquent when our children need us to be.

"Then you'll be the only thing I've ever needed you to be, my son."

 - Oscar Isaac as Duke Atreides, Dune 2021

It would be nice to have someone laboriously go over every line, every utterance, and every syllable you're going to speak before you ever see them. It would keep things so much simpler if we all had that luxury. There are so many things that come at us in a day. How anyone expects us to be prepared to respond to them intelligently is beyond me. 

Professionally, there have been pitfalls to certain phrases that people may not recognize when they first speak them to someone else. In the complexities of communications, it's easy to say the first thing that comes to your mind without thinking about the effect it is going to have on others. 

A boss once told me, "I don't ever want to hear anyone in this room saying they don't care at work." 

I'd said that same phrase a million times as a shift supervisor, and often the phrase was connected to one of my duties or responsibilities. If one of the people I was in charge of scheduling and keeping track of days off asked me to take a day off, I honestly didn't care if they did as long as there were enough staff to cover the days off and they had the time to use. If someone wanted to switch duty assignments with someone else, I didn't care, as long as the job got done and everyone was satisfied. 

Not having someone to script my daily lines left me hampered if I didn't think about what I said or how I said it, and that is a pitfall of not being a fictional character. Hollywood has always been able to come up with uplifting or motivational dialogue to feed its' characters. Even the most overrated characters could have something memorable or brilliant to share with the world thanks to someone else's work on the script. Here are some examples.

Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.

 - The Lion King

While I have seen the Lion King, I'm honestly not a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books, and never have I ever felt compelled to watch The Notebook. However, if this isn't one of the greatest lines leading up to something special, I can't imagine what it was. I bet people borrow from The Notebook when they propose. 

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that's what you've given me. That's what I'd hoped to give you forever.

 - The Notebook

Possibly one of Mel Gibson's most memorable roles is the movie Braveheart and this quote spoke to anyone that understood its' meaning.

Every man dies, not every man lives.

 - Braveheart

Superhero movies are famous for inspirational life advice that goes by right under our noses as we marvel at the comic book legends brought to life on the screen. 

Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.

 - Michael Cain in Batman Begins

The Godfather was a classic and to this day has an amount of wisdom to pass on to anyone willing to listen.

Great men are not born great. They grow great.

 - The Godfather

And then there is my favorite movie advice of all time, starting where I started, as a father is advising his son. These might resonate more with me because I'm a father with a son. I think that the advice and wisdom given in the scene in Dune were great. In this final choice of my seven favorite movie quotes we should all remember, the advice is spot-on in a world like ours.

Life ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward… That's How Winning Is Done!"

 - Sylvester Stallone In Rocky Balboa

Final Thoughts

In the realm of inspirational moments, there have been far too many movies to list every inspiring quote out of Hollywood. I'm sure people have their favorites, but these memorable quotes come to mind when thinking about how nice it would be to always know what to say. In our lives as merely imperfect, flawed creatures, we don't have the options of extra takes, reshoots, or do-overs. At least, not typically. It would be a great gift if we could have a do-over and the opportunity to make something better. But, we live in the real world...

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