You need to watch good movies

So begins the season of summer blockbusters.
You’ll have a new group of sequels and star-studded flicks to watch as you sell your kidney to pay for popcorn.
And I hope you consider not seeing any of them.
Summer flicks are fun.
They’re big, exciting and appeal to everyone.
Unfortunately, they’re not enough.
Some might say the movie industry no longer cares for interesting, independent movies.
Instead, it makes multimillion dollar franchises, rehashing the same plot lines so the industry can profit every year.
By watching these summer blockbusters, you’re endorsing this behavior and essentially paying for the demise of the original movie.
Is anyone really going to get anything more out of a fourth “Transformers” movie?
This isn’t the issue.
The problem is not one of the external market, but of the internal psyche.
The real reason to avoid blockbusters is that you owe it to yourself to watch the movies that are significant.
Art is a medium meant to convey the essential human experience.
It displays universal themes and presents them to its viewers.
A look at Shakespeare or Dickens shows that people have been grappling with the same struggles for centuries.
Mankind has always faced financial troubles, questions of identity and unrequited love.
The best art conveys these universal truths and resonates in a lasting way with people.
Any form of art can do this — from novels to music albums to movies.
As a person, you are constantly growing.
New experiences and ideas are shaping you.
It is important to reflect on these experiences and emotions.
It allows greater understanding of who you are, who you’d like to be, and how to be that person.
It takes a conscious effort to grow in meaningful ways.
Art conveys universal truths in a way that allows you, while viewing it, to reflect upon your own experiences and maybe gain some insight into yourself.
If you want to understand yourself and shape your own future, you need to be reflecting in these ways.
You need to be looking at meaningful art.
This is why summer blockbusters are a problem.
They are viewed largely for entertainment with little reflective value.
You’re not just wasting money when you go to see them.
You’re wasting time that could be spent watching movies that ask bigger questions.
There is no universal standard for good art because opinions are subjective and personally biased.
There also is no standard for how deep movies are.
If you go in with the right mindset, any movie can make you think about deeper issues.
Still, some movies are made with reflection in mind, and those make the task easier.
You can stack the odds in your favor by watching intriguing films, but ultimately you have to make the choice to consider the themes in any movie.
Watch what you like, but before you do, think about why you like it.
Don’t squander the art you experience.

sckroll@indiana.edu