#UsBlogs Weekly Article Series. Week 4 Theme in honor of the 83rd Academy Awards is What We Learn from the Movies.
Middler year in college, I took my first screenwriting workshop. My professor said early in the course that people go to the movies for two reasons:
I had not till then considered the validity of the second reason. Entertainment factor had been my sole criteria when judging the worth of a movie. I had absorbed the "TV Rots Your Brain" attitude and had tried to believe that if you really wanted to learn something you had to go to books, go to class or pay attention in real life to what was going on. That movies were mind candy, for relaxation, for a laugh or a cry. A mindless activity.
But I've since turned this position over in my mind, have changed my thinking and attitude. For I was not being very truthful with myself. To believe a significant amount of learning does not take place when watching a movie is self-deception that precludes a great opportunity for personal growth. Learning is in fact a value that folks maintain in their movie-going, consciously or subconsciously.
Middler year in college, I took my first screenwriting workshop. My professor said early in the course that people go to the movies for two reasons:
- To be entertained
- To learn something
But I've since turned this position over in my mind, have changed my thinking and attitude. For I was not being very truthful with myself. To believe a significant amount of learning does not take place when watching a movie is self-deception that precludes a great opportunity for personal growth. Learning is in fact a value that folks maintain in their movie-going, consciously or subconsciously.
