12 months ago I flew to New York and watched a couple of fantastic films on the flight. Films that were realistic and meaningful, but most importantly subtly provided opportunities for self-reflection whilst also subtly teaching important lessons. Today I flew to San Francisco and was fortunate to watch another one of those films: Stuck in Love. It's not just a terrifically acted and well written story with wonderful character development, but it is also about writing.
By being about writing, it allows for a few deep phrases here and there, but it also allows for the reflection on the purpose and ability of writing ("a good writer is the sum of their experiences") to add to the actual story. Managing to stay away from being to trite, it of course encourages viewers to consider important lessons; that I feel I've learn over time, but only in the last few years have I found films that I wish I would have watched a decade or more ago. That you don't know what you have until you lose it—so make the most of what you have; that you have to take a chance if you want to get something; and then of course concepts of family and love, though none of which can be adequately explained here.
As Andrea knows, I do like a good film that has meaning, though not one with too much meaning that you need to watch three times to really understand. It's a shame so much of TV and films are only to entertain and not to educate. Though educate is really not the right word. The power of film, or theatre, or music, books and other art forms, can be so strong by stimulating one to ask the right questions, to reflect on one's own life. This is also something I've learned through experience, and not something that was taught at school. I'm not sure what I took away from any of English literature, drama or related lessons, but I don't think it was anything that mattered for my own life, which is a shame.
Or maybe you can only understand certain messages when you can relate to them; when you've had similar experiences? Or do you need to be at an age when you can begin to self-reflect? As I'm a father (and also often a role model to others at work or when I talk at conferences and beyond), something that is always top of mind is how to help others think and learn; when to let them learn themselves, when to ask them questions or when to provide advice. The importance of someone being able to relate to a message is so important for them to understand, yet without ever knowing someone's situation it is hard to know how to make something relate.
A great film can do this: it can somehow relate to many people, though of course not everyone. It's fascinating how many books have come out in the last decade translating science (mostly social psychology) into practical advice. And these books (such as "drive", "the tipping point" etc) are classics; required reading really. They do a great job of relating to real-life situations. It's not easy to relate, but it's crucial. Something we identified 6 years ago in our Education for Sustainable Development program as being important and something that I feel is still lacking in education, in government programs, in managing people, in everything really.
Certainly governments tend to be awful at it—maybe because they have to relate to such diverse populations that they don't relate to anyone.
So that's my takeaway from watching the films that I like: how to make things relate to others if you want to engage, communicate, or influence them?
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