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Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

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Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#121

Post by alfor »

BMc2020 wrote: post #86
alfor wrote: post #83

Not a movie but the biblical lectures of Jordan Peterson. Made me start to understand the bible and christianity from a scientific perspective. From there reading the bible understanding more about the roots of our culture and seing the constant propaganda against it in the media, the movies, etc. It's been eye opening. Then you can read Atlass shrugged and live not by lies. I used to be very progressive, left leanin…

I thing you'll like 'A Brief Look at Jordan Peterson'. It's on youtube on a channel called 'Some More News'.

It's not very convincing.

JBP is an academic and yes he is a bit hard to understand, that doesn't mean that it's nonsense, just that it will take more time to grasp his positions.

You can start with his university class in psycology: personality and transformation, I think it's the easiest starting point.

Then map of meaning.

I much prefer his lectures, live talks and podcast to the writings that are contrived and a bit overworked to my taste.

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#122

Post by TheFreim »

orev wrote: post #28

(Mild spoilers) Both of these were written stories first, but I first encountered them as movies. Arrival . I really enjoyed the idea that learning something new could lead to other changes in perception that you wouldn’t think are related. It also led me to other works from Ted Chiang, each of which brought unexpected mind bending concepts. Solaris . Teaches the lesson that we need to accept that there may be things…

Arrival was a movie where I didn't enjoy it until the end when everything fell into place and it instantly became a favorite.

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#124

Post by smckk »

helph67 wrote: post #4

"The Man Who Never Was" 1956 British movie made me aware of just one of the MANY ways that Allied intelligence during World War 2 was able to fool the Nazis and potentially save many lives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was

Remade as Operation Mincemeat[0]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwkSyrN0mvY

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#126

Post by alfor »

defrost wrote: post #115
lll-o-lll wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that intended as a snide criticism? I see so often an attempt to force “controversial” commentators into answering “yes or no!” as some sort of “gotcha”. Often the argument is that simplistic reduction of a nuanced stance is the actual problem being argued against . I see no issue with refusal to engage in the game as rigged by an opponent.

Nothing snide there at all, he's a straight up mediocre waffling university house chair warmer. After 40 odd years avoiding such time wasters in AU, the UK, the US, Canada, etc. it was kind of odd to see a small part of the zeitgeist latch onto and elevate him.

Either he has something interesting to say but it take some effort to understand or you are right.

Choose your adventure

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#127

Post by 6510 »

The man in the white suit 1951

I have some routine (not sure what to call it) where I take a context (by lack of better words) then work backwards.

This topic had me wonder what great lessons or insights in (my) life have not at all been captured by any movie. What followed was like an eruption of great movie ideas. What each movie really needs is at least one amazing plot twist. Nothing really accomplishes that the way changing the viewers perception of life does.

Ill do a crude example but it probably doesn't do justice to the raw idea.

I discover one day that you can always increase your spending to match your income and at the end of your money have a chunk of month left.

I discover that selling your brain in a job leaves your free time without one.

I also discover one day that physical activity is not optional.

I talk with a very successful business man who one day discovered that his chair in front of the TV is only a few meters away from his car and that his personal parking spot is only a few meters from his personal office. After some 30 years he had to walk 150ish meters to the other end of the building and was absolutely exhausted. Only then he realized he didn't get any physical activity at all.

One could forge a plot from that where the protagonist progresses from wealth, a highly successful career, weak and depressed all the way to a shit physical job with crappy pay. The villa, the cars, the credit card wife, the fake friends, it all has to go. Why internet if one can read books. Why drive if one can walk in the rain?

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#128

Post by kromem »

The Matrix.

While as a kid I would say that I wanted to be downloaded into a video game when I died, the idea that was already the case never even entered my mind.

Even after watching the movie, I was just like "oh man, that's such a neat idea" but still didn't think it was actually the case.

It wasn't until years later reading Nick Bostrom's work that I started to seriously entertain it, and only then as I considered it more seriously (and as things progressed in parallel) that it became a predominant belief.

But for a movie to set in motion a complete shift in how one sees the world and their place in it is a pretty remarkable accomplishment, even if it still required a ton of additional pieces thereafter to arrive.

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#129

Post by maxerickson »

tenpies wrote: post #55
orev wrote: post #28

(Mild spoilers) Both of these were written stories first, but I first encountered them as movies. Arrival . I really enjoyed the idea that learning something new could lead to other changes in perception that you wouldn’t think are related. It also led me to other works from Ted Chiang, each of which brought unexpected mind bending concepts. Solaris . Teaches the lesson that we need to accept that there may be things…

Very glad to see someone also mention Arrival . I would strong suggest reading the Ted Chiang short story on which it is based: Stories of your Life . Spoilers ahead: The movie necessarily makes some changes and adds some action through geopolitics, but at its core it remains the story of a mother that knows that her child will die and her marriage will fall apart; yet she still decides to get married and have a chil…

Does she decide to do those things?

I like the story, but I find it profoundly sad that she has to live through her marriage and birth of her child with the knowing of what is coming.

Re: Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

#130

Post by csin »

coolThingsFirst wrote: post #5
lobito14 wrote: post #3

Fight Club and The Matrix, but I only understood the latter several years later.

What did you understand from the matrix?

This one's a deep rabbit hole: https://.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/11vfp8p/npwas_the_matr...

TLDR: The Wachowskis who wrote and directed the film, later became trans. There's a lot of closet trans themes hidden in the film (closet gays/lesbians can relate as well).

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