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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?

#181

Post by xtiansimon »

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…

Solaris (2002), Soderbergh's love story in space, is one of my favs. (I watched the Russian adaption and didn't have the same reactions) The plot of human inner life juxtaposed with non-Terran nature flips the script for antagonist--the enemy is within us and humans did not evolve to be in space. Cliff Martinez's soundtrack is, for me, right up there with Vangelis or Tangerine Dream.

There are a number of movie directors who really deliver a cinematic experience and mess with your head: David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, to name a few contemporaries. I return to a handful of their films again and again. Many very re-watchable.

I think it's worth adding here a few playwrights who have made films scripts: Stephen Poliakoff and David Mamet.

I want to shout out to a classic director: Michelangelo Antonioni. He flipped my lid. He really captures something for me with his cinematography and the quiet emotional tension he gets from his actors. Blow Up (1966), LaAvventura (1960) are my favs.

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

#182

Post by 082349872349872 »

6510 wrote: post #127

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…

not cinematography, but "Luckenbach, TX" points at shifting out of "Life in the Fast Lane": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNm0FwYtopg

(come to think of it, wasn't that the plot of 1999's "Office Space"?)

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

#183

Post by aristofun »

kwoff wrote: post #140
aristofun wrote: post #77

Once you’re familiar with bible, aristotle, platoe snd few other foundational sources - no movie or book can really change your perception. Whatever you see - It’s all been described many times.

I'm not sure I agree that nothing can change your perception, but I'm definitely interested to hear what you consider a "few other foundational sources". Shakespeare? Einstein? Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

It depends.

Some argue that Shakespeare didn't invent any new plot or narrative structures.

Others argue that all western philosophical work on ethics after greeks is in its essence just commentary to the new testament.

From my perspective not much new was said about ontology, monotheism and logic of truth after https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmenides

I am no expert but just by extrapolation - if i see a new idea, chances are it is new only from my not educated enough perspective.

This is not about science, I imply the discussion is about fiction, stories and philosophy.

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

#184

Post by jjice »

lawgimenez wrote: post #113

Good Will Hunting I grew up in a rough neighborhood, in high school my view was limited and I thought there is no going out of trouble, being a black sheep of the family, etc. I saw that movie, and I felt hope for the first time and started making changes for myself.

That's such a fantastic movie. Of course Will is a special case and is a gifted person, but the line at the bar early in the movie:

> You wasted $150,000 on an education you could've got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.

Is just fantastic. A public library isn't a complete replacement for a college education, but in terms of knowledge gained, books are the _core_ of learning. Most of the learning I did in college came from reading a text book, or the instructor going over information in the text book. Assignments are important to help apply ideas, but many books have problem sets too.

Books (and other resources like video these days) are such an incredibly valuable resource and we've done a great job at making them available via libraries (of course there are the issues we hear about with publishers trying to fight against libraries, but in general, libraries are still fantastic). Reading has been a key to my educating myself post university. The only thing more valuable that I've found is real world experience.

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

#185

Post by hombre_fatal »

koziserek wrote: post #170

Earthlings (2005) as we are born into a civilisation taking for granted that exploitation of other live beings is something natural and ethically acceptable / neutral. Unfortunately, our lifestyle decisions tend to support a machninery of suffering only comparable to nazi concentration camps. oh, and speaking of, if you lived far enough (temporarily / culturally / geographically) it's good to recall once in a while w…

Finally sitting through a quarter of the movie Dominion at age 30 is what helped me confront the blind eye I was turning towards animals and take action.

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

#186

Post by JohnMakin »

qup wrote: post #148
JohnMakin wrote: post #41

Don’t ask me why, but the couple of scenes with the Jurassic Park sys admin stuff made me want to get into computers.

did you get into unix?

I didn't really know what that was until college. I had a 1984 IBM I took apart and put back together a few times.

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

#187

Post by jasonm23 »

aristofun wrote: post #77

Once you’re familiar with bible, aristotle, platoe snd few other foundational sources - no movie or book can really change your perception. Whatever you see - It’s all been described many times.

Oof, looks like you're going for the "I'm already so enlightened" prize.

Keep it up.

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

#189

Post by rmwaite »

neom wrote: post #111

American History X was pretty jarring for me. Fight Club too. More subtly: Primer, Upstream Color, White Oleander, The Virgin Suicides - those 4 films gave me a lot to think about as a young man.

American History X for me too. I watched it as a child and the message was /so/ clear me. I don’t think any other media has had such an immediate and profound impact on my stance on something.

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

#190

Post by willsmith72 »

screye wrote: post #142
willsmith72 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> offering support in a manner that only a fellow man can I guess I get the idea, but in what ways can only a fellow man provide support?

I knew this line would get scrutinized. My bad, I didn't phrase it well. It's the difference between letting grief out and letting grief in. I owe many women close to me, who've helped me process complex emotions. But they've primarily focused on helping let emotions out. I suspect women don't struggle with letting grief in as often. It is more common for this to be a male experience. Helping a man feel safe enough t…

makes sense, i figured something like that but thanks for clarifying
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