Let's go to the movies!

I decided to do something a little different tonight, I have been talking about books quite a bit but maybe it's time to talk about some of my favorite movies, as well as some that I've seen recently.

For example, tonight I was watching "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" starring Dustin Hoffman.  You may remember him from the movie "Tootsie," and he also did "Rain Man."  The movie was about a toy store that was alive, for lack of a better description.  Mr. Magorium felt the time had come for him to move on, or die to put it bluntly, and he asked his store manager to take the store and keep it going.  Even though he had faith in her, she didn't feel she had the magic to keep it going.  I won't tell you how it ends.  Anyway, when he died, everything in the store lost its life and became dull and black.  It was like the scene in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."  The one where the dementors come and suck all the life and joy out of people.  Anyway, the moral of the movie was that there is magic in the world, all it takes is a spark to keep it alive.

And I saw "All About Steve," which I've already talked about in another post.  It's message was to be the person you are, there's somebody out there for you who will appreciate you the way you are.

And there are many others that have given me something to think about.  Like Patrick Swayze in "Road House," when he's giving his new staff instructions.  "Be Nice."  Even if you think someone's a jerk, "Be Nice."  If someone insults you, "Be Nice."  Until the time comes to not "Be Nice."  Nice guys finish last - I believe that, actually, I'm proof  of that.  I won't go into detail, but maybe it is time for me to expand my thinking.  I've always tried to keep things in perspective, black and white, etc.  And I've realized there is a gray area between the black and white.  Maybe it's time for me to widen the gray area.

I've learned a lot from books and a lot from movies.  Even movies that are meant just for entertainment can have a message for us.  What I've learned is to look for a message in many places, even the unexpected places we find ourselves.  It may not be recognizable as a message, and we may not even realize we've seen it until much later, but there is a great deal of meaning in life and sooner or later we will understand.