Life as a Movie

Have you ever wondered what life would look like on an HD movie screen? (Am I the only one who thinks it could be scary to see her face blown up in high-definition?) How it would read in a script and which studio would option it? Who would star in it?

Probably not many of us have had that thought process (my life would be far too boring to make a compelling blockbuster – believe me). Inspiration for writing strikes me sometimes at the oddest moments and when I was humming some random, familiar tunes while going about my day, it struck me again. Grammy-winning songstress Taylor Swift (do I use her material too much… because I am beginning to think I do) wrote a charming little song called “If This was a Movie,” one that I’d not heard until recently. The story is a soapy, teenage romantic ballad about a girl begging the guy who has recently done something to break her heart to “come back.” It is a song filled with longing of two lovers romance being cut short and it climaxes with the idea that if reality were a movie, the two would be running into each other’s arms before the day was out – and preferably just as the sun set along a pristine beach.

It uses fiction as a metaphor for a reality could-have-been.

   

The American mentality is caught somewhere between obsession and enjoyment in going to the movies. (Case in point: the phenomenon and fascination with Twilight – or going back farther and looking at Star Wars, both of which are just two examples of “love affairs” America has had at the box office.) Fortunately, I fall into the latter category. Watching a story come alive on-screen is purely for entertainment purposes and I enjoy it as that. Entertainment is so ingrained in us that I think it does “effect” our mentality on reality. Minus the glitz and glamour, the pretending and pretenders, in a way, we can indeed make our own analogy between the movies and life – minimal as it may be. Only difference is, in our real life, we know we cannot take back something once it is done.

• Forget what pop culture, society and the news media all claim is right – sometimes it feels like we could even do a better job than the government – God is our “director.” He is the One who we want to please. He is the one we should take direction from. He is, at the end of the day who we want to hear say, "well done."
• God has left us the ultimate “script” – the only Word that truly matters. The Bible is the one place that we should always remember to use as our source for this walk here on earth. 

I am not trying to liken cheap Hollywood gimmicks to our spiritual walk with Christ – believe me, I know the two are about as far apart as one could possibly imagine.  Still when we think about it, life can offer us some similarities to life “at the movies.” No, we probably won’t ever run into someone’s arms ready and willing to forget and forgive everything as music swells in the background or dance in the snow as the perfect, pristine white backdrop but there is so much more precious to be found in life’s mysteries than a fleeting moment of romanticism. What we do have to be careful of is the “no re-takes” guideline in reality. We cannot yell “cut!” and simply have a do-over. We do not have that luxury. Instead we have to think before we act. As productive, well-meaning citizens, we should consider what our actions might be saying about us. We must recognize wrong vs. right – know that sometimes, not saying anything is best…or like the film industry, that sometimes being brutally honest with your best friend – even though it might hurt at the time will be what’s right in the long run. God didn’t design the world knowing what it would become (or that is what I believe – but that is for another day and another post…) but He does love each and every one of His children. He wants us to seek answers in what He left behind and find support in His wisdom.

The real difference between our reality and Hollywood’s is that we know that in truth – contrary to what the liberals want so badly to impress upon us, we do desire to live happy, moral lives. Something "life" would have us believe is unobtainable. 

...and "that's a wrap!" on yet another one of my rambling posts. *grin*

Related Post(s):

• At the Movies

Categories: Christian, Culture, Life, Movie, Opinions

Reactions: