This weekend I turned 24, and to celebrate, some friends and I watched John Carpenter’s 1986 classic, Big Trouble in Little China. Out of the five of us watching, only I had seen the movie previously, so I was of course excited to share the experience with others.
Now, I don’t consider myself a movie buff, and there are plenty of movies that I’ve never seen and very well may never see, but I find myself exclaiming, “you’ve never seen ‘insert movie title here’ before?” to my friends and acquaintances more than I would like. There are just some films that, in my opinion, are so important to our immediate culture, that they should be common knowledge.
I perceive films, good films, much the same way that I perceive good literature. There are plenty of books that are so important to our western society, that in order to be considered an intelligent person, you should have at least a rough understanding of them. No one cares if you’ve read and can quote Twilight. But to have read and be able to quote The Great Gatsby shows you are more than the average learned person.
The Bible is a perfect example. It is, undoubtedly, the most widely printed and read book in existence, and although students at ACU should, (hopefully), have more knowledge of it than other students, its cultural importance cannot be overstated. For insight into our society and the roots of modern theology people simply have to read the Bible, (or at least Wiki it).
Many people understand this about literature. However, I feel that many people ignore film. I have decided to help cure this lack of film knowledge where I can, so this weeks movie line-up in my living room includes Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, The NeverEnding Story 1 & 2, and 2006’s fantastic Bond reboot, Casino Royale, to name a few. These are all fantastic films that were once period pieces, and they are good entertainment.
So do yourself a favor and go watch some old good movies. They’re fun, they’re better than most everything in theaters today, and they will make you a better person.
