Author Topic: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.  (Read 44130 times)

Sandy

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 12075
  • "The life we build, we never stop creating.”
    • Sandy's Cinematic Musings
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #150 on: October 23, 2014, 12:50:23 PM »
 :))





In other words, "you got a better idea?" No, I guess I don't. :))

That's one for Deep Thought.


What's a better pursuit than the pursuit of happiness after all?

:)

nothing.

In theory, I think the key to success with getting as close to total satisfaction as possible, lies in focusing on creating that for someone else. I read a cool quote that seems to relate, "Happiness is not easy to find running straight for it. It is usually too elusive, too ephemeral, too subtle... Most times happiness comes to us when we least expect it, when we are busy doing something else. Happiness is a product of some other endeavor." The idea of satisfaction coming from having all of our needs met, rings hollow, but reaching out to others, tends to "plug those holes."

I've derailed your initial point completely! But it's been a nice side track to ponder on.



Quote from: smirnoff
I wonder if it would've made a difference if she was blind, or blindfolded. As it was she would look him in the eye and he would see another conscience evaluating him there. One he didn't trust or wasn't sure would accept him, and so he couldn't get in the mood feeling that process going on. Not that a person who can't see can't judge, but the eyes often betray a person's thoughts in a way the body does not. There's a reason poker players wear sunglasses indoors, or you hear the phrase "look me in the eye". Even with practice it is hard to make the eyes lie. Multiply this by Theodore's insecurity and it's a recipe for failure.

Thinking about it, an element I don't think came up during our discussion was his previous relationship. It's overshadowed by the newness and weirdness of the AI-relationship, but for understanding Theodore I guess it is kind of a critical part of the film. There are multiple, substantial scenes addressing that aspect of his past, and additionally a present day scene where he's coming to terms with that relationship being over for good (signing divorce papers). Anyways, that final encounter with his ex is pretty raw... thoughts she might've buried in the past out of kindness for Theodores feelings finally come out. He comes away reliving all the old fights they had, feeling all the old failures... it really shakes his confidence trying to work out if what he just heard about himself is really true. It's with all those feelings swirling around in his head he gets surprised by this surrogate lover proposal. No wonder it falls apart... he's so exposed after his meeting with his ex he's sure this surrogate lover will see in him what she saw. And she may not be wrong.

The worst timing! Even on a good day, that experiment would take a great deal of mental gymnastics. Thank you for explaining what was going on, so I can understand better. Yeah, eyes are way too revealing. I would think intimacy is created through the eyes, so that blindfold idea is a must--she's completely in the way.  I have to say, having this conversation, strikes me as very funny. :))


Quote from: smirnoff
The impulse is to forget a bad memory or some trauma... but if you survived it than perhaps you're the better for it, or gained some critical insight into life. In which case you might throw the baby out with bath water. I think maybe it's better, strange as it sounds, to forget a happy memory. Perhaps the happiest memory you think you're likely to experience again before you die, and where experiencing it for the "first" time would be advantageous.

Ha! Only you would think of this. So great.

Quote
The temptation might be to, say, pick your favourite movie...  "I'd love to see that again for the first time". I wonder if you really would when push came to shove though. I've invested a lot of time in my favourite films, and gained a lot from those investments. Would I really like to erase that and start from scratch for a moment of pleasure? No, I don't think I would. And it's not guaranteed that I would even like the film again coming at it from a different place in my life, without that history with it as a connection.

I agree completely.

Quote
Perhaps best would be to forget something that isn't true. A misconception which leads me to make bad decisions. Of course if I knew what that was I would already have corrected for it.

You'd have to have someone else, who knows, do that for you then. If it were an honest person, they'd delete something where you'd gone wrong, but if it's not, they could remove an aha moment and really mess up your future.

Quote
Something I've observed in trading is that in certain circumstances naivete is advantageous to a person. A lack of fear due to inexperience. If you don't know how hard something can hurt you're not going to be as afraid to do it.  It can result in a larger gamble than a person knows they took and a larger reward because luck was on their side. In trading this, almost inevitably, leads to a spectacular blow-up down the road because the person was lead to believe their theory had turned to fact, and they wagered accordingly at the earliest opportunity.

This is only problematic in certain activities though. For others the earliest opportunity may never come, and the rewards from a one-time gamble more than carry them through their remaining days. Dot-com millionaires for instance.

Or a movie example:

"Billy, no one of our age has ever taken power!"

"Which is why we're too young to realise that certain things are impossible. So we will do them anyway."

Things where the life-cycle of the misconception is longer than the life-cycle of the human who possesses it. Unfortunately in trading the "revelations" are often undone the very next day. :))

I have often been in situations where I've felt the hindrance of caution that comes with experience or education. You occasionally see it in organized fighting: paralysis by analysis. A person processing too much, they don't just throw a punch because they are trying to think ten punches ahead. They end up not doing anything at all but reacting to the other fighter. And typically the guy who isn't dictating the fight, loses the fight.

You see how long this stupid answer is? You think I might be prone to this tendency? :)) I know I can be. I fought Judo as a kid. My technique was textbook, really really strong technically, but when I entered tournaments I lost a lot more than I won, and sometimes to lower level fighters. Why? Because I was always reacting, never acting. I was trying to time the perfect move and my opponent was just doing the first thing came to mind. World class teachers at my dojo, you know what they didn't teach... instincts. Had to figure that one out on my own. 15 years late for my judo career though, lol.

One more point of observation. You'll often see fighters who seem like they are putting on an angry face. In my humble opinion it's because they've discovered they fight better when they're angry. When you're angry you think less. You just act. For fighters prone to overthinking this is a useful way to mitigate the problem.

:))

I've had so much fun reading your thought processes processing! Your brain is the coolest, because you come up with the darndest things! I'm picturing you trying to out think an opponent that has on his angry face and cares less about strategy! Being immobilized by caution and looking at the ramifications is something I understand too well, so your analogy makes perfect sense.

Thanks smirnoff, for the laughs and the deep thinking. :)

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #151 on: October 23, 2014, 01:53:36 PM »


What's a better pursuit than the pursuit of happiness after all?


That's a question I tackle in my full review of The Hours on my movie blog (If you've already read the part I posted on the Respond thread, start after the asterisks.)  http://bloggingmoviesrus.blogspot.com/2014/10/struggling-with-void-hours.html

I swear that this is an honest, thoughtful response to the movie, and not to the question you posed here, smirnoff.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Sandy

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 12075
  • "The life we build, we never stop creating.”
    • Sandy's Cinematic Musings
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #152 on: October 23, 2014, 06:09:28 PM »
That's a beautiful review oldkid. Compassion's not too lofty of a goal! Thanks for your insights. :)

smirnoff

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26251
    • smirnoff's Top 100
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #153 on: October 23, 2014, 06:45:18 PM »
In theory, I think the key to success with getting as close to total satisfaction as possible, lies in focusing on creating that for someone else. I read a cool quote that seems to relate, "Happiness is not easy to find running straight for it. It is usually too elusive, too ephemeral, too subtle... Most times happiness comes to us when we least expect it, when we are busy doing something else. Happiness is a product of some other endeavor." The idea of satisfaction coming from having all of our needs met, rings hollow, but reaching out to others, tends to "plug those holes."

I actually like how you put it better, but it all compliments the broader point your making very nicely. I agree, the idea of total satisfaction in isolation does seem hollow, and it's a notion you hear echoed in different places in different ways. The character's conclusion in Into The Wild that "real happiness is shared" comes to mind. One wonders how to quantify that though... if total satisfaction is a thing, and sharing is a component of that, how large a component is it? Is it the cherry on top, or the filling of the pie?

I wonder if in a future civilization the idea that "Happiness is a product of some other endeavour" might be embraced at a more fundamental level and become "Happiness is a product of endeavours for others". Perhaps to the degree that jobs are no longer performed to provide for oneself, but solely to provide for others. It does seems as though a level of technology will be required sufficient to do all the "dirty jobs" nobody wants to do, and leaves only work that people choose to do. Presumably there will be nobody who chooses to sweep sidewalks over all other activities for instance.

Quote
Quote from: smirnoff
I wonder if it would've made a difference if she was blind, or blindfolded...

The worst timing! Even on a good day, that experiment would take a great deal of mental gymnastics. Thank you for explaining what was going on, so I can understand better. Yeah, eyes are way too revealing. I would think intimacy is created through the eyes, so that blindfold idea is a must--she's completely in the way.  I have to say, having this conversation, strikes me as very funny. :))

Sexual mishap stories are pretty amusing. It's kind of the RISK podcast's bread and butter. :)

Quote
Quote from: smirnoff
Perhaps the happiest memory you think you're likely to experience again before you die, and where experiencing it for the "first" time would be advantageous.

Ha! Only you would think of this. So great.

You asked the question, I just ran it up the flagpole. ;)

Quote
Quote
Perhaps best would be to forget something that isn't true. A misconception which leads me to make bad decisions. Of course if I knew what that was I would already have corrected for it.

You'd have to have someone else, who knows, do that for you then. If it were an honest person, they'd delete something where you'd gone wrong, but if it's not, they could remove an aha moment and really mess up your future.

I really like that as a work-around. What an interesting question. It seems like the kind of hypothetical question you might hear in couples therapy or something. Or maybe not... better a friend than a partner perhaps. Hmm...



What's a better pursuit than the pursuit of happiness after all?
That's a question I tackle in my full review of The Hours on my movie blog (If you've already read the part I posted on the Respond thread, start after the asterisks.)  http://bloggingmoviesrus.blogspot.com/2014/10/struggling-with-void-hours.html

I swear that this is an honest, thoughtful response to the movie, and not to the question you posed here, smirnoff.
Funny how that works eh :)

I tend to agree with your conclusion. That's a good film for think of that kind of thing.

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #154 on: October 23, 2014, 09:19:25 PM »


What's a better pursuit than the pursuit of happiness after all?

In theory, I think the key to success with getting as close to total satisfaction as possible, lies in focusing on creating that for someone else. I read a cool quote that seems to relate, "Happiness is not easy to find running straight for it. It is usually too elusive, too ephemeral, too subtle... Most times happiness comes to us when we least expect it, when we are busy doing something else. Happiness is a product of some other endeavor." The idea of satisfaction coming from having all of our needs met, rings hollow, but reaching out to others, tends to "plug those holes."


I preached a sermon series on how to be happy, and I researched "happiness studies."  There were six  basic conclusions that the studies discovered that are summarized in this meme I created:



In summary, they are:

1. Gratitude
2. Endurance through difficulty
3. Positive connections with others
4. Focus on new experience, not new things
5. Volunteer for those in need.

So happiness and focusing off of one's self are deeply connected in all of us.  Also, the studies show that happiness isn't a response to an instant circumstance, but the development of disciplines that keep us happy.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

smirnoff

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26251
    • smirnoff's Top 100
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #155 on: October 25, 2014, 08:08:11 PM »


What if you had to modify it as a guide for watching films?

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #156 on: October 26, 2014, 03:15:07 PM »
Wonderful idea!  "Guide to happy movie watching!"

1. Be grateful that there is the movie industry for us have movies to appreciate. Yes, they make a lot of mistakes, but they also give us the movies we love and make our lives richer.
2. Always stay with a movie for at least a half hour.  The movie may really improve in the next act, or make it all worthwhile at the end.  Stick with it, if you can.
3. If a movie is poor, consider: how would you change the movie to make it better? For instance, who would you replace Sophia Coppola with in Godfather III? Make it a better movie.
4. Look first for the positive aspects of any movie, even if you will trash it in the end.  A movie is never "a waste of two hours" even if it only there to help you appreciate better movies.
5. Don't just watch movies for "homework" or because you have a list to finish, but because you are looking for the next great movie experience. And take time to re-watch films you love.  Movies are one of the few experiences we can re-live.
6. Share movies with friends, so you can share the experience.  Try to watch movies at the same time with others, so it becomes a shared experience.  Use movies to laugh with friends, be frightened with friends and to cry with friends.  Then the movie isn't just a personal experience, but a point of relationship.

How about that?  What other tips might you guys add?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Sandy

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 12075
  • "The life we build, we never stop creating.”
    • Sandy's Cinematic Musings
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #157 on: October 26, 2014, 11:27:07 PM »
 :D

I'm really struggling with #4, because sometimes I harbor a lot of resentment about the time I've given to certain movies!

#6 is dreamy. How wonderful that would be. Too bad we are all scattered to the four winds.


I actually like how you put it better, but it all compliments the broader point your making very nicely. I agree, the idea of total satisfaction in isolation does seem hollow, and it's a notion you hear echoed in different places in different ways. The character's conclusion in Into The Wild that "real happiness is shared" comes to mind. One wonders how to quantify that though... if total satisfaction is a thing, and sharing is a component of that, how large a component is it? Is it the cherry on top, or the filling of the pie?

I'm leaning towards the filling of the pie. The crust, the foundation, is the needed downtime, so as to have energy to reach out and share. Both are crucial to creating satisfaction. Total satisfaction?  Probably not, but substantial? Yes.

Quote
I wonder if in a future civilization the idea that "Happiness is a product of some other endeavour" might be embraced at a more fundamental level and become "Happiness is a product of endeavours for others". Perhaps to the degree that jobs are no longer performed to provide for oneself, but solely to provide for others. It does seems as though a level of technology will be required sufficient to do all the "dirty jobs" nobody wants to do, and leaves only work that people choose to do. Presumably there will be nobody who chooses to sweep sidewalks over all other activities for instance.

I like your line of thinking. It's beyond my comprehension to be that technologically advanced, but by all means, take some of my chores!

smirnoff

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26251
    • smirnoff's Top 100
Re: SERIOUS COOL....or how I learned to stop worrying and love the movies.
« Reply #158 on: October 29, 2014, 05:06:11 PM »
1. Be grateful that there is the movie industry for us have movies to appreciate. Yes, they make a lot of mistakes, but they also give us the movies we love and make our lives richer.

Ah, this is the trickiest one to convert over isn't it. As Mattie Ross in True Grit puts it: "There is nothing free except the grace of God". And that certainly includes film. We pay for the privilege. There's no "gift" about it. Sometimes we come away from the deal with more than we paid for is all. ;) I dunno, it's complicated. Does a an exchange of goods and services for money preclude giving that kind of thanks?

 

love