Do Movies Matter?

As an aspiring filmmaker, one comes upon this question at least once in his path towards a life making movies, and I would guess most ponder it a lot more than that.  In my case, the thought comes up every day and when it does, I have to say, it's not always pretty.  It is akin to the question Hamlet asks himself, "To be or not to be?" a rather existential crisis of a thought bound to haunt and follow you around as you bushwhack your way through the forest.  "What is the meaning of this path?  Will it bring me happiness?  Fulfillment?  Will it help anyone?  ...help make this world better?"

I suppose that is always the end of the inner-monologue.  Will it help the world?  For that is the ultimate goal in life, is it not?  To give more than one takes.  To help turn the tide of greed and anger into charity and understanding.  To plant a tree, not cut one down.

It would seem that making movies would not be the first way to go about helping the world.  One could become an ecological activist, or a scientist who worked on finding new ways to move away from our tremendous consumption of natural resources and disposal of non-biodegradable trash into landfills.  One could become a doctor, even, or an epidemiologist who educates third world countries' inhabitants about the dangers of disease and the importance of precautionary measures.  One could become a lawyer and fight for the small farmer against the giant corporation that threatens to drive them off their land.  One could be an urban planner, working for better living conditions for the poor.  One could be.... anything. 

Truly, as someone who came from the middle class, who was given a good education and was raised to be responsible and hard-working, I could probably do any of the above things if I set my mind to it (not to diminish the difficulty of becoming a lawyer or doctor or epidemiologist).  I've been very fortunate in this life, been very privileged to have the freedom to choose a path of my liking.  To pursue happiness.

And that was always the question I asked myself in the past: "What makes me happy?"  And the answer that always followed, was inevitably, "movies."  For some reason, I was afflicted with a very real obsession, this love of movies.  And so it followed, that if I loved movies, I would undoubtedly love making them.  I started making films in middle school and haven't stopped since.

But in the last few years, something has changed.  I go see fewer and fewer movies and I'm less inclined to make them.  And I can't help thinking that perhaps it's related to this question, this moral quandary: do movies matter?

Now, I know some will say that they do and not think twice about it.  Movies, art, music, they give us something we don't get from the real world.  Some spiritual catharsis, some ineffable feeling we can't explain with words.  What is this feeling?  Some brief glimpse into another plane.  Some small connection with one another.  A feeling of togetherness. 

But aren't there enough movies?  I mean, there are so many movies.  And so much music.  It's flooded our lives and now, with dvds and netflix, there's practically no reason to go to the theatre to see a movie.  There's almost no reason to go sit in the dark with strangers and be hypnotized, caught in a spell together, feeling connected.  So now what is the point of movies?  They are just entertainment.  Consumption for the masses.  An excuse not to read or go outside or talk to other people or see a play.  When you take the group experience out of movies, you remove their possibility for bringing strangers together.

And what do most people watch?  Well, it's not The Tree of Life, I can tell you that.  So, if few see the best, most poetic movies out there... and fewer see them in theatres (Cinema's Church), and the market is oversaturated with films, then the allure of filmmaking loses a bit of its luster.  Not to mention my own self-doubts as an artist and the extreme competitiveness of the industry.

Therefore, this question, "does it help the world?" turns out to be a lot more complicated than at first glance.  But whenever I get down, I always think of a quote in this little book called The Meaning of Life.  It's just a small book with pictures of animals and little insights into the human condition beneath each picture.  But, it's a great book and very inspiring.

"But best of all, by doing the things that make your whiskers curl up with delight (assuming, of course, that you actually have whiskers), you will inspire someone else to go after their dreams and that, my friend, is how you change the world!"

Perhaps there is something to be said for inspiring someone else, even if they are alone, within the comfort of their own living room.

Still, I can't shake the notion that far too many of us who could be doing something really important are instead following our dreams of making music or art or movies and missing out on other opportunities that could be just as fulfilling.  It's hard to know.  The choice to follow an artist's path is never an easy one, but as a friend once told me, "For most of us, I don't think it ever felt like there was much of a choice."