Rated R

I got into an argument with my mother last week over the content of the movies that I watch. She told me that I should pay more attention to what I am subjecting myself to, and pick the movies I watch with extreme discretion.

Her comments bugged me a bit...well, they must of bugged me because otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it.

I mean, I know that on one hand, although I am a fully responsible young-adult with the power to choose what I fill my mind with, she is still my mother, and likes to have a say in my life. Unfortunately, on the other hand, she doesn't seem totally open to hearing my arguments.

My first argument is this:
I am a film student. I will graduate in two years and be subjected to working in an industry where I don't get a say in things. The film industry, like the music industry, is a very secular one, and that is something that at this stage in the game, I have no say over. I mean, if I get a job PA-ing on a set, I can't likely go up to the director and go, "Hey, you know, I don't like the language that the main character is using, and the sexual reference is a bit vulgar...I think you should cut them from the movie." I would find myself out of work on that set, and likely on other sets too (as directors talk about their crew, and who is good, and who shouldn't be working in the industry.) My unwillingness to simply put up with the decisions of the director could lead to me never working in the film industry again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to purposely do something that I'm against (ie: pornographic work...as far as I'm concerned that cannot even be viewed as legitimate filmmaking), but I can't expect to do what I want to do until I've paid my dues...big time.

My second argument is this:
Take a look at some of my favourite movies:

Fight Club. The Notebook. Clerks. Old School. Reservoir Dogs. Sin City. O Brother Where Art Thou. Kill Bill. Star Wars. Dogma. Ghost World. Crash.

The list could go on and on forever. I love movies. I have dedicated my life to movies. And other than the filmmakers who physically create the movie, what makes the movie?

The characters! Each character is unique and amazing and brilliant in their own separate ways. And for a few hours, whenever I want to, I can escape my reality and enjoy theirs.

In Fight Club I get to experience the life of a disillusioned man who turns to violence to rid himself of the stresses of everyday life. In Clerks I get to relive the 3 years of my life I spent in retail, but this time I can sit back and laugh and enjoy seeing how Dante and Randal mess up over and over and over again. In The Notebook I get to fall in love with Ryan Gosling and witness the undying passion between two young lovers. In Old School I enjoy the hilarious antics of Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell. In Reservoir Dogs I'm caught up in the crossfire in a heist gone wrong. In Sin City I've travelled to a city unparalled to any one I've ever travelled to before. I am a stranger and I and scared, but excited for the adventures that lay ahead. In O Brother Where Art Thou I travel to the 1930's and follow a man and his desire to be with his family, no matter who and what he has to manipulate to get there. With Kill Bill I get to follow a woman filled with rage, and a thirst for revenge. When I watch Star Wars, I am transported to 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...' for a couple hours. I do all this while watching Harrison Ford and that sexy smirk he has. In Dogma I get to experience Catholicism from the view of one man, who wrote this movie to question religion, and, in general, why we exist. In Ghost World I learn that there are other people out there who feel confused, and lost, and who say they wish to be ignored, but are longing desperately for the touch and the love from another human just like them. Finally, in Crash I see a side of racism I've never experience, having lived a sheltered and secure life.

Some of these characters lie. Some of them murder. Some of them swear, steal, and speak solely using sexual innuendo.

They are all different, and carefully crafted, and I get to live their lives, if only for a few minutes.

I think what my mom needs to remember is that I am not these characters. I, for the most part, do not share the same characteristics because they are not me. I am my own separate person with my own ideas and values that I am true to. A movie with murder does not make me want to go out and kill someone. A character stealing does not make me want to go out and take whatever I want. They simply provide an escape from the monotony of my everyday life.

So I will continue to watch the movies I want, and enrich my mind with with views and ideals of people that I haven't met yet, but am very much looking forward to getting to know.

The comment board is, as always, open for arguments.

On a completely different note, I want everyone to learn a lesson from a mistake I made last night.

Super Strength Tylenol with Caffeine = good for pain, bad for taking right before bed. It's even worse when you take it with iced tea right before bed. It usually ends up that you can't fall asleep until until 5 in the morning.

Thank you.

UPDATE: I just wanted to clarify my Tylenol comment...the Super Strength (or Ultra Strength, or whatever they want to call it) has caffeine built into the pill and I drank iced tea on top of that, so I was pretty jumpy while I was trying to sleep. So learn from me and just don't.