How Movies Can Inspire the Type of Life and Legacy We Want to Live and Leave Behind
Movies are a huge part of our society. How many times have you come home after a long day at work, to be able to relax while watching your favorite movie? Movies can be comforting, entertaining, and can even teach us about the life we want to live with our loved ones, and the legacy we wish to leave behind.
Take, 'The Bucket List,' for example. Edward (played by actor Jack Nicholson) and Carter (played by actor Morgan Freeman), are two terminally ill patients who meet during their treatments. They both realize that although they are dying and their time is running out, that there is still some more life they would like to live. They start embarking on a journey with the little time they have left to check off things on their bucket list they have always wanted to do before they die. The movie makes you think about your own personal bucket list, about living the life you truly want to live with the given time you have left, and what you want your loved ones to remember you by after you're gone someday.
In the movie, 'Stepmom,' Jackie Harrison (played by actress Susan Sarandon), discovers she's terminally ill. She shares two children with her ex- husband Luke Harrison (played by actor Ed Harris). Luke is about to marry his new lover, Isabel Kelly (played by actress Julia Robert), which means she will become the children's new stepmother after Jackie dies. Jackie struggles with the fact that some other woman will get to mother her own children instead of her. She resists at first, but by the end of the movie she tries to help the incoming stepmother get to know her kids so they can have a better transition after her death. Jackie also tries to make as many memories as she still can with her children before she dies. The movie reminds us how precious time truly is with our loved ones and that we should never take a single moment for granted-- for in the blink of an eye everything can change.
In the movie, 'P.S. I Love You,' Holly (played by actress Hilary Swank), and Gerry (played by actor Gerard Butler) are a young married couple just starting to find their stride. Sadly, Gerry passes away leaving the now widowed Holly grieving Gerry and the time they didn't get to be with each other. Knowing his wife well, before Gerry died, he left ten messages behind that he recruited family members to give to Holly after his death to help her move forward with her life without him. The movie reminds us to enjoy every second with our loved ones, and to make the most out of our time and memories with one another, and the importance of after-- life after the death and separation from our loved ones and what is left behind to provide comfort and connection.
In the movie, 'It's A Wonderful Life,' Peter Bailey (played by actor Samuel S. Hinds), has worked hard his whole life to help not only his family, but to help his community not get stuck in old man Potter's (played by actor Lionel Barrymore) greedy grasp of paying high prices to live in his rent traps. There's an important father and son conversation about leaving legacies behind that Peter and his son George (played by actor James Stewart) have right before Peter sadly dies. George was young and wanted to go pursue his dreams, while Peter wanted George to continue his life's work instead. Ironically after Peter's death, something inside of George wanted to keep his father's memory alive and he instead decided to continue his father's work-- his father's legacy, and sacrificed pursuing his own personal dreams in order to continue helping families in their community. The movie reminds us that any conversation could be our last conversation we ever have with our loved ones, and the importance of what we leave behind.
These are just some of the many movies out there that can inspire and influence not only how we choose to live our life, but the importance of what we are wanting to leave behind as well for our loved ones. Life and Legacy are what Reflekta is all about.
