Choices, death, life, destiny, hate, anger, purpose, living, boldness, regret and do or do not, no try.

February 8, 2011 7:04 PM

Reel Wisdom: Lessons from 40 Films in 7 Minutes SLYT

I made this video because I love films and I think there is great wisdom inherent in the film medium. This video represents some of the best wisdom from films, edited together as a single coherent piece of advice on everything from life, death, and purpose, to anger, regret, and destiny.

In creating this video, I tried to feature a broad array of films, from action/adventure and sci-fi films, to dramas and traditional/CG animated films in order to show how all genres of film have something important to say.

posted by Wanderlust88 (30 comments total)

I love this idea, and do believe that there are Truths to be learned from our media.

But wow, that was a lot of Star Wars. And I mean, I'm one of those who weeps freely during ESB because Yoda seems to be speaking directly to my heart.

I just can't help but think there could have been a lot more wisdom to be drawn from our 100+ years of cinema other than vague Buddhist notions of life coupled with an acknowledgement of mortality and the importance of making calm, considered choices.

Or maybe that's all there is that is true wisdom?
posted by hippybear at 7:29 PM on February 8, 2011

So cloying that I could not get through it.
posted by damehex at 7:33 PM on February 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

The only wisdom you need: "Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies — God damn it, you've got to be kind."
posted by kmz at 7:47 PM on February 8, 2011 [9 favorites]

I spent all seven minutes waiting for "With great power comes great responsibility."
posted by ChuraChura at 7:56 PM on February 8, 2011

And this one.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:58 PM on February 8, 2011

you've got to be kind

Actually, I heard you've got to be cruel to be kind.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:17 PM on February 8, 2011

The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory.
posted by Babblesort at 8:20 PM on February 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I couldn't get through that clip either. But there's one quotation that, if it's there, makes this much better, and if it's not there, consigns it to the junk heap. And that is...

"Nobody knows anybody. Not that well."
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:24 PM on February 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory.

It's called a puck actually and it's as much flat as it is round, and the game only lasts 60 minutes. And if you don't keep your head up you're gonna get creamed.
posted by philip-random at 8:36 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

The question has to be asked: "What is the best possible use of seven minutes of your life?"
posted by kozad at 8:38 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack.
posted by Relay at 9:10 PM on February 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

THIS FILM CLIP CONTAINS ALL KNOWN WISDOM
I FEEL THIS WAY ONLY BECAUSE EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF MY LIFE IS LIKE THIS
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:15 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed it and smiled a lot. The idea is charming, editing is excellent, your choices are sound and altogether it is pleasing. I think it might have wide appeal. Kids and their parents could have fun naming all the films, even choosing and watching them together. Movies do furnish us with a kind of language. I've certainly quoted some of these lines to underscore a point and will again, I've no doubt. There is nothing wrong with being pleasant and having broad appeal. Good job.
posted by Anitanola at 11:44 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yoda is the new Marcus Aurelius.
posted by nicolin at 11:45 PM on February 8, 2011

Yes Anitanola, you are absolutely right.

That said, I also noticed, maybe for the first time, that Yoda has at times very expressive ears.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:35 AM on February 9, 2011

I love this idea, and do believe that there are Truths to be learned from our media.

But wow, that was a lot of Star Wars. And I mean, I'm one of those who weeps freely during ESB because Yoda seems to be speaking directly to my heart.

Wow, I thought the point was going to be to emphasise the banality of the media's messages.

I will point out that when Yoda lectures Anakin on the need to accept death and rejoice when those around go back into the force, that it is about an hour of screen time before the hypocritical little green prick is delighted to hear he can be immortal.
posted by biffa at 1:36 AM on February 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

So do I learn from Sarek that "you are fully capable of deciding your own destiny", or from Yoda that "you cannot escape your destiny"?
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:42 AM on February 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

He that abideth in truth will have frankincense and myrrh smeared on his gums in abundance, and he shall dwell in the house of the Lord for six months with an option to buy. But the wicked man shall have all kinds of problems. His tongue shall cleave to the roof of his upper palate. And he shall speak like a woman, if you watch him closely. And he shall... The wicked man shall be delivered into the hands of his enemy, whether they can pay the delivery charge or not. And... Wait, I have more about the wicked man. I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death... In fact, now that I think of it, I shall run through the valley of the shadow of death, cause you get out of the valley quicker that way. And he that hath clean hands and a pure heart is OK in my book. But he that fools around with barnyard animals has got to be watched.
posted by HeroZero at 1:46 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

(I thank you.)
posted by HeroZero at 1:46 AM on February 9, 2011

And ironically, everything said was false.

And still basically denying death.
posted by leibniz at 2:00 AM on February 9, 2011

"You sound like an asshole! Jesus, nobody twisted your arm to be here. You're here of your own volition. You like to think the weight of the world rests on your shoulder. Like this place would fall apart if Dante wasn't here. Jesus, you overcompensate for having what's basically a monkey's job. You push fucking buttons."
posted by NoraReed at 2:30 AM on February 9, 2011 [3 favorites]

Blimey, that was such an awesome display of potted profundity and wisdom I'm going to throw away my collection of Hallmark greeting card verses.
posted by Decani at 3:37 AM on February 9, 2011

Needs more Conan.
posted by Ritchie at 4:05 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Kids are great, Appu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate and they practically raise themselves now-a-days, you know, with the internet and all.
posted by Redhush at 4:13 AM on February 9, 2011

I just said that because I'm posting this on my sons facebook page instead of trying to have some kind of father son philosophy chat one day
posted by Redhush at 4:14 AM on February 9, 2011

I'm really surprised they didn't include this classic clip.
posted by Greg Nog at 4:15 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Son, you're gonna be allllright.
posted by Ritchie at 4:44 AM on February 9, 2011

The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory.

See there? The fundamental reason baseball is better: it only takes half as many fundamentals.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:28 AM on February 9, 2011

That said, I also noticed, maybe for the first time, that Yoda has at times very expressive ears.

Interesting story about that... Yoda's head was pretty much an animatronic wonder, with a lot of expressiveness built into the mouth, eyes, forehead, ears, etc. He was a lot more complicated than most Muppets, and between the excellent animatronic puppeteers manipulating his face and Frank Oz's fantastic performance, he really came to life in ESB.

But when they were making the prequels and were going with Fake Yoda, one of the things they had the hardest time with was getting his ears to react right. The puppet's ears, made of wire and foam and latex or whatever, had a certain weight to them, and a bounce and momentum which had them moving a bit on their own while Yoda spoke or walked. (Not all that expressiveness in the ears is puppeteer manipulation.) And apparently that was REALLY difficult for the computer animators to recreate, those unintentional movements which really add life to the character.
posted by hippybear at 9:12 AM on February 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory.

The ball is round, each team gets an equal number of opportunities to fail, and a well-executed double play is fuckin' poetry.
posted by grubi at 7:08 AM on February 10, 2011