After looking over the previous posts, this blog has inadvertently become 'my thoughts on...movies!' And that's great, but I thought it would be prudent to reveal why I have so many thoughts about the cinema. That tale begins at my beginning. When I think back to my childhood, many of my most vivid and beloved memories surround movies that I saw. All the Disney films seen with my sisters at The State Theatre. Going to The Strand Theater with the whole family to watch Picnic, giggling with my sisters while our mother sighed in remembrance. Watching Superman with my dad and Picnic at Hanging Rock with my mom. Movies were what brought us together. I can't begin to list all the movies I've seen with my kin. But I do remember one of the first films I saw. Conrack, starring John Voight as a young, white teacher who is sent to a small island in a river delta in South Carolina to teach African American children, was an extremely powerful movie for me to watch. I couldn't believe that there were children who went to school, but didn't know how to read or write. These children seemed to come more from a third world country than from the South. I was mesmerized by the lives portrayed and by this wonderful teacher who came to mean so much more to his students. Several years later, I myself would have the pleasure of being taught by an educator very similar to the one I marveled at on the big screen. In his classroom, I was encouraged to nurture an already hyper imagination. I learned to put pen to paper, paint to canvas, and truly see the world around me. Perhaps that's why this film still resonates with me. And yet it is nowhere near the most important film in my life.
I was 10 years old and excited for the coming summer vacation. Leafing through our weekly issue of Time magazine, I came across this article and everything I thought I was looking forward to was forgotten. Star Wars was a movie unlike any other I had ever heard of before. I couldn't wait to see it. I wasn't disappointed. In two brief hours, new worlds came to life inhabited by weird creatures, swashbuckling heroes, and comical robots. I still remember how I felt when the credits began to roll. I couldn't wait to see it again...and again and again. In fact, I saw it thirteen times that summer alone. I've seen it so many times since then that I've lost count. I knew immediately that this was revolutionary film-making. I had never been so immersed in a story before and it was entirely due to the special effects, sets, makeup and costumes. Everything pieced together to transport me to that galaxy far, far away. And it stayed with me. I wanted to know more about Tatooine, Alderaan, and the Death Star. My imagination stole me away to those fantasy places where I fought alongside Luke, Leia, and Han against the evil Empire. Many Star Wars fans rank the next installment, The Empire Strikes Back, as the best of the original three. And it does have a more complex, stronger narrative and equally terrific effects, but Star Wars will always be my favorite. It awakened a curiosity about making movies. I had never given movies a second thought before this. I watched what was on the screen like the rest of the audience. With Star Wars, I realized there was a whole world devoted to creating what is captured on celluloid. And I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to know everything from sound effects editing to costume design. This movie changed how I watched films forever. I started seeing more of the illusions created and asked how they did what they put on the big screen. This interest has continued throughout my life. I never saw my dream of getting into the film industry come to fruition; however, I continue to enjoy movies on a whole new level. I see them both as a complete creation and as the parts that go into making them. Although I don't know that I would call Star Wars my all-time favorite movie, it has definitely had a direct effect on my love of all movies. And for that, I say "thank the maker!"
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