My personal experience of the cinema has been that, beyond mere entertainment, it's also kind of been a mirror to many aspects of my life in the sense that I just keep bringing so much onto it just with seeing it. Life is so much like a film in so many respects, with every day being nearly a new scene, the years changing over like another act, and somehow we believe that life is a very romantic tale full of the drama and romance it requires.

The Film of Life: How Cinema Mirrors My Reality

Bode Olotu

The Movie of Life: How Cinema Mirrors My Reality

Life has really been like some moving pictures. There's a new scene each day, a new act each year, and in all these my entire life is an interesting story with all sorts of drama/romance wherever you turn! It has been so embedded for me on a personal basis: not just for fun, but because it carries over into other areas of my life in that I am able to say so much by just looking at it.

The Beginning: Childhood and the Magic of Cinema

I remember my earliest recollections regarding the subject of film, and they are full of wonder. Movies were not just screen tales in my childhood; they opened magical doors into worlds far greater than this one. I remember a day hanging out in a not-so-bright movie theater, a whirring projector providing some kind of music to my eyes, and then a whole lot of colorful pictures laid out before me. Movies such as The Lion King and Toy Story to me were beyond cartoons, but they were co-teachers of bravery and friendship and teaching more of the childhood nuances. Such movies set the context of my worldview by teaching me that every challenge, as scary as they seemed could be conquered if one possesses a little bravery and much love.

The Story Thickens: Adolescence and Self-Discovery

As I grew up to adulthood, I took films with a lot of seriousness. Otherwise, they were a passport to my identity, which was beginning to develop. The kind of films I loved at that time was centered on coming-of-age stories with kids such as The Breakfast Club and Stand by Me, which more or less were like mine especially talking about self-discovery, making friends or gaining approval from others. The idea that they comforted me because it reminded me that I am not alone in this; it is that it reminded me that there have been people who have endured the same and ended up better off later on.

Climax and Conflict: Adulthood and the Realities of Life

Adulthood was introduced with a number of complications and conflicts, and the film was around again for direction and comfort.

By example, Fight Club and American Beauty spoke about the inventory of adult existential questions: about searching for meanings in life, being displaced from traditional cultures, or wanting something more than what they had. These were sophisticated responses but not simplistic ones, but they made individuals reflect. They gave me the capacity to deconstruct my values and desires in the act of finding their authentic meaning.

The Journey of the Heroes: Self-Empowerment and Transformation

My own life, in so many ways, has also carried the stamp of the traditional hero's journey. Like those star actors did in those movies that I have so passionately cherished, I have experienced tests, happiness or sorrow, and deep character development. The films "Rocky" and "Pursuit of Happiness" make me believe because they believe in the possibility that power and will can produce incredible results in life.

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