Violent times
I'm dismayed to see "300" topping the list of most successful movies. I'm so weary of the violent, bloody stuff that I rarely go to the movies any more. Friends of mine just walked out of "Pan's Labyrinth" because they had thought it was going to be an enjoyable fantasy, and it turned out to be a violent movie about the Spanish Civil War. Critics largely seem deadened to emotion, and so bored that they need the screen to explode with violence to get their attention. Moviemakers seem to be focusing on a bloodthirsty group of teenagers as a desirable audience. I miss snappy dialogue, great plots, and good acting. Special effects are boring without a good story to carry them along. The majority of movies seem to be focused on creating an adrenaline rush -- just a little more evidence of how detached from real life we are, and how addicted, even to our own body chemicals.
Dr. Romance has seen clients who were abused as children and are now fascinated with violent movies. Also, clients who feel alone, dead and detached -- depressed -- who use such movies to feel more alive. It's not a healthy trend. Dr. Romance is involved daily with clients who have violent history or present life, and working to help them heal, and to comfort and free them from the grip of terror. Living in a culture so saturated with violence, cynicism and negativity doesn't help.
It's wonderful to watch someone grow and change from a negative, self-defeating, self-denigrating mindset to blossom into hope, purpose and promise. When they reach it, they stop watching movies like these. It's just one measure of health.
Everyone's on the "no trans fat" bandwagon these days -- when will we get it that what we feed our minds is as important as what we feed our bodies? Do you think these movies are mental junk food?
