Searching for the Sanity in Humanity

“Post Avatar Depression” and hope for 2012. 2010/01/19

When you don’t have a place of employment, you find that you have a lot of down time that you have no clue what to do with. Normally I suck it all up playing with my 3-year-old son, but sometimes he’s off with the grandparents and it leaves me to wallow in my own unemployed loneliness. To fill this void I turn to films.

Now over the past two days I have seen the films Avatar, and 2012 respectively. Despite the obvious moral, ethical and religious undertones of the film Avatar, I felt it was a great film that really asks you to look into yourself and ask what life really is all about.

Now as far as the military’s actions in the film, I will not comment on them as I am a former Marine and am damn proud of it, but I will say that I have come across some “higher ups” in my time that may have overstepped their bounds and caused unnecessary pain. I do not relish movies that show me humans, especially Marines, getting killed, but I was happy that it was a Marine who was the protagonist and saved the day. My favorite scene, the most touching to me, was when all the animals of the planet came to help and Neytiri screamed in joy that Eywa heard him. Such comfort was that to think that God heard in such a way that he would not deny him. Beautiful.

Then I watched the film 2012. Being a huge John Cusack fan, ever since the days of “Better Off Dead” and the paperboy screaming “I want my two dollars!!!”, any film he does is good, in my humble opinion. The film was a CGI masterpiece. Throwing all the collective conspiracy theories and Nostradamus hoopla at you in a well crafted story of an estranged father trying to save the lives of his kids and ex-wife while being stuck with the ex-wifes current beau. The thing that appeals to me the most about this movie is John Cusack’s character Jackson Curtis. A non famous author who wrote a barely published book who believed that in its darkest hour, man will rise up to be selfless and caring. The complete opposite of the characters that made up my last post, this film restored a piece of hope in humanity in me that prays that in the worst of times, we may be great. He fought for the lives of his loved ones and when faced with sure death, looked fate in the eyes and won. It was a story that had so many crazy, impossible seeming things happen that it screams at you “If you believe it, you can achieve it”.

It’s pretty crazy how films can affect ones mentality. On one side they can show you the evil men do and are capable of and on the other, the great things we can achieve against all odds. No one knows for certain what the future holds, but my wish for you, dear reader is, that should you ever be in such a situation that calls upon you to choose, choose to be great.

Blog again soon.