Let's face it, life sometimes feels like an indie movie with an endlessly unresolved plot. Who are we kidding, right? As we navigate through our 20s, many of us might wonder why our lives don't resemble the perfect arcs that movies often dramatize. The movies promise serendipitous love, dramatic transformations, and poetic meanings in even the most mundane experiences. The reality? Not so much. What is it about these portrayals that hook us, and why do they often miss the mark in reflecting our everyday lives? These questions often put us in a reflective mood, especially when we're caught in situations where romance feels mechanical, and victories are often too small to celebrate.
Media has a colossal influence on our expectations, reshaping reality into a glamorized distortion. Each rom-com paints a world where attractive leads stumble into each other's lives so effortlessly, it's borderline miraculous. Ever meet someone in a bar and have your eyes lock as twinkling background music starts playing? Me neither. It's not necessarily that our expectations are wrong; they're simply sculpted by years of media consumption. Media's storytelling tends to focus on big moments, leaving out the largely uneventful gaps in between.
Let’s not ignore the powerful narratives around career achievements and personal success depicted in movies. Flicks about underdogs breaking into elite careers create an illusion of underplaying hard work and perseverance. Often, success is portrayed as a rapidly rising montage rather than a slow grind uphill. Ever hear about the long, grueling hours, the boring meetings, and resumes that get lost in the void of job applications? Nope. Yet, these lesser-mentioned struggles are the reality for most of us.
Breaking down the movie myths can also be therapeutic. There’s a romanticism in having every detail of life scripted, but there’s also genuine fulfillment in unscripted moments. The laughs shared during a midnight cereal-eating session with friends or feeling content as you binge-watch your 6th episode in a row may never make it to the script. They don’t need to. Because these understated fragments of life hold just as much emotional gravity as a film's crescendoed climax.
Of course, the film industry isn't entirely blind to criticism. Indie and offbeat movies explore grittier, more existential themes, often showcasing the imperfections of life. These movies resonate with some and provide a more balanced portrayal, yet they rarely steal the spotlight from their mainstream counterparts. But hope for this form of realism in Hollywood can't be cast aside.
Understanding when and how to separate cinematic fiction from reality doesn't come naturally, especially if these narratives have deeply embedded themselves in our worldview. It’s an ongoing conversation many of us share at home or in classrooms. Movies amplify our need for resolution, conflicts that resolve neatly in under two hours, and stories that promise happiness as an end goal. Yet real life flows forward without a guarantee of these snug endings. Happiness, in reality, is often a state-wise decision rather than an outcome. Choosing that freedom can free us from the cinematic shackles that bind us.
It’s useful to pivot brief attention on how movies propagate impossible standards, not just universally but specifically regarding gender norms and body image. Many films portray women and men through a distorted lens, emphasizing unrealistic standards of physical beauty and success. This can lead to dissatisfaction in personal beauty and skill level, often leading us down rabbit holes of insecurity. Imagine a film world where beauty is diverse and success isn’t always represented by climbing the corporate ladder. Now that’s a film reel worth playing.
Engaging with movies doesn’t require shedding the joys of viewing entertainment, they can still be enjoyed purely as what they are—fiction. Embracing films for the art of storytelling rather than a roadmap to life can allow us the emotional escape many of us seek, yet we should find balance in recognizing hyperbolic narratives. Understanding that even the dull, uninspiring moments of life have value enables us to keep trudging ahead with a more organic optimism.
Despite our occasional eye-rolls at Hollywood’s overly tidy resolutions, movies serve a purpose. They push imaginative boundaries, often providing that dream layer to our realities that allows creativity to grow. It’s okay to root for the fictional couple to beat the odds while in reality, dealing with a heartbreak or experiencing a stagnancy in work.
In writing yet another reel of our lives, we begin to understand it’s not like the movies. The embracing of life's imbalances can be more enriching than any cinematic perfection. Allowing ourselves permission to experience both the imperfections and the spectacular moments is what makes our personal story compelling. Because in the big picture, every unplanned, messy slice of reality stitches a unique narrative beyond any script.