Things I Love

Okay, so today one of my teachers gave a little farewell speech in which he encouraged us all to find out what we love, have opinions, and not be afraid of having them. Even if we are made fun of or challenged or hated because of them, we should be ourselves and not be ashamed of anything we love. And we need to pursue those passions. So I thought I would list things that I love that normally I might try to justify to people about.

I love the first Twilight book, and I honestly liked the movie more than the book. I like New Moon, not as much as the first, but I do like it, and I will eventually see the movie, though I'm not terribly excited about it. I can see myself reading Twilight and New Moon again for fun, but I have no desire to read the last two books again (yes, I did read them).

I love Star Trek. All incarnations of it. My dream job is to work on the Enterprise. I wish society functioned the way Star Trek does - no money, no poverty, doing what you want because you want to - not to make money, and ethical struggles instead of constant combating violence.

I love science fiction. Not all science fiction, but a lot of it. I love weird creatures and space and spaceships and aliens and distant planets and everything.

I love Doctor Who, and I'm not ashamed to admit it (if you've read earlier posts you already know this). Amongst Doctor Who fans there is a general opinion that there's too much Rose in the series. In the past, I've given in and agreed with some of these arguments, but you know what? I don't agree. I absolutely love Rose. I'm not tired of her coming back into the series, and I don't think that the way season 4 ended was too good to her. I absolutely loved it. And I wouldn't change it. And I can't wait to see what kind of part she plays in the last David Tennant special. She was a wonderful character that I really identified with. And I loved her and the Doctor together.

I love anime, especially Hayao Miyazaki films. In the past I recieved weird looks when I told people I liked anime, so I stopped telling people, but no more - I really do love it, in all its strangeness.

I like a good chick flick - let me emphasize the word 'good.' I went through a period of anti-chick flickism because of their often brainless plots. But I admit they have their therapeutic purposes. And when they're really well done, really well made, I love them even more. I don't see anything wrong with indulging in happy romantic fantasies (unless you take them too seriously and expect your own life to be that way, which I think is why my romantic life is such an awkward thing. I don't know how to have a real relationship because of chick flicks). If your real life relationship with someone is strong enough and right enough, I believe the magic that we see in the movies really can happen. For a while I denied it, but I fully embrace the cheesy, lovey-doveyness now. And I would love it to happen to me.

I play video games. And not just Smash Brothers or Dance Dance or one of the more socially acceptable ones - I play the RPGs, the so-called "nerdy" ones. I love the Final Fantasy games I've played. I know what Materia is - I even know that the numbers are mixed up between American and Japanese releases. I love the Zelda games I've played. I love Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, and Pokemon. I bought a Nintendo DS at age 20, and I'm not going to be ashamed of it. I think video games are awesome - interactive adventures with awesome story lines and characters and graphics. Where else can you collect pocket monsters but in a video game? Nowhere! It's awesome! 

The truth is, I can see the good in a lot of things. I think the film student mindset really did start to limit that ability. You get this idea in your head that because you're a film student you have to become a film snob, but as my teacher said today, you can appreciate the good in everything. No one intentionally sets out to make a bad film (usually...). You have to appreciate their intentions and their effort. It's more than simply good or bad - there are shades of good and bad in each film that we can find and appreciate. That's why film is so wonderful. Anyone can identify with a part of any film, regardless of what film it is. I think this applies very well to the rest of life too. Often times I feel so much pressure to seem "normal" that I forget what I really like and who I really am. What is normal anyway? And why should I spend so much time worrying about it when it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things? They key is to be happy with one's self, and embrace who you are. Don't shy away - you could end up regretting every minute you do.