Two weeks I wrote about going to the movies for the first time in 8 years. It was so many things; so exhilarating; so freeing; and felt conflicting all at the same time.
What’s cool is that some of you resonated with what I spoke about. I plan to answer three comments over three weeks. The comments came from
, , and .Cansafis’s comment was:
“...oh brother i felt this one...as a movie nerd who was practically born in a theater it would pain me to never go again (though I only went a handful of times last year)...was daydreaming the other day about what a content free existence might feel like...no input, only output...seemed odd though to be a maker of things for others and not let anyone make anything for me...i wonder what summer blockbuster you will or willnot see…”
Tommy’s comment was:
“Good storytelling :) Is watching a movie bad — or is it just bad to do so in a theatre — and why? Curious why you specifically chose American Fiction too. Might be due for a catch-up call, as I imagine this terrain is a bit more complex than a reply comment 🙃”
David’s comment was:
“Dude! Very courageous of you to share this. Many of us are in this delicate balancing act, and hope you can continue to honor the ways in which you remain true to yourself on your path. Shkoyech!”
I’m going to answer these comments in depth. I’ve already answered Cansafis’s comment here. I’m going to dive deeper into what going to the movies means to me. And I’m going to pepper these pieces with what religious Judaism says about it (as far as I understand it).
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Dear Tommy
I hope I am answering your comment, Tommy. You asked, “Is watching a movie bad — or is it just bad to do so in a theatre — and why?”. I don’t think it is a good or bad thing in the general sense. We think of good as what Superman would do. And we think of bad as to what Hannibal Lecter would do. Watching movies opens us up to things that perhaps we shouldn’t see.
Now, what are those things? What is so bad in a movie, even if it’s rated PG or G?
The answer is the fundamental truth of all movies of all time.
They are all lies.
Every movie is a lie. Everything that is portrayed in a movie is utterly false. We fall in love with fake people who are falling in love with fake people. We get whisked away into an adventure because our own lives are boring us to death. We align ourselves with the hero of a movie because we want to believe that if we were bitten by a radioactive spider, we’d do the right thing and fight crime.
Every scene is deliberately designed to make us feel a certain way. We are being manipulated from the very start. The music, the design, the colors, they are all there for one purpose: To convince us that this world we have stumbled into is real.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Don’t I have some agency in this whole process? Aren’t I an active participant in movie-watching?”
You’re not wrong. I’ll give you that. However, in most cases, I don’t think this is true. I watched Barbenheimer like everyone else did and my brain was definitely not firing at full capacity. Even though both movies required me to pay attention, follow the wonderful performances, and think about what’s going on, the movies are still designed with an inherent purpose.
That purpose is to entertain. And my argument is that when we aim for entertainment, we are employing tools and tactics that are all designed to keep you in your seats. These tactics are laced throughout both of those films and we laud awards on them to show that they worked their magic sorcery.
What are we supposed to use our brains for anyway?
Here’s another spoon to swallow. Open wide, the train is choo-chooing into your mouth…
Our world is already a world of lies. We live in a world where the bad people end up on top, and the good people are on the bottom. A world that values materialistic achievements as life goals and physicality as the ultimate status symbol. We are surrounded by things that are convincing us that G-d is not real. The world convinces us that we are the realest thing because if I can’t touch or see anything else, what else is there?
We are the ultimate something that exists and a great, big, G-d is just a figment of our imagination. Or of a previous generation’s imagination.
Watching a movie gives us more junk food for our brains to waste away on. Our minds and our intellect were given to us to understand G-dly ideas and to connect to G-d. For example, if you were supposed to be a diamond dealer, but decided to be a baker, wouldn’t this be a waste of your talents? You would be squandering your gifts to do something that the world doesn’t need from you. We each have a part to play in creation and it is to understand that G-d is real and very much in our lives at every second.
Movies are the classic case of convincing the world that He doesn’t exist.
Silver Lining
Now, I’ll play devil’s advocate here. I love the imagination that movies help create within me. I love the storylines and the heroes and the witty dialogue and beautiful people and the scenery. When I was becoming religious, I finally realized why I loved movies so much and why I understood G-d (as I understood Him).
I loved that every piece of prop, every color, every choice was made by a director. The truth is that I lived a chaotic life. I lived a painful life. Every child and angsty teenager thinks this, but I could swap stories with any therapist and be validated for what I remember. Movies were my escape. I wanted to escape reality and not commit suicide. I wanted to be flown around the world in 80 days, be as funny as Jim Carrey, and believe that I would one day receive my letter in the mail that said I was something special. That I was a wizard needing to pack my things to go off to a fairy tale faraway school full of other people like me.
Movies helped me cope and helped me live a life that was more interesting than my actual life. But it’s all a lie. Even now, I love watching movies. But I know it’s just filling a void. I’ve got a G-d-sized hole that gets full for a fraction of a frame when I watch a beautiful film and the main character is redeemed at the end, like Birdman. I jumped for joy and cried when the monologue happened at the end of Dumb Money because it felt relatable and real and I lived through that crazy time. I felt like I wanted to be a real person after watching the pink mess of Barbie.
But these moments were all orchestrated. They were all created for me to feel emotions at the exact moment they wanted me to feel.
Using me and you and everyone we know
This isn’t innocent or ok. This is an attack on my traits as a person and a human being. G-d gave me emotions so that I could be happy for something of substance. G-d gave me emotions so I can direct them toward Him. G-d gave me emotions so I could connect to Him on a deeper level.
I’m not always successful, but that is the ultimate point. And movies weaken that resolve and weaken that muscle that I can exercise to use for the ultimate purpose. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still drinking the Kool-Aid of Hollywood, indie films, and great TV. (I just watched Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, and oh what great holiday fun!) Plus, Dune Part II was just released and you know better than I do that I’m looking at my calendar for space to see it in IMAX.
At the end of it all, Tommy, the answer is ambiguous. Are movies bad? They’re not like black-tar heroin. (PS - I’ve had a rabbi tell me that it is as bad as heroin, but I disagree sooo much with him.) But there is a space that movies operate in that teases our emotions, our intellect, and takes us out of our lives to live a fantasy. In a world where we are (according to Judaism) supposed to use our strengths for real-world work, it becomes a little fuzzy when you put movies into the mix.
I know I still haven’t found my answer personally, but I know that I won’t be kicking it back in a recliner seat in AMC with my kids. That probably gives you an answer in and of itself.
PS - I didn’t record this week’s article.
Did that bother you?
Do you miss my voice?
What do you think of Wednesday's releases?
Will you join me for Dune Part II in IMAX?
Cover Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash
Been wondering about this one CA. My thought is that movies are just a medium for storytelling, and to pass a sweeping value judgement on "movies" is to criticize the very act of telling a story. And even though the events and characters are fictional, the messages and themes of a movie are very real. That's why we enjoy movies after all, the emotional core at the center of it all resonates. Now, I could see an argument that films made without a Jewish sensibility could push a certain message that you wouldn't want to be exposed to. But could that be treated on a case-by-case basis instead of cutting one's self off from everything?
Ok, firstly honored by this essay long reply :) The cinematic trilogy you've got going here is fascinating. Thus... into the thoughts it prompted for me! All coming from a place of open curiosity and eagerness to understand the root source of all that's good&true:
1. "Lies" feels like a very harsh framing. I could stomach 'illusions' better, but even that feels like a massive belittling of the soul, craft, and artistry that goes into true cinema. I could see this argument for 'bad' movies, or even mediocre ones, but truly earth-shaking / soul awakening cinema --- how can that be anything but good?
2. Does this apply to all art then? All plays, all books, all music, paintings, sculptures and photos? Or is it specifically when we alchemize all of them together into a film that they're condemned?
3. The 'orchestrated' rebuttal you gave yourself to why movies are a distraction also doesn't hold up to me. Isn't everything that has intent 'orchestrated'. Aren't religious ceremonies orchestrated? I agree that my sense of self sometimes vanishes while becoming immersed in a great film, but I see that as a feature, not a bug. I agree some movies are escapism, but many enable us to experience perspectives beyond our own
4. The overall framing here gives me the sense you look at movies as a guilty indulgence, or comfort food -- is that the case? Are there no films you think shaped you for the better, or brought you to the person you are today?
5. Why not go to a movie with your kids? Are there no animated/family films you think have net positive value?
I recognize answering all of this would likely balloon the scope of this limited series into a 10-part extravaganza, so my same offer stands to do a catchup call and discuss it all. As someone whose peak career ambition is to direct feature films, this is a moral landscape I'm keen to walk through as far as you'll accompany me with your own perspective... 💛 🎬 😉