Nothing affects your attitude towards movies and TV shows quite like aging.
Fiction asks you to put yourself in another person’s shoes, but it does not tell you who. As a human being, you cannot help but empathize with characters that mirror your current situation. So naturally, you spend your childhood living vicariously through every child character you can find. But what happens when you grow up?
Your perception shifts, and suddenly, you gain a new appreciation for stories you thought you understood. This is why I encourage passionate movie fans to revisit their favourite films, especially if they feel like the current crop of entertainment has nothing to offer them because they know all the tropes, character archetypes, and clichés.
Rather than abandoning fictional entertainment altogether, take a stroll down memory lane. You might be surprised by how fresh your favourite films feel, particularly the ones you obsessed over as a child.
Attitudes towards children are usually the biggest transformation. Think back to every child-centered story you consumed as a kid. You cheered the children on as they rebelled while booing the adults who tried to stop them. Now you realize that Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) was a menace.
You understand why the professors in Harry Potter chastised Harry, Ron, and Hermione for breaking the rules. As an adult, you know how reckless and fragile teens and pre-teens can be, and the effort it takes to keep them in line, lest they misbehave and harm themselves in the process.
The notion that adults in so many fantasy and science fiction stories are willing to trust the fate of the world to teens and pre-teen heroes seems ridiculous now, and it tests believability because you talk to real teenagers daily, and they seem so weak, ineffective, and easily distracted.
Money is another thorny consideration. I have seen many online discussions in which moviegoers grumble about all those characters from the 90s and 2000s who abandon seemingly lavish lifestyles to chase adventures. Again, youth colours your perception by asking why anyone would tolerate another hour of boring office work in The Matrix when they could escape into the real world to fight fiendish agents and vampires.
But that question loses meaning when you enter adulthood and realize that employment is difficult to come by, and most people would kill for a boring office job that pays them a living wage. Suddenly, Brad Pitt’s character in Fight Club feels less like a badass rebel who does what he wants and more like a homeless hooligan who won’t allow normal people to get on with their responsibilities.
I suppose that is the biggest difference; the responsibility you carry, which causes you to re- contextualize the actions of protagonists you once worshiped. Yes, Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire is a devoted father fighting to retain his place in his children’s lives.
But after seeing the lengths to which he goes (dressing up as a woman and using a false identity to worm his way into his ex-wife’s home), you have to admit that his ex-wife was right and the restraining order was deserved. No rational adult would act like that.
You now think Bella’s father in Twilight was a lunatic for allowing his teenage daughter to marry a centuries-old vampire. You also believe that Kevin’s parents from Home Alone deserve a visit from the authorities.
You don’t understand why Bilbo would leave home to fight dragons when the Shire is a garden paradise whose inhabitants spend their days drinking, eating, and enjoying the sort of peace you rarely experience.
I am not saying these movies are flawed. I’m just encouraging you to revisit them and view them through a brand-new lens.
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