What My Movie Shelf Says About Me
If there's one thing I know about myself, it is that I am a hopeless romantic. No, I'm a helpless romantic. Not in a cheesy Mandy Moore way, but in a clever Bill Murray way. I mean, there was a time in my life when the only movies I would rent from Blockbuster had to be Romcom's (romantic comedies) - otherwise it would stay on the shelf and keep collecting dust. Yes, not only did the movies have to have a love story element, but they had to be cute and funny - much the same way I like my men. It's important to note, that the endings of such movies always turn out where the couples get together. I will have none of this loved and loss nonsense (unless it's a period piece I suppose).
My movie shelf definitely confirms this about me. You see, of the fifteen movies I own (excluding television series and educational DVDs) almost all fall into the category of Romcom or Dramedy (dramatic comedy). However, I think it's more important to note that twelve of the fifteen end with the main love interests getting back together. I suppose Funny Girl is debatable; however, I like to think that the last song Fannie sings, "Oh, My Man I Love Him So," is a way of telling the viewer that she's not giving up on Nicky Arnstein and that she's going after him even though he left. I suppose I like my movies to be optimistic about love. This is true of the newest addition to my movie shelf: The Baxter. I found it online for $7.92 (including shipping & handling) so I decided I would splurge. I highly recommend all human beings watch this cute love story. It's right up there with Groundhog Day for me.
Here's a more detailed list of my fifteen movies in case you're wondering. The first twelve have endings where the characters remain together. Sara, where's my copy of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet?
The Baxter
Dream For An Insomniac
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Four Weddings and A Funeral
Funny Girl
Groundhog Day
I'm With Lucy
Lorna Doone
Royal Tennenbaum's
Sliding Doors
So I Married An Axe Murderer
You've Got Mail
Lastly, here are the three where the main love interests part ways (or one of them kills the other as in the Talented Mr. Ripley). It's important to note that in two of these movies, the characters part ways on good terms and although they do indeed part, I'm not saddened or frustrated by it.
Edward Scissorhands
In Good Company
Talented Mr. Ripley
Other movies I want to aquire in the near future: Proof, The Wizard of Oz, Breaking Away, My Fair Lady, Sleepless In Seattle, Shakespeare In Love, Dr. Zhivago, Rounders, Four Daughters, Emma, Pride and Prejudice (BBC version of course), Life is Beautiful, Good Will Hunting, etc., etc., etc.
Okay now it's your turn. Take a look at your movie shelf and analyze what it might say about you. How many movies of yours are dramas, horror films, animations, children's movies, musicals, foreign films, documentaries, X-rated? How many are comedies and what kind of comedies are they: frat-boy slapstick or witty British? Which one's were given to you by other people; which one's did you actually want to spend the money and purchase yourself? How many are oldies but goodies? Are there recurring actors/actresses in many of your movies? How many movies do you buy on a whim withought having first seen? Why do you own the amount of movies you do? For example, I have a small movie shelf for a few reasons. Mainly, I only like to have things around me that I absolutely love, anything else is clutter to me and in my 450 square foot apartment, space is limited. Another reason, though, is that it's not in my budget to purchase such "wants" at this time. Figure this out, then come back to my blog and give me your interpretation of what your movie shelf might say about you.
My movie shelf definitely confirms this about me. You see, of the fifteen movies I own (excluding television series and educational DVDs) almost all fall into the category of Romcom or Dramedy (dramatic comedy). However, I think it's more important to note that twelve of the fifteen end with the main love interests getting back together. I suppose Funny Girl is debatable; however, I like to think that the last song Fannie sings, "Oh, My Man I Love Him So," is a way of telling the viewer that she's not giving up on Nicky Arnstein and that she's going after him even though he left. I suppose I like my movies to be optimistic about love. This is true of the newest addition to my movie shelf: The Baxter. I found it online for $7.92 (including shipping & handling) so I decided I would splurge. I highly recommend all human beings watch this cute love story. It's right up there with Groundhog Day for me.
Here's a more detailed list of my fifteen movies in case you're wondering. The first twelve have endings where the characters remain together. Sara, where's my copy of Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet?
The Baxter
Dream For An Insomniac
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Four Weddings and A Funeral
Funny Girl
Groundhog Day
I'm With Lucy
Lorna Doone
Royal Tennenbaum's
Sliding Doors
So I Married An Axe Murderer
You've Got Mail
Lastly, here are the three where the main love interests part ways (or one of them kills the other as in the Talented Mr. Ripley). It's important to note that in two of these movies, the characters part ways on good terms and although they do indeed part, I'm not saddened or frustrated by it.
Edward Scissorhands
In Good Company
Talented Mr. Ripley
Other movies I want to aquire in the near future: Proof, The Wizard of Oz, Breaking Away, My Fair Lady, Sleepless In Seattle, Shakespeare In Love, Dr. Zhivago, Rounders, Four Daughters, Emma, Pride and Prejudice (BBC version of course), Life is Beautiful, Good Will Hunting, etc., etc., etc.
Okay now it's your turn. Take a look at your movie shelf and analyze what it might say about you. How many movies of yours are dramas, horror films, animations, children's movies, musicals, foreign films, documentaries, X-rated? How many are comedies and what kind of comedies are they: frat-boy slapstick or witty British? Which one's were given to you by other people; which one's did you actually want to spend the money and purchase yourself? How many are oldies but goodies? Are there recurring actors/actresses in many of your movies? How many movies do you buy on a whim withought having first seen? Why do you own the amount of movies you do? For example, I have a small movie shelf for a few reasons. Mainly, I only like to have things around me that I absolutely love, anything else is clutter to me and in my 450 square foot apartment, space is limited. Another reason, though, is that it's not in my budget to purchase such "wants" at this time. Figure this out, then come back to my blog and give me your interpretation of what your movie shelf might say about you.
Labels: movie interpretation, movies, The Baxter
posted by Lexia at 1:12 PM
6 Comments:
I kind of have a wide range of movies -- guess that means I'm well-rounded?
I've got quite a few (11) workout/pilates/yoga videos, of which three I use. (Thanks, though, for that Tahitian hip-hop video, Alejandro...)
War movies: Red Dawn, Bloody Sunday, Michael Collins
Irish-content movies: Bloody Sunday, Michael Collins, The Nature of Ireland (a documentary narrated by a one Mr. Jason O'Mara.), Far and Away.
Comedies/RomComs: So I Married an Axe Murderer, Wimbledon (Blech.), In Good Company, Saved!, About A Boy, Dazed and Confused.
Not Sure Where This One Falls: Wicker Park
Music Documentaries: Two Smashing Pumpkins, One 311. (Don't give me crap for that 311 video. It was the 90s. It's on VHS.) Smashing Pumpkins given to me by the one and only, Genevieve.
I don't have any period piece movies, but I have access to all of Sara's. North and South, my friend. Love it.
I know the point of your post was for us to not necessarily list our movies, but tell what it says about us. So I guess mine says that I'm unusually obsessed with fitness and Ireland. But I'm open to more interpretation...
Um, I should just write a post about this. Better yet, I should write a post about what my bookshelf says about me . . .
But as far as movies go, I guess you could say I'm a straight arrow with dorky and romantic sides. I have several LDS-produced movies, a LOT of BBC movies (mostly Jane Austen adaptations), kid movies (like Harry Potter and Disney shorts), teeny bopper flicks ("Clueless" and "Mean Girls"), and weird/funky/fun movies, like "Napoleon Dynamite," "The Baxter," and "The Muppets Take Manhattan." Oh, and all the Seinfeld DVDs.
The only movies I don't have are "guy" movies. But I think if guys gave my movies a chance, they'd like them, too.
I clearly like movies that investigate, revolve around, or demonstrate point blank the human element of fear - whether it be of himself, the elements, or something unseen.
This can be seen obviously in my love for horror, with me owning such films as: The Shining, Psycho, Halloween, Evil Dead (1,2,3), Poltergeist, Carnival of Souls, Suspiria, NOEStreet, etc.
It can also be seen in my love for Werner Herzog, whose consistent search for understanding man's fear of self and nature have kept me happy through film after film.
I also like movies that look at divinity of man/woman from a royal point of view. Not sure why that is.
I also like movies that appropriately use fart jokes or are just plane lame.
Lauren, I think I know what your collection means. You need to have a garage sale:) And you should buy an Irish dance workout video.
Ok - after several days of deliberation I'm ready to share my collection and a possible interpretation. The movies I have are as follows:
What this means is I don't like clutter. If I really like a movie, for example Groundhog Day, I will watch it every year or two. In my mind I don't gain much by owning it. I'd rather rent it. Especially now that I have netflix and can have a movie at my house with little more than thinking about it.
However, I find it instructive to hear about other people's favorites. Especially if they have tastes similar to mine. I'm excited to watch the Baxter, since I'm a human being it should be perfect for me. Also, I trust anyone who likes Bill Murray and doesn't have Return to Me or the X-files on their favorite list. Not that I've seen either of those.
My virtual bookshelf would include a combination of heroic movies and romantic comedies. I think that's because guys need to have struggle and triumph. Watching a movie where they can relate to a character and imagine themselves in that role is very satisfying. In addition the hero usually gets the girl which is nice. And romantic comedies are really just another type of conquest. But they have to ring true and be filled with humor and beauty and truth for me to like them.
Groundhog day was like a great novel - it had an entertaining story and truth on many levels. Every time I watch it I feel great about life and determined to make the most of it by giving to others. Other romantic comedies I would buy are:
Bringing up Baby
The Awful Truth
How to Steal a Million
Heroic Movies:
The Last of the Mohicans(VHS version)
Braveheart (naturally)
LOTR
Lawrence of Arabia
Casino Royal(Last James Bond)
39 Steps
I am a fan of good classics as you can see. And here's a recommendation for the girls: Random Harvest. This movie is the ultimate chick flick prototype. My Mom loves it and I even enjoyed it.
Oh and Lexia, I do like the happy ending myself. I'll even turn off the movie right at the end if I don't like where it's headed so I can imagine my own ending. I did this with Meet the Parents. When the girl dumps the black haired dork I turned it off so that could be the end and I could imagine her back with the blond guy.
Wow, that was a long comment. I think there might be a rule about a comment not being longer than the post. But I think I'm still ok.
Hi. I'm an infrequent reader, and an even more infrequent commenter, but I really liked this post.
My movie collection affirms something that I've been slowly realizing for the past while: I'm a 13-year-old trapped in a 26-year-old's body. Here's some proof.
I own Airplane!, Dumb & Dumber, both Bill & Ted's, both Wayne's Worlds, Strange Brew, and both Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. I've added all of those within the last few years.
I own every James Bond movie ever made.
I own several less than awesome comic book movies (including Supergirl).
Pretty much, I'm a media whore. There are a few highlights in the collection, though. I'm proud to have Dr. Strangelove, Vertigo, Rear Window, Wait Until Dark and Charade on my shelf. And even though it makes me feel kind of girly, I like that An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest are in my collection.
All in all, my collection is a bit depressing, but I see hope for the future.
Sorry about a long comment from a relative stranger.
Anyone who owns "Airplane" and "Wait Until Dark" is no stranger to me. And just so you know, I still feel as if I'm a Freshman in high school. Interstingly enough, that was my favorite year in high school.
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