I sometimes feel that there are two types of people in this world: those who believe in the power of movies, and those who simply view it as entertainment.
Seriously – try taking a random assortment of friends to a film. Afterwards, ask everyone what they thought of it. What are the responses? You will have the few friends who adored it, who related to the characters, suffered with them in their sadness and had their heart skip a beat when they found happiness. The other group simply says that they enjoyed it, but couldn’t get into it because: it’s just fiction.
Tonight, AFF is screening RUBY SPARKS at the Alamo Village here in town. I’ve not done any research on the film, nor do I know a thing about it. You could call it stellar marketing, or maybe something about it clicked with me. Either way, I watched the trailer for the first time tonight and needless to say – I was hooked.
I couldn’t quite say what it was specifically that hooked me, but I think it winds down to the connection between Ruby (Zoe Kazan) and Calvin (Paul Dano). In that two minute trailer, I was already fascinated by their connection. But what about it? Another “boy meets girl” film – where is the hook in that?
I then realized that the reason I was hooked was because I was relating their connection to my own life. I thought of my wonderful, charming boyfriend: how we first met, the time we’ve spent together, everything in two years for some reason was narrowed down in that two minute trailer about Ruby and Calvin’s relationship.
I know there are those of us who look at art as a means of entertainment – something to take our mind off of the present. Art will always be known as that type of outlet for people, but sometimes I also believe it helps us self-reflect. A girl I knew once told me, “Why would I want to watch a sad film, or a film similar to my own life? I’m already living that.” True as that may be, sometimes we need to look at our own situations through a different set of eyes in order to learn how to figure it out. Sometimes, we need a two-minute romantic comedy trailer to realize the great things that we might already have in our own lives. And sometimes, we might just need that masked superhero or daring leading lady to help us make the right choices in our everyday life.
Now try telling me you don’t believe in the power of movies… If you still don’t, maybe we can have a conversation after RUBY SPARKS tonight and see what category you fall under. See you then!
– Marcie Mayhorn, AFF Office Manager