The Birds is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films. It is definitely well seen across the globe; most people, young and old, have seen this particular movie. As you can imagine, I have seen this film. I saw it for the first time in seventh grade in school. I remember the time well, but cannot for the life of me figure out why my teachers thought it was a good movie to show to a huge group of 12 year olds. But that's besides the point. I was never really a huge fan of birds, but The Birds pushed that unfondness to pure hatred. I thought the movie was great, that wasn't the problem. The movie just ruined birds for me. For at least half a dozen weeks I was straight up afraid of birds who were flying or randomly surrounding me in nature. Then for years every time I saw a lot of birds I would still feel a shiver in my spine. I let go of the hatred of birds, but still found them to be foul and nasty.
A few months into 2012 I saw another bird film: The Big Year. I stumbled across the film one night at redbox. I was trying to pick a movie that my sisters and I (one of whom is eleven) could watch all together. I saw the huge names attached to the film: Black, Martin and Wilson (Owen, not Luke) and couldn't resist giving it a try. I kid you not, the movie is fantastic. It is a rare gem of a film and most people seriously missed the boat by not seeing it. I have done my job of promoting the film by pretty much making everyone I know watch it. I also was bit by the bird bug when watching the movie. If you are unfamiliar with the plot it involves three men from different walks of life all vying for the coveted top number in their big year. A big year is when one individual tries to see the most birds from January to December. Sounds like a simple plot, but it's really contagious and will influence how you think. For a month after the first viewing of the movie I was literally obsessed with birds. My sisters and I wanted to have our own big year and I seriously did keep a count of which species I had come across. I didn't find birds to be creepy anymore but instead beautiful and cool animals existing in the world around me.
Now, I know what you are thinking...movies cause me to have severe and weird obsessions. That's kind of true, but you can't understand this film until you see it. You will literally want to go looking for birds all day long. It goes away after a week or two, but at first it can be powerful. I used to hate birds and here I was downloading a bird app on my phone so that I could identify different species. That's why I love movies. That's why I blog about movies. A movie can truly shape not only your opinions and how you feel about something, it can also shape how you live your life. Sounds like a crazy idea at first but upon digestion of the idea not so much. What movies have changed your perspective or outlook on life?
A few months into 2012 I saw another bird film: The Big Year. I stumbled across the film one night at redbox. I was trying to pick a movie that my sisters and I (one of whom is eleven) could watch all together. I saw the huge names attached to the film: Black, Martin and Wilson (Owen, not Luke) and couldn't resist giving it a try. I kid you not, the movie is fantastic. It is a rare gem of a film and most people seriously missed the boat by not seeing it. I have done my job of promoting the film by pretty much making everyone I know watch it. I also was bit by the bird bug when watching the movie. If you are unfamiliar with the plot it involves three men from different walks of life all vying for the coveted top number in their big year. A big year is when one individual tries to see the most birds from January to December. Sounds like a simple plot, but it's really contagious and will influence how you think. For a month after the first viewing of the movie I was literally obsessed with birds. My sisters and I wanted to have our own big year and I seriously did keep a count of which species I had come across. I didn't find birds to be creepy anymore but instead beautiful and cool animals existing in the world around me.
Now, I know what you are thinking...movies cause me to have severe and weird obsessions. That's kind of true, but you can't understand this film until you see it. You will literally want to go looking for birds all day long. It goes away after a week or two, but at first it can be powerful. I used to hate birds and here I was downloading a bird app on my phone so that I could identify different species. That's why I love movies. That's why I blog about movies. A movie can truly shape not only your opinions and how you feel about something, it can also shape how you live your life. Sounds like a crazy idea at first but upon digestion of the idea not so much. What movies have changed your perspective or outlook on life?
No comments:
Post a Comment