Monday, July 21, 2014

Transformers vs Critics, a Metaphor for Life

Have you seen the new Transformers movie?  If you haven't, it is a must must see, so much fun!

I will do my best to keep this post free of spoilers for those of you who have not seen the movie yet.

A couple quick updates before I begin:

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Let me first start off by saying that I am a BIG kid at heart.  There is nothing more my inner big kid likes to see than to see his childhood hero's come to life.

I rarely go and see movies in the theater unless they are ones that involve childhood hero's like Optimus Prime, Wolverine, and Spider Man coming to life to kick some bad guy butt.

Easily my favorite film franchise of the last several years has been the Transformers.  So you can imagine my excitement when Transformers, Age of Extinction debuted in theaters. 

Before going to see Transformers, I did my best to tune out the "critics," who seem to like to ban together to do what their name implies and criticize these movies.  I don't want to have my viewing experience influenced by people whose title implies negativity and criticism.  Similarly, I do not want my life experience influenced by those who insist on criticizing.

I have seen the movie twice now and loved it both times.  The first time I saw it my little eyes welled up with tears of excitement when the Dinobots made their debut.  It was an amazing moment.  I went to see it a second time to see if I enjoyed it as much as the first, I did.  My eyes started welling up even earlier in anticipation for the Dinobots.  Hahaha, yes, GEEK moment, I know! :)

After watching the movie I read some of the critics reviews.  Most of the reviews were littered with lines like "the plot has holes," "the movie is loud and long," etc...  Lots of criticism, and very little praise.

A couple days after my second viewing I got into a discussion with a guy at the gym.  He told me he did not like the movie, I asked him why?  He responded, "Optimus Prime flying at the end, c'mon."  I retorted, "You do realize you were watching a movie about aliens from outer space who can shape shift into cars, right?"

He then said, "Well there were like three slow motion sequences where the people go flying and the robots catch them and the people don't even have a scratch on them."  I calmly replied with, "and in this same movie there are robots who can shape shift into dinosaurs that breathe fire, and that is ok/normal?"

My point in all this, is this:  I know Transformers is not the most well acted movie or anything like that, but it sure as heck is fun, if you are willing to go in there, suspend beliefs, and watch with the wide eyed excitement we all used to have as kids.

If we could all learn to take life a little less seriously and focus a little more on having fun and being kids, I think we would all enjoy life a little more.  If we could all learn to focus a little less on the "critics" of life and a little more on the needs of our inner children, I think we would enjoy life a little more. 

In life there will always be critics, there will always be people that focus first on what is "wrong" with something instead of what is "right."  Life comes down to perception.  How we choose to perceive, ideas, events, actions, and people will change the way we view and live our lives.

Make it your mission to look at the world with the wide eyed excitement of a little kid.  Do this and you will be in store for some amazing fun.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

P.S.  I would love to hear what you do to bring out your inner big kid.  Please share your thoughts/ideas.

6 comments:

  1. Being silly with my daughter brings out my inner big kid....I never ever act my age when I would play with her no matter where we were. we had great times making memories for her....Like we had a shaving cream/water fight in the house....How many moms would let that happen lol......To me its not about the mess it is about the memory.

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  2. Okay, the secret is out! I will still watch The Flintstones and Looney Tune cartoons. Bahahaha!!! :) :)

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  3. Hi Jesse ! I liked your blog about the transformers. I love movies so if I can, I go and see movies in the theater every weekend, yes, every weekend hahaha. My mind forgets everything in that place. I saw transformers 2 or 3 weeks ago and liked very much, really enjoyed the movie, I went out with a smile. I never read the critics because every head is a world, every person feel and think different. These superheroes left us a mark in our heart when we were kids, I remember when I said: I want to be like them ( Batman, Superman, Thor, X-men etcetera) when I grow up hahaha. We can feel many emotions in one movie. We´ll always be kids, no matter the age. I don´t care the critics, this kind of movie is for real fans: adults with heart of a child. p.s. sorry if I don´t write correctly, my english is not good but my spanish is excellent haha.

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  4. I realized that I keep my big kid in check a lot... too much! I need to work on letting her go much more :) I also took away from this that it's so easy to be a critic from our own perspective. Little kids might focus on one aspect of something that really works for them and overlook the other parts... suspension of disbelief.. like how many kids continue to believe in Santa, even though they notice things that might suggest Santa isn't real? As adults, we continue to bang away on the smallest item that doesn't fit our perspective and dismiss the whole because of it. As a result, we sometimes don't appreciate (people, things) for the effort and the result achieved because of that "one" thing that didn't fit our perspective or expectation. After all... how many of us could have delivered a transformers movie ? Not too damn many! I appreciate you Jesse - thank you for continuing to poke at the ruts we get stuck in :)

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  5. I think in Asia the subconsciousness is generally referred to as the "inner kid". Great! :D If someone dislikes something you like doesn't mean he isn't enough in touch with his inner child. I think I can also remember a great blog here where you wrote how it is better for us to keep violence (including violent movies) out of our lifes....
    Sooo let's also childishly love the Transformers-haters!

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  6. Hi Jesse, I was shaken how much pain was in your heart. I believe the girl also went true so much pain without fulfilling her nothing. She was thinking of u constantly and couldn't find piece w herself, no one was there. She had to struggle not only w feelings but also w so other issues. Perhaps she was there but you had more desires then one. That could be very painful for one and tasteful for other. Desires are very powerful and if we can’t concentrate on one could be costly. Whatever was you came back very strong and powerful ready to love your girl with so much passion and understanding. You have to be proud how much grown up to look at a different point. You are dream lover to every woman!!! Keep rocking!

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