Disruptive Art

It took me a while to think of which piece of art has influenced me the most, and I boiled it down to the movie Interstellar. See, I don’t cry very often, but this movie got me. I first watched it on a plane, the tiny screen, and the bad quality sound did not even get in the way of the movie and me, and I guess the sense of flying and the dim lights helped set the mood of the film.

There is so much about this movie that I just love and appreciate. The thought, the design, the collaborations, the acting, the plot, the music altogether manifested in the form of a complex and intricate movie. The fact that the movie was so complex but so intriguing made me watch it 4 times already. And for me it has been that, each time I have watched the movie I have found or realised something new about it. This film whose plot revolves around the human endeavor of space and love is itself became a discovery for me to be make with each watch. The experience that this movie created for me pushed me to figure out the complexities of it myself, for example after watching it twice I was able to wrap my head around the timeline of the movie. The experience of discovery has strengthened my resolute to figure things out for myself whenever faced with a challenge.

Time. This movie taught me not to be afraid of time, its limitations, its infinities. The Dylan Thomas that Dr. Brand keeps reciting throughout the movie, “Don’t go gentle into that good night” was used so beautifully in the context of the movie. He would always sign off his video messages with his daughter with this poem, a constant reminder that she was working for something bigger than herself, although daunting at the moment, something that was for the greater good. Death is inevitable, but don’t let that scare you, instead let it drive you. Every day strive to make a meaningful life so that you know when you die you have not wasted your time. This poem is an ignition of a flame that will hopefully keep burning in me till the end.

I absolutely love the music score of this film, because it has this beautiful transportation property in which I get lost everytime I hear it. When the music accompanies the space frames it lets you imagine something more than there is shown on the screen. It taught me how to lose myself in the music to let go, and focus on just experiencing, not thining, not analysing, but just absorbing. Which I think helps me a lot in our very busy student lives.

This movie inspired me as an actor, since watching it my goal, every time I get up on stage, has become to transport people, make them feel just like this movie made me feel, not necessarily the same emotions, but the same depth of emotion however distant the story I am telling might be. To really rip the audience away from reality and make them focus on the story, the jumping in and out of reality in a way is what makes theatre and film therapeutic I think. makes people empathetic if I can’t make them feel, maybe I’m, not a very good actress or maybe they are rigid people. I often find when I am watching theatre of films, or listening to music, any form of art that is interactive to an extent, I am able to give it my sole focus, or let it take me and my imagination on an unwarranted journey. In a way it allows me to sacrifice myself to art and lets me instinctually connect to it without purposefully thinking about it. This is exactly the same reality Interstellar created for me. It made me forget that I was 14 and had a pile of homework to do, and instead let me empathise with a 45-year-old man, who had struggles that I had never been exposed to, but in those moments was able to comprehend what they meant to him and his story. I guess that translates to having the goal of helping people become more empathetic and vulnerable.

There is actually much more that this movie taught me, but I am unable to verbalise it all, and it would probably get too long if I tried to, so I shall sign off here. (I tried to avoid talking about the plot in case I would give away any spoilers)

 

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One Comment

  1. Nick Reply

    Wow – what a great post! I have seen the move so don’t sorry about spoilers – and I also thought it was great. It clearly moved you on several levels, which must combine to a really strong impact. It is quite an ambitious piece, right? And combines the individual human drama withe the epic grand scale of humanity as a whole – with a real sense of wonder at some of it. The best science fiction is very good at that, probably better than other forms of literature, IMHO.

    For me, I found that the notion that my kids might grow older than me, and I might meet them, and even see them die of old age before me … well, moving, intriguing, fascinating.

    Thanks for writing so eloquently.

    N

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