Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40035002

by metadat • 2 years ago

120 226 2 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

What movie changed your perception of reality or life, and how?

Quinzel• 2 years ago

V for Vendetta weirdly change my perspective on concepts of right and wrong, and good and evil. Not in a major way, but just more so in a philosophical way.

lobito14• 2 years ago

Fight Club and The Matrix, but I only understood the latter several years later.

coolThingsFirst2• 2 years ago

What did you understand from the matrix?

popf1• 2 years ago

The Matrix is like a modern religion

parpfish• 2 years ago

Kung fu

csin• 2 years ago

This one's a deep rabbit hole: https://.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/11vfp8p/npwas_the_matr...

TLDR: The Wachowskis who wrote and directed the film, later became trans. There's a lot of closet trans themes hidden in the film (closet gays/lesbians can relate as well).

datascienced• 2 years ago

Software devs will do anything to escape their existence.

Havoc• 2 years ago

The whole matrix being a trans metaphor didn't even register for me until I heard about it in an interview on YouTube.

alfor7• 2 years ago

Funny, I think is it mostly seen as the opposite.

That the media and government create a propaganda narative, a fake reality we live in.

The red pill has become a symbol of breaking out of all the progressives lies.

gadders• 2 years ago

It's like people thinking the X-Men is about being gay, but given Bryan Singer's proclivities it's more likely to be about being a MAP.

mmh0000• 2 years ago

I really thought you were making things up so I had to Google it and turns out you were not making things up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=adXm2sDzGkQ

luxuryballs• 2 years ago

Good reminder. Fight Club had the same effect on me but it went through phases as I first watched it in my teens and appreciated it for certain reasons, especially the more anarchist future “back to nature” aspects.

But then as I grew older and read the book and gained more life experience in general, I appreciated it differently, the deeper meaning, anti-satire, realness and broader narrative as I then started to understand it, seeing things about society through the lens of the characters and with an understanding of why we have order and laws and a system. I thought I was maturing or being some higher intellectual.

But then as I got even older and gained even more wisdom and experience, I realized the teenager appreciated aspects were really the true and tangible message, and it was because of the truth that was revealed. I came full circle and realized the returning to nature was the real answer all along, and appreciated the anarchy again and even more fully but now for an entirely different reason.

Oh and READ THE BOOK! It is the only time in my life where I was not disappointed after reading the book that I had watched a movie before reading the book actually, just try hard not to catch any spoilers on differences between the book and the movie!

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

READ THE BOOK!

I am Jack's nodding in approval.

helph67• 2 years ago

"The Man Who Never Was" 1956 British movie made me aware of just one of the MANY ways that Allied intelligence during World War 2 was able to fool the Nazis and potentially save many lives. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was

smckk• 2 years ago

Remade as Operation Mincemeat[0]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwkSyrN0mvY

isomorph• 2 years ago

As an adult: - Under The Skin - especially when I read excerpts of the book

As a teenager: - Syriana - The Matrix - Fight Club - Before Sunrise

huytersd3• 2 years ago

Fight Club in my late teens.

blhack2• 2 years ago

Synecdoche NY, specifically this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9PzSNy3xj0

But there is also a scene (which I cannot find online) where the main character (a playwright) is explaining that the only way to make his play work is to make everybody a main character. He realizes that everybody, everywhere, is living out a rich life and that they're the main character of that life.

It is a fantastic movie and i highly recommend it.

tootie2• 2 years ago

I knew a guy who worked on that film and still didn't know what it was about. I personally enjoy the scene where she's touring a house with a broker while it's on fire.

js2• 2 years ago

Probably the most memorable scene and not a spoiler:

https://youtu.be/WFwS_Dqd-IU?si=A4h7BSXx90CxqvhV

quesera2• 2 years ago

Oh my.

I love Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP), but I found Synecdoche, New York to be sooo incredibly anti-interesting in its multiple layers of ironically unironic self-indulgence that I really truly hated the film.

I have never had such a strongly negative reaction to any other movie. I'm having trouble thinking of a somehwat-close second. Maybe Blue Velvet?

If I heard someone else say that, I'd imagine that they had missed something, or just didn't "get it", but I don't think that's the case! :)

kimchidude• 2 years ago

Wow I love both Synecdoche and Blue Velvet! What didn’t you like about Blue Velvet?

anotherhue2• 2 years ago

I watch a lot of films, mostly older ones these days, I don't want to estimate how many.

This film has haunted me with its beauty. Not as airy as Mallick's work, a little softer than Aronofsky (The fountain, black Swan are masterpieces).

I think Mr. Nobody attempts a weaker version of this film, cloud atlas also.

Gattaca, inception, 2001, kpax maybe.

blhack2• 2 years ago

Yes! I love Aronofsky's work. The Fountain is a hauntingly beautiful film. The poster from this film hangs in my children's bedroom and I can't wait to watch it with them when they're ready for that type of story.

nntwozz• 2 years ago

"Alone in the Wilderness" 2004

Made me move out of the city and off grid, buy a dog and find satisfaction in the simple life.

tootie2• 2 years ago

Ran, Eraserhead, Paths of Glory, Dersu Uzala, 2001, High and Low, They Live.

say_it_as_it_is• 2 years ago

Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

momentmaker• 2 years ago

The Matrix

magarnicle• 2 years ago

Aguirre, The Wrath of God.

I studied it at uni and wrote an essay where I explained that the main character couldn't be a symbol of both fascism AND a film director, because that would mean the director was calling himself a fascist. My lecturer's response was something like "why not?".

I was a very black-and-white thinker at that time, and his response was eye-opening for me.

netsharc• 2 years ago

I knew of Werner Herzog but recently got really interested in his work after he guested on Conan O'Brien's podcast. I'm reading his autobiography right now.

It's fascinating how he was begging some investor about how he had to make the movie Fitzcarraldo, because if he didn't, his life would be purposeless (I do hope I'm remembering this right). It got me wondering how he got away with things like forcing his crew to carry tonnes of ship over a mountain, but, also why shouldn't he get away with it, why should there be a strict construct of what's allowed or not.

a_bonobo• 2 years ago

He has this wonderful story of how someone else got 'his' monkeys for Aguirre from the airport, the ones used for the final shot. He forged paperwork to make it look like he was a veterinarian who needed to give the monkeys vaccinations, and took them to the movie-set instead. The original 'ask for forgiveness, not for permission' mind-set.

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

There's also a "making of" of Fitzcarraldo, which left at least me wondering who was crazier: Fitzcarraldo or Herzog.

RAdrien• 2 years ago

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

kylecazar2• 2 years ago

Most recently, I left Oppenheimer with a lasting feeling of disillusionment and pessimism towards government.

I didn't learn anything new (I read American Prometheus), but seeing the affair dramatized so well was pretty moving.

ShamelessC• 2 years ago

towards government

it felt like more of an attack against academia and the forward march of scientific "progress" than specifically towards government. The character Oppenheimer has his own issues specifically with government, but it's moreso that by that point, he has decided not to blindly agree with the status quo and so has become a threat. Oppenheimer is portrayed as part of the problem after around the 3/4 mark though. "I feel I have blood on my hands"

kylecazar2• 2 years ago

Indeed, and I don't think the film painted government in a bad light necessarily.

When I said government, I should have more accurately said politics. Or even humanity. It is depressing to me that we can get ourselves into a situation where using a weapon of that magnitude can be the reasonable course of action.

SJC_Hacker• 2 years ago

I left Oppenheimer with the feeling that you had choose between politics and science, it was very hard to do both.

jozzas• 2 years ago

Ikiru

dvt• 2 years ago

Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain

Archelaos4• 2 years ago

Everything from Jodorowsky is great. Especially this one particular movie, which is probably the most famous one that was never made.

gabrielsroka2• 2 years ago

It was made. Are you talking about his version of Dune?

spacecadet2• 2 years ago

Dead Man 1995

I dont know, but probably the last great American "film". Shot on monochrome and depicting American history in raw and surreal way. The industry soon moved on to mainly digital video. Although many contemporary directors still shoot on film. Nolan for one.

neom2• 2 years ago

I was in the second group that went through only digital film program in my whole country in, I was about to give you shit for saying "soon after" till I realized it was less than 10 years between Dead Man and me graduating.. getting old is weird.

spacecadet2• 2 years ago

I was there and quit my career to keep shooting film the way I wanted to. We all thought film was dead! (close by made a come back) I have mad respect for the big directors shooting on film today, keep it up!

rio517• 2 years ago

Gattaca, because so many people limit themselves by what they think is possible.

walterbell5• 2 years ago

Andrew Niccol's movies are always thought provoking. Even his Netflix movie Anon.

gabrielsroka2• 2 years ago

I loved Gattaca. I've seen it many times.

I tried to like Anon, but I didn't. Same thing with another one his movies, "In Time"

anotherhue2• 2 years ago

If I had to choose a favourite, this might be it.

cybrjoe• 2 years ago

I’m happy someone mentioned this movie. I am constantly thinking about this quote:

Vincent: You wanna know how I did it? This is how I did it Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.

cdrini• 2 years ago

I'm not much of an anime person, but I watched an episode of Blue Lock with a friend, and fell in love with it. Watched it over the next few weeks, and it gave me a completely new understanding and appreciation for soccer, ambition, and individualism. As someone who had never had even a passing interest in any sport. Since, I've joined a beginners soccer clinic and absolutely love it.

pan69• 2 years ago

Cloud Atlas

It's a movie I seem to go back to, to understand more about it and how the different story lines are connected. The philosophy aspect of this film I find appealing and it made think about reality differently although I wouldn't call myself a believer of such things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Atlas_(film)

Archelaos4• 2 years ago

I found the book even better and started reading more novels from David Mitchell. "Cloud Atlas" is still my favorite of his books. A lot of his essays are available online via The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/davidmitchell

lmz• 2 years ago

I don't think that's the same David Mitchell.

imperialdrive• 2 years ago

Loved loved loved the book, so when I heard there was going to be a movie I thought "NO WAYYY they'll pull it off" but, somehow they did a pretty darn good job and with A list actors too. I've read all his stuff now :)

ndjshe3838• 2 years ago

My one unpopular movie opinion is that cloud atlas is waaay underrated

I think the complicated story/narrative threw a lot of people off from appreciating it

Really good movie to re-watch multiple times, the scope of that movie is crazy

underlogic• 2 years ago

Pi Darren Aronofsky

0x53-61-6C-74• 2 years ago

That movie is a head fuck

orev• 2 years ago

(Mild spoilers)

Both of these were written stories first, but I first encountered them as movies.

Arrival. I really enjoyed the idea that learning something new could lead to other changes in perception that you wouldn’t think are related. It also led me to other works from Ted Chiang, each of which brought unexpected mind bending concepts.

Solaris. Teaches the lesson that we need to accept that there may be things we just aren’t able to understand.

tenpies• 2 years ago

Very glad to see someone also mention Arrival.

I would strong suggest reading the Ted Chiang short story on which it is based: Stories of your Life.

Spoilers ahead:

The movie necessarily makes some changes and adds some action through geopolitics, but at its core it remains the story of a mother that knows that her child will die and her marriage will fall apart; yet she still decides to get married and have a child. It's a story about accepting fate and the ephemerality of life and happiness - and then aliens also happen to be around with a very cool perspective on time to make the whole story work.

maxerickson2• 2 years ago

Does she decide to do those things?

I like the story, but I find it profoundly sad that she has to live through her marriage and birth of her child with the knowing of what is coming.

TheFreim• 2 years ago

Arrival was a movie where I didn't enjoy it until the end when everything fell into place and it instantly became a favorite.

xtiansimon• 2 years ago

Solaris (2002), Soderbergh's love story in space, is one of my favs. (I watched the Russian adaption and didn't have the same reactions) The plot of human inner life juxtaposed with non-Terran nature flips the script for antagonist--the enemy is within us and humans did not evolve to be in space. Cliff Martinez's soundtrack is, for me, right up there with Vangelis or Tangerine Dream.

There are a number of movie directors who really deliver a cinematic experience and mess with your head: David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, to name a few contemporaries. I return to a handful of their films again and again. Many very re-watchable.

I think it's worth adding here a few playwrights who have made films scripts: Stephen Poliakoff and David Mamet.

I want to shout out to a classic director: Michelangelo Antonioni. He flipped my lid. He really captures something for me with his cinematography and the quiet emotional tension he gets from his actors. Blow Up (1966), LaAvventura (1960) are my favs.

nmstoker• 2 years ago

2001 - it was on TV one afternoon on a rainy bank holiday in the early 80s, when I was probably far too young to fully appreciate it, and what I saw was simply awe-inspiring.

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

it obviously also inspired the Simpsons animators: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8xP1JioXTM

walterbell5• 2 years ago

  A Most Violent Year
  Barry Lyndon
  Breaking the Maya Code
  Equilibrium
  Margin Call
  Moonfall
  Good Kill
  Godzilla vs Kong
  Inception
  Seven Days in May
  Simone
  The Leopard / Il Gattopardo
  Trudell
  Until the End of the World

wfleming• 2 years ago

I don’t want to sound like a snob, but Godzilla vs Kong looks pretty out of place on that list. Can I ask what put it on your list?

walterbell5• 2 years ago

Visualization of hyperloop between Florida and Hong Kong, and some of the hollow earth visuals, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39722705. Rest of the movie was less memorable :) The storyline of Apple TV's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is more engaging. A few good visuals as well, but it doesn't have a movie budget. Moonfall has a good interior visualization of "hollow moon" spaceship at the end, but is otherwise forgettable. Mind-bending images of fictional "under space" and "inner space", respectively.

getwiththeprog• 2 years ago

I just watched Seven Days in May (1964) last night. It is about an attempted coup by a general who opposes an anti-nuclear treaty. A stirring defence of democracy.

solardev• 2 years ago

Into the Wild, this perhaps romanticized / dumb idea that blindly chasing your passion to your demise may still be worth it. Dying from mushroom poisoning doesn't seem so fun though...

Walter Mitty and Big Year, similar adventures about people chasing their silly passions (but not fatally).

Transcendence, Her, and Robot and Frank, some of the very few AI-optimistic movies. I've always believed in the transformative social good of AI, since I first heard of the Borg, but most people and media are staunchly against it. It was nice to see a more friendly viewpoint.

I really enjoyed Arrival too and hope we have an experience like that someday, but the whole time travel thing was a turnoff.

dboreham• 2 years ago

The Matrix, Inception, Transcendence.

zebomon• 2 years ago

The Fog of War. It caused me to see geopolitics from both a simpler and more constantly ambiguous perspective.

A River Runs through It. Even more so the book, but the movie gets the job done: the meanings of our experiences only make sense once their dust has settled.

The Leftovers. I'm going to cheat a little and say a TV show here. Better than anything else, it draws a connection between the philosophical immensity of things like 2001/Interstellar and the real drama of everyday human lives.

michaeljx• 2 years ago

Revolver - 2005 It taught me that the biggest enemy is the one within, i.e. the ego, and taught me to challenge my desires/goals/aspirations and try to understand why it came to be that I have such desires.

JohnMakin2• 2 years ago

Don’t ask me why, but the couple of scenes with the Jurassic Park sys admin stuff made me want to get into computers.

qup• 2 years ago

did you get into unix?

JohnMakin2• 2 years ago

I didn't really know what that was until college. I had a 1984 IBM I took apart and put back together a few times.

BSOhealth2• 2 years ago

Recently, Midsommer. I think if you go into it with an open mind (and not get too weirded out by the gore) it asks some really fascinating anthropological and social questions.

By the end of the movie, I was almost entirely on the side of the culture and their behavior made complete sense to me. During the course of the movie I experienced a shift of position and perspective and continues to affect me 4 years later.

All the token others… Pi, Memento, Waking Life, Fight Club, Requiem for a Dream, etc. etc.

I felt like Midsommer was the best interesting film in decades.

BSOhealth2• 2 years ago

fwiw, Midsommer also has the best approximation of psylocibin visual come-up in video format that I’ve found

soylentcola• 2 years ago

Haven't seen it since the first time I watched it, but I remember thinking the same thing - this is what it feels like to come up on mushrooms. Most movies just settle for some visual distortions, accurate or otherwise. The whole headspace and visual effect they created in this scene was eerily accurate.

kirso• 2 years ago

Was trying to comprehend Waking Life but I feel like you really need to go into it with 100% focus.

ex2can2• 2 years ago

Waking Life is amazing, watching it was one of life-altering events for me. After watching it several times I became curious about the director - Richard Linklater (he's staring as a guy at the Pinball machine in the end of the movie). Apparently he made some other nice movies after Waking Life. I really liked "Boyhood" - there's also really nice story behind shooting the movie - it was shot for 11 year with the same actors showing them growing up / aging.

KolyaKornelius• 2 years ago

Fucking Amal

hoc• 2 years ago

Blade Runner, as it was the first one I saw that was about the meaning of memories and beliefs.

I actually liked The 6th Day when it comes to ideas of our "natural" view on identity and ownership of individual assets etc.

Matrix, of course, for its search for reality/truth behind ones inherited perceptions, no matter what consequences (there are more ideas in the movies, though).

Waterluvian• 2 years ago

Blade Runner 2049 got me thinking a lot about what “real” or “authentic” mean.

jareklupinski• 2 years ago

it's why i thank chatgpt after a great answer, and feel there's some value in personifying AI

even if they're not actually human, we still are

timbit425• 2 years ago

Contact

What would aliens be like if they've existed a billion years longer than us?

timothevs2• 2 years ago

Are ya me? Yet another of my favorites to rewatch and find something new to love, and set me on a path to pondering the central premises.

timbit425• 2 years ago

The Man From Earth

Can't describe this without giving it away.

timothevs2• 2 years ago

I find myself going back to rewatch the movie over and over again, hoping to capture the emotions I experienced during the first time I ever watched it… and it doesn’t disappoint.

Love the setting, the casual nature of the gathering, and how it draws you in with the premise, and always leaves the imagination running wild.

Log_out_• 2 years ago

Read "all men are mortal"

65102• 2 years ago

I kept and keep thinking how astonishing it is that such a good movie could be made in a single room.

polonbike• 2 years ago

This one has moved me a lot, and talked to me in so many ways. I came here to post this movie, that HAD to be in the list. No spoiler.

rishikeshs• 2 years ago

Wow. The moment i saw this post, i was thinking about this. Glad that somebody posted.

tetris11• 2 years ago

I constantly think about this film. The amount of moments that must have been lost to time. Vague memories that must me merged into innate feelings and instinct that shape John into the person that he is.

Does he actually learn from his experiences, and chooses to be the man that he is? Or did his experiences literally whittle him down to the person that he has become.

In essence: Is he the embodiment of a mankind that witnesses the consequences of its actions, or is he the very antithesis of it (telling in the way that he distinguishes himself from others, whilst being extremely humane in every interaction).

On a lighter note: I also wonder if he can juggle and do a backflip, or if he could and these skills were lost to time.

In the same way that many of us are defined by a childhood that we barely remember, I wonder if his generosity and kindness is born from a blur of unconscious experiences he barely remembers.

huytersd3• 2 years ago

I’ve constantly been looking for movies like this one. Anyone have any suggestions?

timbit425• 2 years ago

Not the sequel.

ajakate• 2 years ago

Melancholia. I don't think I've seen a movie that depicts depression and disaster so brutally. It's a film I keep thinking about every now and again.

coolThingsFirst2• 2 years ago

Oh man, totally. The feeling of impending doom that's always in the background stalking even the happy moments.

Depression runs in our family and the portrayal of it was phenomenal, especially when they measure the size of the moon. From outer perspective they are told all will be fine but they aren't convinced and in the end it seems all the doom and gloom was justified - just how a depressive mind naturally is pulled towards the negative and creates self fulfilling prophecies.

Deep deep film.

jay3ss• 2 years ago

Annihilation

vundercind2• 2 years ago

You might like Dual (2022)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_(2022_film)

Not quite as heavy with the symbolism and not super-duper about dealing with terminal illness & loss like Annihilation (though… it does have more than a little of that going on). Similar feel otherwise. Also sci fi.

Maybe The High Life (2018).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Life_(2018_film)

Another sci fi. I haven’t sorted this one out as well as I have annihilation, but I’m pretty sure it’s also best read entirely figuratively.

And of course everybody who likes brooding symbolism-heavy films really must watch The Green Knight (2021)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Knight_(film)

(That one’s not sci fi)

timbit425• 2 years ago

District 9

How would we treat aliens if they arrived?

aebtebeten• 2 years ago

Turning that around, how would aliens treat Jesus? https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20081124.gif

euroderf• 2 years ago

Oh but what if Jesus WAS an alien ? slash astronaut slash cosmonaut slash taikonaut

notaigenerated• 2 years ago

"Come and see" and "20 Days in Mariupol". Both are about wars and both affect you the way nothing else does.

The last one is a documentary about the war in Ukraine. The actual raw uninterpreted reality of things that we read about in history books or in the news changes your perspective on many things, from politics to simple things in life that we often take for granted.

News stories force an agenda on you. History books may give you some knowledge about the reality we live in today. THIS lets you live through the traumatic experience of the history books and news story events.

theideaofcoffee2• 2 years ago

I was nearly catatonic after I left a screening of "Come and See", I have never seen such a raw and unflinching story told about the war, nothing held back. Just indescribable the mood that it sets and how it unfolds the story. Hard to even put down in words my feelings on it.

jesterson• 2 years ago

News stories force an agenda on you.

This "documentary" does the same - force the agenda - perhaps even more so.

History books can potentially teach how to avoid this kind of conflicts. They are not emotionally appealing - unlike "documentaries", and likely less interesting, but we need to read one to avoid making another

wyum• 2 years ago

Graveyard of the Fireflies (1988)

Warning: not a good times film.

But it is beautiful in profound and sad ways. It deepened my appreciation for the good circumstances I have been fortunate to enjoy in my life.

thread_id• 2 years ago

So many... here are a few

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Sophies Choice

English Patient

Master and Commander

timbit425• 2 years ago

Predestination

How do I describe this without giving it away?

vidanay• 2 years ago

Dead Poets Society

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

Macross: Do You Remember Love? (超時空要塞マクロス愛・おぼえていますか)

I saw it in the movie room at a con, and learned:

(a) there was a world of sci-fi beyond the US

(b) it's possible to follow a movie with neither subs nor dubs

agent008t• 2 years ago

The soundtrack is also amazing!

I was once in Kanazawa and randomly walked into the phonograph museum. They had a room there where you could pick an LP from a pile and play it on a phonograph. I grabbed one from a box at random, and the music was amazing - I had no idea what it was at the time. Turned out it was the Macross DYRL OST. That got me hooked.

meristohm• 2 years ago

Fight Club qnd The Matrix have already been mentioned, and they continue to sink in.

Dakota 38 (documentary about a 330-mile memorial run/ride for the Lincoln-ordered execution of 38 (and later two more) Dakota people on December 26, 1862. The full movie is on YT, and here's an MPR article about it: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/12/23/descendants-of-exec... This impacted me because I grew up in MN, didn't learn this in school, and it reminded me that indigenous Americans are still around despite efforts by dominant American culture to squash them.

aristofun4• 2 years ago

Once you’re familiar with bible, aristotle, platoe snd few other foundational sources - no movie or book can really change your perception. Whatever you see - It’s all been described many times.

vundercind2• 2 years ago

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while without coming up with anything to post, and I think this is part of why: the handful of titles I can come up with were influential to me around ages 12-18 but I now consider a bit trite (I’ve now read and watched their influences…) and I’ve watched and enjoyed a lot of films since then, but I mostly get mood and vibes out of film these days. I think it’s because some time in high school I began to outrun, if you will, the maturity of the films I was watching with the reading I was doing.

User23• 2 years ago

Have you read the Illuminatus! Trilogy?

kwoff• 2 years ago

I'm not sure I agree that nothing can change your perception, but I'm definitely interested to hear what you consider a "few other foundational sources". Shakespeare? Einstein? Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

aristofun4• 2 years ago

It depends.

Some argue that Shakespeare didn't invent any new plot or narrative structures.

Others argue that all western philosophical work on ethics after greeks is in its essence just commentary to the new testament.

From my perspective not much new was said about ontology, monotheism and logic of truth after https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmenides

I am no expert but just by extrapolation - if i see a new idea, chances are it is new only from my not educated enough perspective.

This is not about science, I imply the discussion is about fiction, stories and philosophy.

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

on the other hand, a classically homeschooled person's account of perceptions changed: https://dakotavadams.substack.com/p/gunshow

(I suggest you familiarise yourself better with Ἡράκλειτος? Come to think of it, even Mr. "nothing new under the sun" admitted that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; there's biblically always room for surprise.)

jasonm232• 2 years ago

Oof, looks like you're going for the "I'm already so enlightened" prize.

Keep it up.

aristofun4• 2 years ago

It’s only your projection. Think about it)

huytersd3• 2 years ago

What’s so special about the Bible. I feel it’s very low on any deep philosophies or introspection. I got a lot more from the Bhagvat Gita.

aristofun4• 2 years ago

It’s the source of all main narratives and archetypes used over and over in every second fiction book, movie you see.

Speaking of modern western civilization.

Im sure eastern has its own sources and ideas, just not familiar with it.

alfor7• 2 years ago

Not a movie but the biblical lectures of Jordan Peterson.

Made me start to understand the bible and christianity from a scientific perspective.

From there reading the bible understanding more about the roots of our culture and seing the constant propaganda against it in the media, the movies, etc.

It's been eye opening.

Then you can read Atlass shrugged and live not by lies.

I used to be very progressive, left leaning, not anymore.

BMc2020• 2 years ago

I thing you'll like 'A Brief Look at Jordan Peterson'. It's on youtube on a channel called 'Some More News'.

defrost3• 2 years ago

At just under three hours it's still shorter than Peterson answering a Y/N question.

alfor7• 2 years ago

It's not very convincing.

JBP is an academic and yes he is a bit hard to understand, that doesn't mean that it's nonsense, just that it will take more time to grasp his positions.

You can start with his university class in psycology: personality and transformation, I think it's the easiest starting point.

Then map of meaning.

I much prefer his lectures, live talks and podcast to the writings that are contrived and a bit overworked to my taste.

tim3332• 2 years ago

I watched a bit of that and a bit of the start of the biblical lectures (https://youtu.be/f-wWBGo6a2w)

The Some More News is a bit unfair in that he's going on about something he doesn't understand - climate science. Whereas on his home turf of the Bible he's pretty good.

I mean if you'd interviewed Einstein on say salsa dancing you might have thought he's an idiot. It's not a good way to judge.

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

If you're reading the bible, you might like Abelard, Sic et Non.

Also: Tanakh commentary.

hulitu• 2 years ago

Life of Brian is also good.

alfor7• 2 years ago

Yes, it's funny. You can't be funny without telling the truth.

lif• 2 years ago

Into the Wild (2007)

-> no man is an island

The Florida Project

-> precariousness of many lives

Waves (2019)

-> ambition & parenting

chrsw2• 2 years ago

Ex Machina. The lesson I got is we deserve the future we're going to get, for better or worse.

11001100• 2 years ago

and AI isn't containable

chrsw2• 2 years ago

It seems it is not. But is that due to the power of AI or to the fallibility of humans?

screye2• 2 years ago

Pig (2021)

Male grief is never portrayed with the kind of nuance and empathy that it deserves.

Now, I've started reaching out to my friends more often and offering support in a manner that only a fellow man can.

Lastly, it loosened me up. I didn't have to bottle things up and be a pillar for other people. I can now be weak when I was in my weakest moments, and not percieve it as a weakness. (Holy alliteration)

willsmith722• 2 years ago

offering support in a manner that only a fellow man can

I guess I get the idea, but in what ways can only a fellow man provide support?

screye2• 2 years ago

I knew this line would get scrutinized. My bad, I didn't phrase it well.

It's the difference between letting grief out and letting grief in.

I owe many women close to me, who've helped me process complex emotions. But they've primarily focused on helping let emotions out.

I suspect women don't struggle with letting grief in as often. It is more common for this to be a male experience. Helping a man feel safe enough to slowly let grief in, is a delicate exercise in patience and silence. I hadn't seen it represented this well in visual form before.

It was also instrumental in helping me detect when I myself was refusing to let emotions in. Now I can tell if I'm running away from a sense of loss/negative emotion. It helps me extend that same patience towards myself.

hgs3• 2 years ago

Dark City (1998), Alex Proyas. This is an unmarketable movie. I consider knowing its genre to be a spoiler. It is one of those movies where the less you know about it, the better you're viewing experience. If you watch it you must watch the Directors Cut as the theatrical release was dumbed down by the studio execs.

sshine2• 2 years ago

DON'T WATCH THE TRAILER!

The trailer basically gives away the plot twist.

jj999• 2 years ago

Robocop made me question capitalism

Total Recall made me question the self

Starship Troopers made me question patriotism

I'm a sucker for Verhoeven's sci-fi flicks.

latentcall• 2 years ago

Lilja 4-ever. The world is a cruel place. People can be truly awful and many people have stories we can’t comprehend.

srhtftw• 2 years ago

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

alejohausner• 2 years ago

The Ear (1970), released in 1989. A Czech couple comes home from a formal dinner. The husband works for the Party, and knows that their house is bugged. something was said at the dinner suggesting he’s now in disfavor, and may be sent to prison. They fight like Liz and Dick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, all the while knowing the surveillance van outside is listening in. It’s a great study in paranoia. Highly recommended.

rurban3• 2 years ago

That was a good one, yes. Similar to Kundera's Žert, or all Pavel Kohout books.

neom2• 2 years ago

American History X was pretty jarring for me. Fight Club too. More subtly: Primer, Upstream Color, White Oleander, The Virgin Suicides - those 4 films gave me a lot to think about as a young man.

rmwaite• 2 years ago

American History X for me too. I watched it as a child and the message was /so/ clear me. I don’t think any other media has had such an immediate and profound impact on my stance on something.

evandev• 2 years ago

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

lawgimenez• 2 years ago

Good Will Hunting

I grew up in a rough neighborhood, in high school my view was limited and I thought there is no going out of trouble, being a black sheep of the family, etc. I saw that movie, and I felt hope for the first time and started making changes for myself.

jjice• 2 years ago

That's such a fantastic movie. Of course Will is a special case and is a gifted person, but the line at the bar early in the movie:

You wasted $150,000 on an education you could've got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.

Is just fantastic. A public library isn't a complete replacement for a college education, but in terms of knowledge gained, books are the _core_ of learning. Most of the learning I did in college came from reading a text book, or the instructor going over information in the text book. Assignments are important to help apply ideas, but many books have problem sets too.

Books (and other resources like video these days) are such an incredibly valuable resource and we've done a great job at making them available via libraries (of course there are the issues we hear about with publishers trying to fight against libraries, but in general, libraries are still fantastic). Reading has been a key to my educating myself post university. The only thing more valuable that I've found is real world experience.

VirusNewbie• 2 years ago

Books alone won't cover it, but can get you pretty far. My education came from library books, used bookstores, IRC, and Open Source work, and now I'm senior level at a FAANG amongst a bunch of PhDs.

theideaofcoffee2• 2 years ago

Threads (1984), while it was made for TV in the mid-80s and some of the effects are dated, there's an almost visceral, gnawing, devatastaing, haunting (choose your adjective because not one does it justice) feeling that attaches to yourself that has yet to leave me, I think about that film every few days, especially now with some of the more recent, insane developments in politics and international relations. It reinforced how absolutely fragile everything in this world is and how close a situation to today that film showed might really be. One viewing is enough for one lifetime.

avidiax• 2 years ago

I've heard it called the most realistic depiction of nuclear war, but also seen it panned on this site.

Nobody actually knows what it will be, except terrible for all the belligerents.

fullstick• 2 years ago

The movies Okja and Earthlings. Made me realize I could not continue to support the exploitation and abuse of animals.

interbased• 2 years ago

Click. Adam Sandler comedy movie that left me in tears by the end. The theme is to live in the moment and appreciate the small things, or life will pass you by before you know it.

bewestphal• 2 years ago

Her

People’s relationship with technology for its ability to solve your every need and desire will be commonplace.

65102• 2 years ago

The man in the white suit 1951

I have some routine (not sure what to call it) where I take a context (by lack of better words) then work backwards.

This topic had me wonder what great lessons or insights in (my) life have not at all been captured by any movie. What followed was like an eruption of great movie ideas. What each movie really needs is at least one amazing plot twist. Nothing really accomplishes that the way changing the viewers perception of life does.

Ill do a crude example but it probably doesn't do justice to the raw idea.

I discover one day that you can always increase your spending to match your income and at the end of your money have a chunk of month left.

I discover that selling your brain in a job leaves your free time without one.

I also discover one day that physical activity is not optional.

I talk with a very successful business man who one day discovered that his chair in front of the TV is only a few meters away from his car and that his personal parking spot is only a few meters from his personal office. After some 30 years he had to walk 150ish meters to the other end of the building and was absolutely exhausted. Only then he realized he didn't get any physical activity at all.

One could forge a plot from that where the protagonist progresses from wealth, a highly successful career, weak and depressed all the way to a shit physical job with crappy pay. The villa, the cars, the credit card wife, the fake friends, it all has to go. Why internet if one can read books. Why drive if one can walk in the rain?

0823498723498729• 2 years ago

not cinematography, but "Luckenbach, TX" points at shifting out of "Life in the Fast Lane": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNm0FwYtopg

(come to think of it, wasn't that the plot of 1999's "Office Space"?)

kromem• 2 years ago

The Matrix.

While as a kid I would say that I wanted to be downloaded into a video game when I died, the idea that was already the case never even entered my mind.

Even after watching the movie, I was just like "oh man, that's such a neat idea" but still didn't think it was actually the case.

It wasn't until years later reading Nick Bostrom's work that I started to seriously entertain it, and only then as I considered it more seriously (and as things progressed in parallel) that it became a predominant belief.

But for a movie to set in motion a complete shift in how one sees the world and their place in it is a pretty remarkable accomplishment, even if it still required a ton of additional pieces thereafter to arrive.

slim• 2 years ago

so you believe we live in a simulation ? how does that impact your behavior in every day life ? does it help you somehow ?

al_borland• 2 years ago

Have you watched Upload on Amazon Prime? Instead of being born into a simulation, like in The Matrix, we can choose to enter one upon death, effectively becoming immortal.

pygar• 2 years ago

Yi Yi (2000) https://letterboxd.com/film/yi-yi/

It features a middle-class family living in Taipei. Each of them at different stages of life. There is no central drama except that they are alive. It's a beautiful movie that makes you meditate on the human condition.

superposeur• 2 years ago

A shattering film called Open Hearts (2002) made me appreciate that every day is a miraculous gift and that the proper stance toward life is warm hearted gratitude, as well as an awareness that you are a mote in currents beyond your control.

I still think of it as the most (the only?) “grown up” movie I’ve ever seen in its incredible realism.

I saw it many years ago in an art house theater, but oddly have never even heard a mention of it since.

mrbluecoat• 2 years ago

The Notebook (one of the few films that have made me cry). Also, Life Is Beautiful (1997).

beaugunderson• 2 years ago

Shoah - a 9.5 hour documentary about the Holocaust https://letterboxd.com/film/shoah/

Sügisball - an Estonian movie that introduced me to the works of Bohren & der Club of Gore, now my favorite band https://letterboxd.com/film/autumn-ball/

Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog moves hell and earth in this film https://letterboxd.com/film/fitzcarraldo/

Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar-Wai's movies affected me so much that when I went to Hong Kong about half my trip was just looking for the filming locations https://letterboxd.com/film/chungking-express/ & https://letterboxd.com/film/in-the-mood-for-love/

UHF - Probably the reason I like underdogs https://letterboxd.com/film/uhf/

brudgers• 2 years ago

Chinatown helped me understand California (I’ve lived here for a few years now).

mikewarot• 2 years ago

Children of Men - 2006 - society would fall apart without a fresh supply of humans, this movie made that very, very clear

The Discovery - 2017 - The thought that we keep doing things over in an imperceptible manner until we get it right, is haunting

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986 - "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - It told me I could be a little less serious about things, and have more fun

About Time - 2013 - The lesson is to try to roll with whatever happens, and relax

jjj123• 2 years ago

Do the Right Thing. Not only is it one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but I’m reminded of the ending every few months when I read the news. I now have a very different perspective when I see some oppressed group get admonished for protesting the “wrong” way.

bruce5112• 2 years ago

Groundhog Day.

It's such a subtle movie, that it works on multiple levels at the same time. I got to level 2 on the first viewing, but only years later assimilated level 3.

At level 1 it's a simple Romcom movie - boy stuck in a time loop needs to earn girl's love.

Level 2 is that we are all stuck in a time loop. Everyone is functionally living the same day over and over. Same job, same relationships, same everything. (There's even a scene in the movie where Phil describes his predicament and thd barfly replies "welcome to my life".)

Level 3 is even more meta. Because Phil is the only person -not- living the same day. All around him everyone else is the same, but he's evolving. We see him learning piano, and ice-sculpting and so on. He evolves emotionally, and is trying new things. He moves from being self-centred to focused on others.

The genius of the movie, and Murray's performance, is that it's buried, never forced. You're left to figure it out yourself. It's a work of art, disguised as something trivial.

d--b• 2 years ago

Virtually all films follow that pattern. Read any textbook about screenwriting, and they'll tell you that 1 any movie has an overarching theme (here is routine life), and 2 all characters need to follow some kind of evolution arc (Phil goes from being the worst cynist to actually becoming a good guy). It's quite hardwired in how hollywood makes movies.

bruce5112• 2 years ago

True. The genius here is in how it hides the complexity under the Hollywood shallowness.

It's easy to dismiss it, as a simple story. Discovering the underlying insights takes thought.

Incidentally it also pioneered the "time loop" genre. As far as I know, certainly for mainstream-me, it was the first to use this plot device.

anotherevan• 2 years ago

If you get a chance, see the musical. You think it wouldn't work, but it does!

rurban3• 2 years ago

When I was 5 I watched Frankenstein's Bride beginning scene, and when the monster appeared in the burning cellar it frightened the shit out of me. For several years I refused to walk down the dark stairs to our cellar. And stairs in the night were also taboo.

throwawayyy9237• 2 years ago

So many great movies mentioned here, I won't repeat them.

I'll just add Hitchcock's The Birds.

I saw it as a kid and it made an impression on me on several levels. For instance, a scary movie doesn't have to be about monsters. And made me realise that other living beings aren't in this planet just to be either food or pets, they're our neighbours.

taigi100• 2 years ago

Peaceful Warrior - by far my fav book / movie. Highly recommend watching it :)

w1nst0nsm1th• 2 years ago

- The Thin Red Line.

The narative structure is hard to get the first time you watch the movie, but once you get it, it can change the way you see (the/our) nature.

- The Secret of NIMH.

Saw it the first time at 4 or 5 and was in awe, but it tooks several more years to understand it fully.

- The Truman Show.

It's basically my life.

- Akira.

No particular reason, except it's the first Manga which gets international recognition and propulsed the industry in the grown-up domain.

alfredgg• 2 years ago

Aftersun (2022)

Having pass through a depression myself, the one which hit me most was Aftersun (by Charlotte Wells, 2022). It made me realize how silently mental illness affects one and their surroundings.

koziserek• 2 years ago

Earthlings (2005)

as we are born into a civilisation taking for granted that exploitation of other live beings is something natural and ethically acceptable / neutral.

Unfortunately, our lifestyle decisions tend to support a machninery of suffering only comparable to nazi concentration camps.

oh, and speaking of, if you lived far enough (temporarily / culturally / geographically) it's good to recall once in a while what atrocites humans are capable of, even in regards to other humans:

"Zone of Interest" - fresh movie about everyday life in proximity of death camps

lo_fye• 2 years ago

Earthlings was the only movie I’ve ever had to pause and watch in 2 sessions in order to get through it. I found it utterly devastating. Evocation of emotion is what I look for in a movie (or any art, really), and Earthlings maxxed me out.

hombre_fatal• 2 years ago

Finally sitting through a quarter of the movie Dominion at age 30 is what helped me confront the blind eye I was turning towards animals and take action.

arihantparsoya• 2 years ago

Prisoners The Dark Knight Blue is the Warmest Color

FuturisticGoo• 2 years ago

I feel a bit embarassed saying this but, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

I've had issues dealing with the concept of death and this movie helped me more than anything else. The panic attack scenes resonated quite hard and the end message left a lasting impact.

sshine2• 2 years ago

Annihilation

This movie gave me a new perspective on evolutionary life.

nuclearsugar• 2 years ago

Bokeh (2017)

Premise: Everyone disappears from Earth without a known reason, except for 3 people.

This movie made me realize that everything we do is connected to other people. That awareness changed everything for me.

steego• 2 years ago

Lately it’s been The Lobster.

I’ve always been one to recognize a lot of absurdities in life, but this movie got me asking: “What if the absurd false dichotomies are the feature that influential people use over their supporters to test their power and loyalty?”

I’ve also been asking myself, what other absurdities do I still not see and how can I systematically detect those absurdities?

moomoo11• 2 years ago

Cloud Atlas.

I liked the book. I loved the movie.

I personally believe that infinity is a wonderful concept and so honestly anything is possible. Even the impossible.

Balgair• 2 years ago

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Helped me not take life so seriously. And that being super smart isn't the end-all-be-all. You can have a totally excellent time just being kind to others. In fact, kindness is probably the most important thing to be.

RobKohr• 2 years ago

You should watch Being There. Intelligence isn't everything, sometimes just being kind is all it takes to succeed.

tetrisgm2• 2 years ago

Akira Ghost in the Shell (and the Stand Alone Complex series) Dune To some extent, Arrival

tetrisgm2• 2 years ago

For me, nothing comes close to the finale of Star Trek the Next Generation.

"The final frontier isn't space. Space can be explorer without meaning. The final frontier is our minds, it's how we take things in that defines us."

It impacted me deeply.

febed• 2 years ago

Samsara

Solaris

histories• 2 years ago

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Tree of Life

The Matrix

very basic answers I guess, but they are among my very favorite.

burrish• 2 years ago

And what about you metadat ?

mdrzn• 2 years ago

Mr Nobody (2009), maybe because I watched it while I was young, but it stayed with me.

"Every path is the right path. Everything could've been anything else. And it would have just as much meaning."

I_am_tiberius• 2 years ago

Law Abiding Citizen

It shows that people who do bad things might have plausible reasons. It makes me think about how we usually only see the negative actions and not the circumstances that lead to them. It also considers whether most of us might react similarly, or if the real villains are those who manipulate others into doing these bad things.

eightturn• 2 years ago

the movie "Smoke"

especially the scene where Auggie tells his friend (Paul) to... slow down. https://youtu.be/JGV_h36uZ5E

at the time, it felt society was telling me to 'speed up', get this done, achieve that, yayaya.. but I sorta preferred taking the slower route. This scene helped cement that mindset. Tall trees grow slow.

Sscia• 2 years ago

Risen, showed the figures of the resurrection not as mythical heroes. Some abstract characters from school but historical Romans and Roman subjects of flesh and blood. Brought history back into religion and the faith as the driving force of historical figures.

caviv• 2 years ago

American Beauty 1999 - About getting older and understanding what do you want in life and what is really important, if you don't do it now you might never will.

ex2can2• 2 years ago

Slavoj Zizek - The Pervert's Guide to Cinema / The Pervert's Guide to Ideology

hariis• 2 years ago

Not a movie but the Television series, The Good Place Incredibly brilliant portrayal of Eastern philosophy in daily life, just Wow!

idk1• 2 years ago

I'm a bit late to commenting, but of all the ones on the list, this is the one the most for me. It opened the door to philosophy to me, I just never knew I wanted to know about it until this show. I love it now! Also it is one of the most incredibly funny shows I have ever seen.

Ask HN: What movies changed your perception of reality or life?

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