Heat and Brain waves
It has been a family ritual of ours to horde CDs and play couch potato for days, well, ok, if schedule permits. The challenge for the films, is to satisfy an array of demanding audience. The task for us supposedly responsible parents is to keep the family within limits of sanity especially this summertime and the kids are bored stiff. It has never been this challenging during school days because the kids are easier to please and sometimes would even skip some films as they are going to school and would have to sleep and do their assignments (otherwise, we wouldn’t be responsible parents!). But summer, ah, summer, the heat in Baguio gets to the level of actually wanting to wear shorts and manila summer attire at home or outside, turn on the electric fan, not wanting blankets at night, and the boredom of no school and only your sister to play with for my two daughters. This last part is what gets to me. They sometimes get into screaming bouts, the house will be in an uproar and will have us screaming also for them to stop fighting. But I digress.
So the trick is to get a film that would satisfy the very distinct standards of a four-year old, the discriminating tastes of an 8-year old, the escapist preference of a 35-year old, that would all hopefully merit the consent or else would-hog-the-TV-with-CNN-and-national-geographic 47-year old, and a film that as "responsible" parents, we would want our children to watch with us. Throw in the summer temperature, boredom, and the goal to suppress war of the sisters, I would go to the rental store with these in mind.
When we do get home, I noticed something peculiar or ok, interesting. It has happened not just once. The first time I noticed it, we rented a suspense-horror movie (The Key), a kiddie movie, an action movie (Taking Lives), a fantasy movie – sorry I forgot the title of the other films, and I noticed how most of the movies we got were about taking the lives or living the lives of people other than themselves, or not being satisfied with the life one is living, therefore, envy. Once we rented movies that are mostly about getting back or getting even. Another time it was mostly alternative movies and those that did not get to break the box office movies but were as good anyways. One time it was about mostly unrequited love, never mind if they succeeded or not in the end. Another time it was mostly fabulous and fantastic production and set designs or special effects.
The funny thing is, we don’t even know what the movies were about because the kids base their selection on the cover pictures and me, well, on the back plot and review or awards given to the films.
So I start to think – how do we end up with these movies of similarities despite the differences in genres per batch of renting? Hmn. Maybe our brainwaves were in sync when we were wandering around the video rental store, reaching out to tap the other’s which commands the kids’ eyes to notice the cover and to appeal to my senses similar movie plots or something similar. After all, we’re family. The same blood runs through our brains.
Or maybe it is just plain coincidence. But it has been too frequent an occasion for it to be a “chance happening”.
So the trick is to get a film that would satisfy the very distinct standards of a four-year old, the discriminating tastes of an 8-year old, the escapist preference of a 35-year old, that would all hopefully merit the consent or else would-hog-the-TV-with-CNN-and-national-geographic 47-year old, and a film that as "responsible" parents, we would want our children to watch with us. Throw in the summer temperature, boredom, and the goal to suppress war of the sisters, I would go to the rental store with these in mind.
When we do get home, I noticed something peculiar or ok, interesting. It has happened not just once. The first time I noticed it, we rented a suspense-horror movie (The Key), a kiddie movie, an action movie (Taking Lives), a fantasy movie – sorry I forgot the title of the other films, and I noticed how most of the movies we got were about taking the lives or living the lives of people other than themselves, or not being satisfied with the life one is living, therefore, envy. Once we rented movies that are mostly about getting back or getting even. Another time it was mostly alternative movies and those that did not get to break the box office movies but were as good anyways. One time it was about mostly unrequited love, never mind if they succeeded or not in the end. Another time it was mostly fabulous and fantastic production and set designs or special effects.
The funny thing is, we don’t even know what the movies were about because the kids base their selection on the cover pictures and me, well, on the back plot and review or awards given to the films.
So I start to think – how do we end up with these movies of similarities despite the differences in genres per batch of renting? Hmn. Maybe our brainwaves were in sync when we were wandering around the video rental store, reaching out to tap the other’s which commands the kids’ eyes to notice the cover and to appeal to my senses similar movie plots or something similar. After all, we’re family. The same blood runs through our brains.
Or maybe it is just plain coincidence. But it has been too frequent an occasion for it to be a “chance happening”.
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