Movies (or other media) that changed your life?

[BookTenTiger]

What movies, books, or other art have inspired changes in your life?

I was thinking about how Star Wars: A New Hope is the reason I play D&D.

I used to rewind my VHS of Star Wars over and over and over again to rewatch the Most Eisley Cantina scene. I'd draw all the different aliens and wonder about who they were. Then in middle school I found a book of short stories, each one about a different character in the Mos Eisley Cantina! In the introduction of the book, the editor wrote about playing the Star Wars RPG. I asked about it at my local comic book store, and they said they didn't have Star Wars, but have I heard about Dungeons & Dragons?

Twenty odd years later, D&D is still a huge part of my life, a way I stay connected with friends and meet new people.

So how about you? What movies, books, art, or other media have changed your life?

 

[payn]

The Republic by Plato. Or mostly just stories about Socrates. I appreciate his notion of not knowing anything and his argument approach in asking questions.

Rhetoric: Discovery and Change Rhetoric textbook (1970). Not necessarily this textbook, but it is often cited as the source of Rogerian argument. If you really want to learn how to have honest and purposeful discussions, Rogerian argument is a great method. Applying it to your own points, essays, postings, etc... Will have a positive effect on your connections and help you avoid traps like one true Scotsman or badwrongfun. Also, its a great exercise for folks who fall into the trap of just waiting for their turn to speak.

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury. Getting to Yes is a short form book about negotiation and finding agreement. The key piece of information contained within is that you should always focus on interests and not positions. This is a key element, in my opinion, that is missing from much political discussion today. Folks are so focused on their position solution, they don't realize their are options in the middle that can help everyone. Folks often fall into the trap of making perfect the enemy of good. Thinking about interests between you and your negotiating parties is incredibly good advice when it comes to reaching agreement in negotiation.

 

[Ryujin]

Star Trek, in the late '60s, first got me interested in STEM. Seems that I'm not alone in that.

"Chariots of the Gods", in maybe 1971, taught me critical thinking. As in how to spot BS and amplification, that someone can use to try and strengthen their very weak premise.

 

[aco175]

Sad to admit.

This one is better, but my father did not know he was bringing us kids to what he called "French' art.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Going chronologically (in my life, to be specific):

Beowulf - My mom used to read this to my brother and I when we were tiny. Is it any wonder we turned out the way we did?

Raiders of the Lost Ark - I was briefly an archaeology major in undergrad, so I daresay that counts as life-changing.

JRRT's The Hobbit - My love of fantasy predates this book, but without the works of Tolkien my life would not be the same.

The Sisters of Mercy - A Slight Case of Overbombing - The first Goth album I ever bought. After that it was all over for me...

William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch - A mind-blowing read, this transformed my understanding of what language could do. It encouraged, no, demanded, active reading and consideration of the text.

The Fellowship of the Ring (movie) - Back to Tolkien again. I had drifted away from gaming and fantasy. Then, just seeing that short, tiny little Quicktime trailer reignited everything, a match to dry kindling. In no time I was diving back into my old fantasy favorites, discovering new ones, and returning to D&D.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Growing up, we watched a TV edit. It wasn't until we were easily-embarrassed teenagers that we discovered this fact after renting a copy from the local VHS rental to watch with friends.

This one is better, but my father did not know he was bringing us kids to what he called "French' art.

View attachment 152669

 

[aco175]

Growing up, we watched a TV edit. It wasn't until we were easily-embarrassed teenagers that we discovered this fact after renting a copy from the local VHS rental to watch with friends.

He just told us not to talk to mom after we saw Quest for Fire. Looking back I forgot that it was Ron Pearlman's big break.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Saw that one as a kid, too. Watched a lot of stuff I probably shouldn't have at that age.

He just told us not to talk to mom after we saw Quest for Fire. Looking back I forgot that it was Ron Pearlman's big break.

Which brings me to something I omitted:

Poltergeist - Being invited to watch it at age six with our dad was fairly traumatizing. Ghosts stories still give me the creeps to this day (though not as much as when I was younger - even as far as college, I remember watching a back-to-back showing of Poltergeist I & II and not sleeping for hours after).

 

[Smackpixi]

The Virtue of Selfishness - Ayn Rand. I wouldn’t have been such an insufferable douche bag in my early 20s w/o it.

 

[Tonguez]

Colliers Encyclopedia - M for Monster entry.
the set we had also had a companion book on Classical Mythology and another set of short stories which included the Mischief in Fez.

For movies Captain Sindbad and Harryhausens Jason and the Argonauts

I studied Anthropology at Uni specialising in Mythology and Culture