Movies that Inspire
There’s a little bit of the Movies in All of Us. Or There is a bit of Us in all the Great Movies.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved movies. I enjoyed the good old action, comedy and romance movies a lot. And loved the thrill and fun they provided.
Back then I loved the classic Indian masala movies (movies that blend multiple genres into one work like action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama). The masala genre is named after the masala, a mixture of spices in Indian cuisine.
But when I went to university, things started to change. I made a lot of new friends. And got exposed to a wide variety of movies and discovered the other movies.
I fell in love with movies all over again. And started loving these other kinds of movies. Mostly good Indian and Hollywood movies .
Movies that provided meaning, insight and inspiration rather than just providing fun, pleasure or momentary thrill.
But at the time I could not articulate why those movies moved and inspired me.
This blog is an attempt to articulate and share that feeling.
Impact and Reflections
After watching several movies in the past I’ve realized how some of those stories and characters started influencing me.
I often caught myself crying or feeling good (inspired) after watching those stories. The characters stayed with me long after I’ve seen the movie. And they made me emotional and curious.
So I researched more to understand the characters and the events to get more context. I often went into internet rabbit holes, read books, cross referenced web articles etc.
Anything that could give me the full context, truth and broader social, cultural, political themes of these stories.
As I knew and understood more, I fell in love and became more excited to find more such stories. This became a passion without me even realizing it.
And I watched hundreds of such stories.
Now, as I reflect more on my adult life (the last 15 or so years), I realize these stories helped me think deeply about things I never thought or knew before.
They have made learning a piece of history or event more engaging and therefore helped me understand the nuances of how our society works.
They have helped me learn new perspectives, informed and updated my knowledge of real people, historical or contemporary events. And reshaped and expanded my worldview.
They helped me empathize more.
I became more self aware and started knowing myself better. I understood my own values and biases by just watching these stories and relating to the characters’ journey.
These stories made me more open-minded and humble. And reshaped my personality too.
I feel I evolve and become a better person with every great story or movie I watch. It is a lifelong journey now. And it’s a great feeling!!
I even created a Facebook page back in 2013 to share my passion for these kind of movies. Check Here.
Why I want to curate and share good movies?
I realized watching movies is a great way to learn about the world and things in general (if we habitually and intentionally watch movies with slices of real people in it or movies inspired by real stories and events or documentaries about people, society, culture, history and human spirit).
Movies based on real characters/events give us a great chance to know our world and its problems a little better and how people are solving or dealing with them.
They also give us a great chance to emotionally connect with a person or a group of people. They teach us to empathize and love more.
That perspective is super important in today’s world. Our world is getting more polarized everyday with toxic news and stupid opinions which constantly bombards us with ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ stories. But we don’t need us and them stories.
What we need is ‘We’ stories. Stories that can help us meaningfully connect with others irrespective of our differences in our race, color, language, religion etc.
Great stories can help us understand the world better, and relate and empathize more with others especially with strangers. Strangers who we have never met in person. This reframe and lens is all we need.
I strongly feel many of the world's problems could be solved if people just understood each other more. And empathize more. And there is no greater tool at our disposal than good stories and movies.
That’s why I decided to distill the good stuff in them, and curate and share these stories with more people. My mission is to share these stories with at least a million people.
Every Sunday I’d recommend one movie that will inspire you. Stories I’m sure you will love and feel good about. Stories which will be worth your time.
Expect these recurring themes and genres in my recommendations.
Meaningful
Inspiring / Uplifting / Feel good
Insightful / Informative / Takeaway
I love and have personally enjoyed all these movies I recommend and they are all more than 7 on IMDB ratings. I’ve created a notion database for sharing these. Check here
