When screenwriters compose a script, they also have to formulate what’s known as a logline, a one-sentence description of the entire movie. In The Stories We Tell Ourselves, I presented this list of loglines from the Internet Movie Database. See if you can guess each film:
“Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts common decency.”
“The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.”
“Two business rivals hate each other at the office but fall in love over the Internet.”
As Netflix’s impressive numbers revealed in my last post, we live in a story-saturated culture. In fact, I’m willing to bet you got at least two out of three of those loglines correct. (Answers: The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, and You’ve Got Mail.)
But sometimes we allow these stories to take too much precedent in how we actually live our lives.
For instance, even though it was used to comedic effect, Tom Hanks’ character in You’ve Got Mail referenced The Godfather when he typed it was time to “go to the mattresses” in his efforts to take over the Shop Around the Corner. He was essentially using a pre-written script from a movie as a way to deal with an unwanted conflict.
But it’s when we use such scripts on a regular basis to deal with actual people that we suffer unexpected consequences, higher stress levels, and problematic relationships. We must learn how to enjoy films without letting them guide how we live our lives. For some, this is easy, but for others, films and TV are central scripts to how they see themselves and those around them. Ultimately, this isn’t a healthy way to live because it’s more a fantasy world than reality.
After all, even though You’ve Got Mail turned out just fine for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, real life isn’t so tidy, nor does conflict resolve itself, in most situations, within a couple of hours.
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