Movies (and books and such) people should see/read

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

The thought was bouncing about my head today about Saw (and II), Se7en, Phone Booth, and Fight Club. Just kinda thinking, but then I thought about how I changed after seeing each of these movies (not so much FC, though); nothing huge or dramatic, but how I viewed some things in life (sloth or misuse in life (Saw), greed et al (Se7en), lack of responsibility (Phone Booth)) definitely changed. The same also happened with some books I’ve read, the most notables being the series by King, The Dark Tower; also Orwell’s 1984.

I was just wondering your thoughts on such movies/books/media in general. Do you think there should be a list of items people should see (not everybody be forced to see, but if you were to recommend one based on its message)? If so, what would be some movies/books to put up? If you don’t think there should be such a list, why not? Has anyone else ever seen a movie and have their life change because of it?

2

Jacob’s Ladder (1990) was a movie that got me into the whole survival horror game scene. I guess that changed it; it’s my favorite genre now.

3

Completely missed the point. I’m talking about outlooks on life or things within life. More philosophical things than preferences.

4

Watch <b>The Boondock Saints.</b> FUCKING WATCH. It leaves you thinking “Is killing for good… good?”

My entire sig comes from that movie.

5

Hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy (moreso book than film), really got me into thinking about stuff about life. Nothing in particular, but questions about existance popped because of it. I highly reccomend it to any person whom is interested, it’s a good read.

6

Chain Of Command:The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour Hersh. It’s a great book by the guy who leaked the My Lai massacre story. (I saw him speak as well). It’s really making me think about all the bullshit we’re fed.

7

If you have any interest in the arts, philosophy, or science, read Saving the Appearances by Owen Barfield. It’s a difficult read, but not too long, and thoroughly enlightening.

8

Pretty much so anything made by Stanley Kubrick.

9

Requiem for a Dream.

10

I’m going to second what Epic said. Very great film.

11

The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith which dives into the beliefs of the religions rather than their respective histories. It covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucionism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as Primal Religions (such as the Aboriginal religion). It’s a great primer on world religion, and shows you just how compatible beliefs are with one another.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, which is one of the lesser read holy books of religion. Its poetry is beautiful, and it is something that just about anybody can learn from, regardless of your beliefs.

The film eXistenZ explores questions of reality much better than [/u]The Matrix[u] could ever hope to.

12

That’s an amazing movie. It’s a canadian film too! “a birthday is a special occasion”. hah!

I think the Godzilla movies changed my life. I now know that destroying cities and fighting fellow giant monsters can be very, very entertaining.

13

I thought The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker was fairly interesting in its logical application of biology to various social trends. It looks long, but its fairly easy to read.

I don’t know what kind of effect it’ll have on someone who doesn’t understand different kinds of biology like genetics and evolution though.

14

It will most likely make them propose ID as a good arguement, and then I’ll have to ask why they are are in my Bio classes.

15

God this is gonna sound so lame, but the manga .Hack//Legend of the Twilight actually did change my outlook on life. As did saiyuki, but not as much.
So yeah, .Hack//Legend of the Twilight.

16

[obligatory Dune reference]

17

The Garden Party and Other Stories, Katherine Mansfield.

You’ll want to listen to the radio show, not read the bloody books.

18

Tim Burton’s Big Fish change about how I looked at things and made me wonder about how I should be remembered.

19

there are few works of art that have changed my life. the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, the song Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies, and the poems of T.S. Eliot, The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Burnt Norton, specifically.

20

That sounds like a good read. I should look for it in the library when my semester is over.