Hello Fellow Travelers!
Among the many situations that since 2011 demanded my attention, some can certainly be described as "entertainment" are, in fact, a lot of films I check off in my mind (or write off as the case may be) as "high stress" movies. There are a lot of them. In "high stress" movies the protagonist is given an impossible set of circumstances and then he/she+Possible Partner spend the 90+ remaining minutes being chased or chasing something or someone. I've always thought of them as "chase" movies and tolerated others who find watching artificial stress entertaining. I do not, I never did find "Stress Movies" entertaining, and since I was spun around repeatedly by God (or someone) I not only find them simple and a waste of my strength these contemporary and extremely predictable films give me, the cancer survivor, a whole new level of discomfort and understanding.
It's not remotely entertaining. Why would anyone choose to spend $10 bucks and, more importantly, spend 2 hours actually paying attention to completely artificial stress that some completely invented character is experiencing? Not your mom, not your cousin, not a friend, someone completely made up. Isn't life stressful enough? We need to pay babysitters and buy popcorn and sit on very used seats for this? That's two hours of your life you'll never get back either. The commercial says, "If you're not whitening, you're yellowing", they are talking about teeth but it's just as true about entertainment. If you are going to see a film and you not only don't learn anything, it costs you something,(time, money, thought, whatever)it's no longer entertaining.
I used to tolerate people around me watching characters in highly stressful situations and calling it entertainment. Now if I am forced to watch a Stress Movie, I worry about how many broken bones the made-up characters inflict on each other in the imaginary story. Since brain cancer and surgery lots of falling and breaking of bones have given me a unique perspective on the expected outcome of most films of the "high stress" genre. Every time Matt Damon walks towards the screen with a fire or explosion at his back (it does seem like Mr. Damon or Mr. Affleck are in a lot of these"stress fests". And what about that English guy or maybe he's Scottish? James McAvoy, he runs around a lot, chases his own tail plenty!) I now worry a little that he might explode or get too close to that fire because he's walking away from them and not watching them closely, like any normal person would. I rarely criticize anything that remotely resembles entertainment, I like drama and I live for comedy. I just have no time or patience for lots of upheaval and pointless running around by fictional characters.
When the most ordinary chores require extraordinary effort, entertainment takes on an entirely different meaning and value. It actually requires very little to amuse me. A lot of made up danger expressed by actors who, in many cases are grossly overpaid is not my idea of a good time.
Neither is dragging anyone to experience the magic that is "Breaking Dawn" (1, 2 does it matter? Aren't they all the same?)
PS - "30 Minutes Or Less" was actually pretty funny.
Among the many situations that since 2011 demanded my attention, some can certainly be described as "entertainment" are, in fact, a lot of films I check off in my mind (or write off as the case may be) as "high stress" movies. There are a lot of them. In "high stress" movies the protagonist is given an impossible set of circumstances and then he/she+Possible Partner spend the 90+ remaining minutes being chased or chasing something or someone. I've always thought of them as "chase" movies and tolerated others who find watching artificial stress entertaining. I do not, I never did find "Stress Movies" entertaining, and since I was spun around repeatedly by God (or someone) I not only find them simple and a waste of my strength these contemporary and extremely predictable films give me, the cancer survivor, a whole new level of discomfort and understanding.
It's not remotely entertaining. Why would anyone choose to spend $10 bucks and, more importantly, spend 2 hours actually paying attention to completely artificial stress that some completely invented character is experiencing? Not your mom, not your cousin, not a friend, someone completely made up. Isn't life stressful enough? We need to pay babysitters and buy popcorn and sit on very used seats for this? That's two hours of your life you'll never get back either. The commercial says, "If you're not whitening, you're yellowing", they are talking about teeth but it's just as true about entertainment. If you are going to see a film and you not only don't learn anything, it costs you something,(time, money, thought, whatever)it's no longer entertaining.
I used to tolerate people around me watching characters in highly stressful situations and calling it entertainment. Now if I am forced to watch a Stress Movie, I worry about how many broken bones the made-up characters inflict on each other in the imaginary story. Since brain cancer and surgery lots of falling and breaking of bones have given me a unique perspective on the expected outcome of most films of the "high stress" genre. Every time Matt Damon walks towards the screen with a fire or explosion at his back (it does seem like Mr. Damon or Mr. Affleck are in a lot of these"stress fests". And what about that English guy or maybe he's Scottish? James McAvoy, he runs around a lot, chases his own tail plenty!) I now worry a little that he might explode or get too close to that fire because he's walking away from them and not watching them closely, like any normal person would. I rarely criticize anything that remotely resembles entertainment, I like drama and I live for comedy. I just have no time or patience for lots of upheaval and pointless running around by fictional characters.
When the most ordinary chores require extraordinary effort, entertainment takes on an entirely different meaning and value. It actually requires very little to amuse me. A lot of made up danger expressed by actors who, in many cases are grossly overpaid is not my idea of a good time.
Neither is dragging anyone to experience the magic that is "Breaking Dawn" (1, 2 does it matter? Aren't they all the same?)
PS - "30 Minutes Or Less" was actually pretty funny.
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