Find Your "Wall of Movies"

Everyone has their “thing”. 

The Optimist's movie collection

    Some people collect baseball cards, others vintage stamps. Some people love to take photos or bake or make corn husk dolls, doesn't matter. Everyone has something in their lives that they're passionate about. Me? Movies. Who would have thought, right? One wall of my living room is dedicated to this collection. I don’t say that to brag, but to eventually make a point. My wife hates the fact that the wall in our living room next to the entertainment center is nothing but movies. Why, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she lacks the enthusiastic love for movies that I do, or maybe she just sees the wall of DVDs and Blu-rays as a potential down payment on a house. Who knows. I used to be really bad about how much money I spent on movies. Blockbuster Video (may you rest in peace) was my second favorite spot next to the cinema. Their 4-for-20 deals were a steal. Each week I would bring home (no joke) anywhere from 2 to 15 movies. It was ridiculous. I’ve since weaned down.

    My name is Brandon

    And I’m a movie-holic.

    The world as we know it is ever-changing. With the many avenues of instant streaming today, buying movies has become a thing of the past. I’m sure, eventually, that physical copies of movies will become obsolete and that every home movie-watching experience will be strictly streamed through the interwebs. When that day comes, it will truly be a travesty.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love Netflix and Hulu just as much as the next person. But to travel to a store and hold a copy of a movie in your hand, bringing it home to watch on your DVD or Blu-ray player, there’s nothing like it. I get that I’m an extreme breed, but that’s just the way it is for me. Ask any avid book-reader, there’s just something about holding a book in your hands, flipping the pages, smelling that new book smell, and sitting in a quiet spot of the house while you devour those printed words, that holds power and presence over digital versions. DVDs are my books. Once I have it home, I devour it. I watch the bonus features, the audio commentary, the alternate director’s cuts, the alternate director’s cuts WITH audio commentary. They become a full-on experience.

    My purpose here isn’t to advocate the purchasing of movies world-wide. I simply wish to convey that people have passions, and those passions should be pursued. Today’s society seems to be about how connected you can be on any given day to your mobile device rather than the world around you. It’s hard to argue when that mobile device can stream movies and other forms of entertainment, lol. But I would implore everyone to put down their devices and find something they’re passionate about, and attack it. For me, I love to write and movies are my muses. Any and all aspects of filmmaking and cinema-going is inspiring to me. As an aspiring storyteller, and just a lover of movies in general, being able to lose myself in a film, which are just stories played out, is truly motivating. Plus it’s just down-right fun! So for me, buying a movie isn't all about its recreational value. It's often about remembering how that particular movie moved me or inspired me. Don’t worry about what other people think, just do what you love. It’s all about your perspective, how you view the things you’re passionate about, that will drive you to achieve them. Take my passion for example, one wife’s potential down payment is a husband’s wall of inspiration!

    So, on this blessed Monday, as we start a new week of challenges and memorable moments, don’t forget about your wall of movies. Life has a tendency to get in the way of that. When that happens, look life in the face and say, in the immortal words of Jack Black in “School of Rock”, “STEP OFF!”