A Lifetime of Movies
Wow, David Ansen has seen 7,714 movies in his lifetime! Granted, it is his job as a movie critic to watch several films a day. But to know exactly how many he's seen?
In a recent Newsweek article, Ansen revealed that, since he was 12 years old, he has kept a detailed list of every one of those nearly 8000 movies.
This is fascinating to me for several reasons. One of which is that my son is currently learning the fine art of journaling. He's been practicing writing about different ideas and topics, but at times doesn't seem terribly motivated to keep up with it on his own. Ansen's experience might just be an inspiration to my movie-loving son to get into the habit of writing in his journal.
This article also makes me reflect upon my own experiences with movies. I have no idea how many of them I've seen over the years. If I had to guess, it would probably be around 3500. 200 of those would've been seen during the first 18 years of my life. So, what happened at 18? Two wonderful inventions called cable TV and the VCR.
My kids take movies for granted. They've already seen hundreds, some of them more than once. Finding Nemo, a dozen times. Sleeping Beauty, eight times. Thomas and the Magic Railroad, twenty times. When I was a kid, there were just a handful of movies that the TV networks would show once a year. That was the only way to see them again. The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Ten Commandments... Those are the ones I remember. The day after, every kid in school would be talking about how they got to stay up late to watch Moses part the Red Sea or Dorothy melt the Wicked Witch.
Of course, watching a film on TV was never quite as good as going to the theater. I have fond childhood memories of sitting in the dark with my tub of buttery popcorn while the big screen lit up with such magical movies as Charlotte's Web, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Herbie Rides Again. My kids will mostly have memories of movie nights at home, sitting on a comfy couch with pizza, popcorn, and a pause button on the remote control for bathroom breaks.
I wonder which movies they'll remember. If I can get my son interested in keeping a journal like David Ansen did, maybe he'll remember all of them!
In a recent Newsweek article, Ansen revealed that, since he was 12 years old, he has kept a detailed list of every one of those nearly 8000 movies.
This is fascinating to me for several reasons. One of which is that my son is currently learning the fine art of journaling. He's been practicing writing about different ideas and topics, but at times doesn't seem terribly motivated to keep up with it on his own. Ansen's experience might just be an inspiration to my movie-loving son to get into the habit of writing in his journal.
This article also makes me reflect upon my own experiences with movies. I have no idea how many of them I've seen over the years. If I had to guess, it would probably be around 3500. 200 of those would've been seen during the first 18 years of my life. So, what happened at 18? Two wonderful inventions called cable TV and the VCR.
My kids take movies for granted. They've already seen hundreds, some of them more than once. Finding Nemo, a dozen times. Sleeping Beauty, eight times. Thomas and the Magic Railroad, twenty times. When I was a kid, there were just a handful of movies that the TV networks would show once a year. That was the only way to see them again. The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Ten Commandments... Those are the ones I remember. The day after, every kid in school would be talking about how they got to stay up late to watch Moses part the Red Sea or Dorothy melt the Wicked Witch.
Of course, watching a film on TV was never quite as good as going to the theater. I have fond childhood memories of sitting in the dark with my tub of buttery popcorn while the big screen lit up with such magical movies as Charlotte's Web, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Herbie Rides Again. My kids will mostly have memories of movie nights at home, sitting on a comfy couch with pizza, popcorn, and a pause button on the remote control for bathroom breaks.
I wonder which movies they'll remember. If I can get my son interested in keeping a journal like David Ansen did, maybe he'll remember all of them!
Labels: movies
Permalink posted by Idaho Dad at 12:01 AM
3 Comments:
My wife and I went to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D for her recent birthday. It cost us $12 each to get in the door. It's no small wonder people are staying home nowadays. I can't afford to go out, and for the $24 it costs for the two of us to get it, I could buy the movie when it comes out on DVD!
I would have my kids keep a journal of how many times they watch each individual movie, but I think it would probably be embarrassing (for them and for me!)
So...are you going to give NaBloPoMo another shot this year? (www.nablopomo.com)
That's a lot of movies. He's like Wilt Chamberlin.
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