Wednesday, November 30, 2005
I wonder
I wonder where storytellers get their inspirations from. Do they dig deep into the recesses of their minds and creatively fabricate an imaginary world where alls well ends well just from scratch, or have they had past experiences that they fall back on (and obviously take it to the next level)?
I am more inclined to prefer the former, and it places me in awe and disappointment at the same time. It takes sheer genius to put together a captivating story that we could only dream off from scratch. I mean, to visualise an entire story with plots and subplots and subsubplots is no easy feat. Take for example, one of my favourite movies, Before Sunset (and of course its prequel Before Sunrise). Its a simple movie entirely based on the conversations of 2 strangers who chanced on each other in a train in Europe, who then proceed to fall in love, and then part, and then coincidentally meet in Paris 9 freaking years later. Its absolutely beautiful. How perfect could that ever get? The whole idea of meeting your soulmate, losing your soulmate and then finally reuniting 9 years down the road is as romantic as it can get. But the thing is, could this possibly ever happen in reality. What are the chances of bumping into your soulmate on a backpacking trip through Europe? And not once too, but twice! In an even more basic context, what are the chances of even bumping into your soulmate?
The truth is, most of us trudge through our lives without ever meeting our soulmate, and thats what saddens me the most. Thats what draws me to movies and books, because I sometimes feel that the only happiness I could possibly achieve is by living the experiences of these fictional characters. Perhaps the storytellers feel the same way, and therefore live through their stories, because sometimes, its the only way we can get by in this world
I am more inclined to prefer the former, and it places me in awe and disappointment at the same time. It takes sheer genius to put together a captivating story that we could only dream off from scratch. I mean, to visualise an entire story with plots and subplots and subsubplots is no easy feat. Take for example, one of my favourite movies, Before Sunset (and of course its prequel Before Sunrise). Its a simple movie entirely based on the conversations of 2 strangers who chanced on each other in a train in Europe, who then proceed to fall in love, and then part, and then coincidentally meet in Paris 9 freaking years later. Its absolutely beautiful. How perfect could that ever get? The whole idea of meeting your soulmate, losing your soulmate and then finally reuniting 9 years down the road is as romantic as it can get. But the thing is, could this possibly ever happen in reality. What are the chances of bumping into your soulmate on a backpacking trip through Europe? And not once too, but twice! In an even more basic context, what are the chances of even bumping into your soulmate?
The truth is, most of us trudge through our lives without ever meeting our soulmate, and thats what saddens me the most. Thats what draws me to movies and books, because I sometimes feel that the only happiness I could possibly achieve is by living the experiences of these fictional characters. Perhaps the storytellers feel the same way, and therefore live through their stories, because sometimes, its the only way we can get by in this world
# posted by spacemanjoe @ 07:10 
