I am 47 years old and find that still today a good story can bring tears to my eyes. I love Hallmark and Lifetime movies, not because I think life works like it is depicted in these films. No, I think these films bring joy, hope and laughter into this world with a purity and wholeness that might be lacking in our lives.
I get teased when others see the tears that roll down my cheeks as i get pulled into these movies. These movies provide me with an escape from my humdrum reality and pull me into a magical world where all problems can be resolved in 2 hours or less. Where the love of a lifetime can be found and everyone lives happily ever after. But what is the overall appeal of these movies?
I know that the reason why I love these movies is because they take my mind totally out of whatever I have going on and submerge me into a world with endless possibilities. These feel good movies can for 2 hours at a time relieve boredom and the grit of everyday living. They also instill for a moment a brief feeling of hope and fulfillment that is often lacking in our day.
Any movie can tell a story or provide entertainment, few manage to do this well. There are so many genre of stories and many different ways that they can be interpreted. It is the job of the screen writer to capture the essence of a book, novel or story. Then it is up to the director to breathe life into the screenplay. When done well the audience is transported into it, they feel like they can relate to one or more of the characters. The trappings of their ordinary day become transparent and for the time being they can live vicariously through them.
Studios like Disney, Hallmark and Lifetime seem to be able bring wholesome, feel good movies over and over again with resounding success. Walt Disney pioneered the wholesome family film which laid the foundation and ground work for all Hallmark and Lifetime. I believe that Walt Disney was a trailblazer and visionary that set a very high bar for those that followed in his wake. At the Walt Disney company they call this the "Disney Magic" or the "Magic of Disney", every new employee to the company has to go through a two week orientation called "Traditions". This training stresses the values and expectations that Walt himself had for everyone who worked for or with him.
Wholesomeness and purity are keywords that come to mind when you think of a Disney movie. Deep characters that seem to be able to achieve or overcome anything thrown at them and always end up happy. There is a formula that these movies all strive to achieve, a deep conflict that needs a resolution. Inside the plot of these movies is a hidden hook and it reels/reals you into the drama that is unfolding before you. In a way you are made to care about these characters and the issue or problem they are going through resonates with you and your life. Once that hook is set guaranteed it is going to elicit an emotional reaction out of you, and for that brief moment in time you are transported from the mundane to the magical.
It just sort of sucks that it had to end. Your mind knows that what you see is fake but your heart feels like it's all real. That is the power these types of movies have in our lives. We all need to escape reality once in awhile and what better place is there to do that than the movies.
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
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