think tank forum

do you think it's a good or bad thing to act like your life is a movie and you are the main character?

it seems that it's good in that you will view our life differently: you will likely be more passionate, you'll waste less time, and you'll kick the shit out of more.

however, for the traditionalists, it can undermine a lot: you can find yourself living too much in the moment. this means that instead of making plans with people, you always act instantly and let things fall into your lap. it also means that you don't make long term plans or project much, resulting in a kind of irrationality.

debate the movie thesis: good or bad?

I personally like living in the moment right now. I dont want to have plans bogging me down, I want to be free to make the random road trip or whatever without having to ditch out on someone. As I recently found out, living in the moment does seem to make you more passionate and, for me, cause me a lot of pain. I really dont think the movie thing is a bad idea while we are young but as we mature it seems that the traditionalist way is more appropriate and gives us more direction. Hopefully after this freshman year of college I will start to make more long term, definate plans.

I think a combination of both is a good idea because of the fact that plans seem to always go askew from what was originally intended. Its good to have goals but also some things need to be taken for what they are and just dealt with in the moment.

I tend to think that my life would make a horrible movie. Often times I don't even want to be a part of it.

The whole idea of life being scripted rubs me the wrong way. I like to think I have a little more control than that. Plus I want to be responsible for my actions. I want to be held accountable beause ultimately you are accountable, at least to yourself.

/cue Bon Jovi "It's my life"

who says like is scripted? i believe in a degree of free will (or at least i live like i have free will, which might be all that matters.)

Unless life is one of those Jackass movies (which it is at times. *sigh*), movies are scripted. Perhaps I was too literal with my interpretation. Apologies.

point taken. i guess i meant live like you're the character in the movie, not the actor with scripted lines.

Yes, live like the movies if you want to be summarized adequately in one paragraph. Most writers try to make characters that represent fundamental ideals. Villains and superheroes, overly simplified. But even the most complex characters are restricted to the imagination of their creators. In a creative writing class my prof always said make sure every action of the characters'(s) is consistent with built up expectations of the reader.

Fuck that. Yes I want to be the hero of my own universe. But no I refuse to willingly be confined by my own expectations. Ah but that is just me refusing to acknowledge the infamous invisible box.

I thought of this thread today!

i'm not talking about "the movies." i didn't mean this literally. i'm talking about "your own movie." i'm talking about personally romanticizing and idealizing the moment.

ok, then yes.

I find it a moral imperative to pose like I'm in 1940s soviet propaganda whenever a photo is taken. You never know which one will end up in the archives.

Going back to the original post...

>you will likely be more passionate, you'll waste less time, and you'll kick the shit out of more.
>this means that instead of making plans with people, you always act instantly and let things fall into your lap. it also means that you don't make long term plans

Can't I live passionately/appreciate the moments while simultaneously making plans/setting goals? Are you saying you think they're mutually exclusive?

i'm not saying that you can't do both. i'm saying that you'd be so caught up in the moment, you'd lose sight of the future.

But if you're really appreciating the moment, that's impossible. It's only a moment...once it's gone, everything has changed. So if we're saying we're "caught up" in a moment, doesn't that just mean that we're now dwelling in the past?

i'm not saying "caught up in a moment," i'm saying "caught up in the moment." (e.g., whatever the current moment is, as opposed to a particular moment.)

and that's the point--everything is changing! instead of rafting heraclitus' river, you stand in it. you de-emphasize the past and the future, and shift more focus towards the current moment in flux.

so you really think that living in the moments is impossible?

No, that was in response to what you said. Of course I think it's possible! It's what I'm all about...remember?

yeah, i know! i almost wrote something like, "aren't you all about the moment, anyway?:

YEAH LOVE IT!!!!!
As you would say.

grr, this thread is frustrating.

why?

the thread title is "living like you're in a movie" yet it is only to be spoken of in the narrow context, that of living in the moment to the point of a sort of myopic sort of insanity (I am not sure if I paraphrased that properly). But what bothers me is that the associations that I have with "living like you're in a movie" do not fit into the context defined above. that is what is frustrating. Frankly there are a lot of other equally interestingly things that could be discussed under this title.

As for the thesis presented above, it seems like it is saying what is better the extreme of enjoying only the moment without making plans for the future or constantly making plans for the future without enjoying the moment, both options equally undesirable. If I am only living in the moment then my entire life is going to be defined by a narrow list of immediately pleasurable activities such as walking, eating, drinking, shitting… All of the “big” stuff will be outside of my reach unless someone walks up to me and hands me a ticket to Argentina. Soon I will be enjoying many moments of boredom. Alternatively if I fail to live in the moment I will organize my life and soon be on my way to Argentina but as soon as I get there I will begin making plans for what I will do once I get back in Montana. I will see, but I will not feel and life will be disastrous.

Any discussion about which option is better is simply ignoring the huge grey area in between. Perhaps I am missing the point…

I live life like I'm in an action movie .

baby bottles

Fsmart said:
But what bothers me is that the associations that I have with "living like you're in a movie" do not fit into the context defined above. that is what is frustrating. Frankly there are a lot of other equally interestingly things that could be discussed under this title.

feel free to discuss your ideas.

it just seemed to me that in your first post in this thread, you were arguing with me, but you were discussing an idea that wasn't even close to what i intended. so feel free to talk about your ideas, but don't direct your propositions at me in the style of a refutation. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man )

right :)

:D

as far as the grey area, let's discuss it.

i didn't intend to polarize the discussion.

I thought of this thread last night. serious weed-induced movie feeling. in a good way.

I need a Lost in Translation experience so bad right now.

I'm in the city...I'm all ready. I'd just need a moment to get down to the lounge.

I'm even wearing my Lost in Translation undies :(

i wonder what that all means.

I live like I'm in a book.

Scott Pilgrim's view of the world is a little too similar to my own for comfort.