Seeing people for who they are...

Man, I love movies. They are like books you can "read" in two hours, while doing the laundry. It's great. And, I feel like they are getting better. Or maybe I'm just now starting to see them for what they are. I feel like I've seen so many movies lately that have left me breathlessly staring at the credits with my hand to my face, unsure whether to cry or smile.

I just watched Revolutionary Road, and it said so much on so many different levels, I feel I will need to absorb it for days. I am certainly watching it again before I send it back. In researching it afterward, I found it was directed by the same man as Away We Go, which I blogged about a while back. I am not surprised. Both take such truthful looks at life today. In this case, the movie is set in the 50s and is based on a book written in the 60s, but it still holds just as true, if not more so, now.

Without giving anything away, the thing that struck me most while watching it was the absolutely terrifying fact that nearly every person, everywhere spends his life wishing it were different. We are in a constant position of desire. This is something apart from hope. Of course we will always hope for things, like that we would all get along, or that the environment would not have to suffer from our being a part of it. But the desire for something different is so common, so comfortable, yet so toxic. We don't even notice we're doing it. It scares me so much to think of it. It's like this giant black hole that sucks up any happiness that truly exists.

The other thing that struck me thinking back on the characters is that we are hardly ever just two people interacting with one another. We are six people interacting. There is the real you, the real other person, the you that you want the other person to see, the other person that the other person wants you to see, the you the other person wants to see, and the other person that you want to see. Whew. How difficult that makes it for us all to "find" ourselves. No wonder most people never do.

It's amazing to look at the truly beautiful things humans can create, as well as the completely destructive things we do to ourselves and each other every minute. This movie was powerful in shining a light on both.



Yes, this is my husband shaving. So we went by Chamblin yesterday and picked up this amazing book of portrait photography, which is my new inspiration. It is full of people just being people. No poses, nothing special. Just day to day stuff. So I followed my husband around a while today just snapping photos to help me get the hang of it. I want to catch people being themselves. Not trying to fit any kind of persona. No poses, but more than just candid- personal. So, here's my first shot. Let's hope I get better!!