I like to watch movies. Everytime I browse the internet or read the newspaper, I always browse in the movie schedules on the newspapers or in the internet in order to be updated to the latest films that are being shown in movie theaters. Whenever I am watching a movie, I feel that I am being fully informed regarding a particular situation of a certain place, a particular attitude of a certain race or a particular belief of a person on a certain issue in the society.
I also like classic novels, but instead of reading it for a week, I prefer to watch it in a form of a movie for an hour since both talks the same story and depicts the same reality.
My enthusiasm in watching movies have changed when I started reading and reflecting the 100 Years of Cinema, published by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in commemoration of the one hundredth birthday of motion picture in the world. This pastoral text taught me to be critical in watching movies which was also a great help for me to understand and to be aware of the effects of motion pictures into the mind and actions of the human person. I learned that motion pictures exaggerates the very essence of reality for the human person. It defies the real significance of reality which in Philosophy, ‘reality signifies not only that which exists in complete independence of the human mind, but also that which is knowable by and intelligible for the human person. I learned also that movies cannot fully give a hundred percent of knowledge for me so as to be informed on certain things. Movies just only give a feeling of being informed on a certain thing or situation which also an exaggeration on the very essence of reality for the human person. it is a good thing to ponder upon that 100 Years of Cinema is concerned on these things in the motion pictures. Thus, the 100 Years of Cinema is telling us that we must be critical in dealing with motion pictures.
In conclusion, the 100 Years of Cinema has a good point in dealing with its concern regarding our attitude towards motion pictures. Being critical is one of the best thing that I must ponder on my thoughts and actions in dealing with motion pictures. Being critical is important for me not only with movies, but also with other forms of mass media which also has the capability of exaggerating reality as it is. The 100 Years of Cinema is a kind of relief for me that everything you see in the movie cannot be always plausible for gaining information.
