Life-Changing Books (and Movies)
Category: Media
Published: 06/28/2008 04:07 p.m.
I wanted to just do books, but in my experience I watch a lot of movies, and since some of them are based on books, I am including them as well.
Catcher in the Rye - truly a cult classic. I was assigned to read a random book my junior year of high school in the Fall of 2001. After going to NY in October, I spoke a great deal with my english teacher Mr. Hollis about life. Since he had just assigned us these random books and I didn't like any of them, he let me read Catcher. I don't think he was allowed to assign it due to all of the cursing, but it was a wonderful read at that time in my life. The major theme is about "phony" people. Everyone around Holden is too dumb or too annoying or too fake. When you read it you can see his side until very late in the book when you realize that he is the fakest of them all (and a little crazy). It made me view my actions from a third person perspective and I would think if what I was doing would annoy me, then I would (or wouldn't) do it. I still think this way.
Siddhartha - the tale of a man's life. He starts as a faithful son who is very intelligent (kinda like me). He goes off to learn with beggars about living without possessions. I went to college to learn, so it is a bit similar, but really not very close. Then he meets the Buddha. This is one of the greatest passages I have ever read. He tells Buddha (after he listens to him) that to really reach Nirvana, he can't learn anything from Buddha. You have to find your own path. That was a great line to read as a freshman in college (and this past week). It then continues to tell a classic rise and fall tale of his life. Learning to love, to sin, and all the ways of the world til he ends up as humble as he began. I learned a few lessons from this book. You have to find your own path. Love is important. Patience is important. You can't share wisdom with words (that's called knowledge) but you can show it with actions. Most worldly things don't matter, and aren't worth getting upset over. And finally, when you decide to make a big life-changing decision that affects others, don't be surprised when people do the same thing to you. The final point in the book is that time doesn't change, like how a river always has water, but it's always different water. I don't get that yet, but I am figuring it out.
Into the Wild (watched movie but not read book) - I was not really expecting this one. It has had a big impact like fight club but in a different way. It plays some of the anti-materialism stuff but it is different. It doesn't mock materialsm, it just flees it to be free from things. I don't want to travel around with nothing, and I don't have too much desire to live off of the land. But I do need less because of this movie. Greed is not a quality I would describe myself as having.This probably impacted me the most instanly. It is also a very peaceful watch.
Fight Club (saw movie and read book) - amazing. The biggest think I picked out of this was anti-materialism. The line I remember best is from the night when they are first in the bar and have their first fight. Tyler says "The things you own end up owning you". When it comes to car maintenance, washing clothes, fixing tech stuff, or sorting through junk drawers, I always think of this. And when I look at an ikea catalog, since there are also blatant refrences to that as well. Makes me want to own very little, which I think is a good thing. Another one of my favorite lines is a conversation when they first meet on the airplane. Ed Norton tells Tyler about his single-serving shampoos and snacks when he travels, and he refers to the people he meets on planes as "single-serving friends". Tyler says that's very witty. Then he asks "Hows that going? Being witty?" Now almost every time I think of something witty to say, I think of this line. Another favorite part is when he pulls a gun on a convenience store clerk. He only does this to scare him into following his dream (to be a vet). He threatens to come back to him in 6 months and if he wasn't in school that he would be dead. That makes me never want to settle when it comes to my dreams. Because of this movie, one of my life goals is to become a "30-year-old boy". To me, this means keeping the passion and innocence of a child into a big milestone in life. Along with this, there is a scene when Tyler is driving a car and they crash off of the rode. While in the car, he asks the men what is the one thing they want to do before they die. I think of that often. I don't know mine yet, and I really don't fear death, so I think maybe I did it already. If I had to guess mine, it would be being loved by someone else. I love the rawness of the violence, the animalist way the men interact and the fact that they are brothers. Finally, the overall theme of the movie is finding your true self and being the person you really want to be. Lines about a model's body not being what a real man looks like, small haiku's about bees and their queen, secrets of un-moral businesses, and the anarchist ideas that small groups of well-organized and dedicated men can change the world. This one is the most influential.
In terms of non-fiction, books like Freakanomics, Tipping Point, and How to Win Friends and Influence People and Made to Stick make me think about things differently, but I wouldn't call them life-changing yet. Their ideas may come into play in the future though, so we will see.