Film Prompters
In the context of this issue of the Topaz,
we asked ourselves the question: ‘How can films assist us in this journey
of personal development?’ The films recommended here are, of course, not
produced to assist in this journey, but they offer an imagery that can contribute
to our understandings about the journey of personal development. Instead of
reviewing one film, we thought that it would be a good idea to include some
films to illustrate the article on personal development. We are not necessarily
recommending the whole film, although some of them might provoke more inspiring
thoughts than we have touched upon.
 Film-prompter
1 - The film ‘Jerry
Maguire’ tells the story of a sports agent who asks himself
the questions, ‘what did I actually want from life when I was young and
what have I become now that I am older?’. He then steps outside his usual
life, which instantly causes an uneasiness. He decides to write a ‘mission
statement’ for all his colleagues, which promotes less of a focus on money
and more on the quality of life, less of a focus on winning and profit and more
on humanity and friendship. The core notion of personal development is ‘change’.
One powerful inspiration can cause change. This film shows how such a life-changing
moment can result in a different way of going on, with many moments of learning
how to handle change and view it as a development potential.
 Film-prompter
2 - Real personal development can lift us to a third place that sits
above the two fighting giants of faith and proof, belief and hard facts, religion
and science. It is difficult to explain, but wonderfully portrayed in the film
‘Contact’.
Jody Foster is a scientist who has to appear in front of a critical committee
to explain an experience she has had. This experience was beyond anything she
had previously known and certainly beyond any commercial interests. Her education
simply does not support her explaining this experience, so she has to reach
inside to place that experience in a much greater context, and one that touches
upon why the human is on earth. She says, “I had an experience. I can’t
prove it, I can’t explain it. But everything that I know as a human being,
everything that I am, tells me that it was real. I was given something wonderful,
something that changed me forever, a vision of the universe that tells us undeniably
how tiny and insignificant and how rare and precious we all are. A vision that
tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that none
of us are alone. I wish that I could share that. I wish that everyone, if even
for one moment could feel that awe and the humility and the hope... But...,
that continues to be my wish.”
 Film-prompter
3 - Each day offers the chance for change, each hour, each minute.
There are many films that offer examples of the inner magic and passion that
can be discovered in the small things of life and how much wisdom they can reveal
to us and how much change they can propose. Films like ‘Innocent
Moves’ with Joe Montagna, or ‘Stars fell on Henrietta’
and the film ‘A
River Runs Through It’ from Robert Redford. These are all
films that promote a richer and deeper intimacy with the simple things of life.
The comedy ‘Groundhog
Day’ with Bill Murray highlights this as well.
 Film-prompter
4 - Change can take an upward or downward direction, it can lead to
growth or to decay. This feature of personal development can be found in many
aspects of life, and in the way we deal with this change. The film ‘First
do no Harm’ with Meryl Streep tells the tale of a woman who
searches for the cause of epilepsy, trusting her own capability to reason and
assess even when the authorities do not confirm her and even when generally
accepted views are against her. The same message is extended by another marvellous
film, ‘Lorenzo's
Oil’ with Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte. This film also promotes
the need to think and add things up for oneself. These are films about people
who seize the chance to decide how they handle change and who do not automatically
follow generally accepted views.
 Film-prompter
5 - Are we one of those who consciously live their life or “are
we being lived”. In the film ‘Finding
Forrester’ with Sean Connery some very interesting clues
are given about how to live one’s own life and not to adopt those things
that will make us a victim of our own patterned responses. Sean Connery plays
a famous elderly writer who has a young man as a student, and at one point says
to him, ‘The thing that people are most afraid of is what they don’t
understand’. He warns his student that fear leads to assumption and assumption
to judgement. Many films convey useful warnings in often simple and sometimes
powerful ways. A recent film called ‘The
Recruit’ with Al Pacino, sprinkles these warnings like confetti
through the film. The notion that prompts alertness and presence of mind throughout
the film is: ‘Nothing is what it seems to be’.
Another film is the German ‘Hanussen’, about a
very successful clairvoyant who lived in Germany just before the Second World
War and who fell prey to the consequences of his abilities. Often our special
abilities can help us on the journey of personal development, but sometimes
we fall prey to them and they start to determine us instead of the other way
around.
 Film-prompter
6 - To leave the world a better place than when we arrived. In this
context the film ‘Dead
Poets Society’ with Robin Williams is recommended - a film
about spiritual liberation and the difficulties that face us in trying to break
free from conformity, and thus to find one’s natural contribution into
life.
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