This blog introduces you to my special brand of BIKE. I show you how to find your Best self, access your Inner strength, tune in to your Killer instincts, and use your Expressive voice. It's inspiring, spiritual, quirky, and it's all in your head. It's about ATTITUDE, not exercise, though that might be a side benefit.

Monday, May 7, 2012

5 movies that have inspired my writing

Today marks our first theme day. The 250+ bloggers participating in the WordCount Blogathon this month were asked to blog about the "five movies that have inspired my writing." Of course, there will be variations, as bloggers were told they can stray from the theme, stick to the theme, or not follow the theme at all. It's merely a suggestion, and I accept the challenge.

There's an additional challenge for me, though, because I don't watch movies with that much intention (meaning, I watch them merely to wind down and don't spend too much time analyzing them), so I had to cheat for this theme day. I visited a list of 100 inspirational films I found on Belief.net to find out what stood out to me. After coming up with a short list of four -- "Big," "Miracle on 34th Street," "The Sound of Music," and "Forrest Gump" -- I decided the films were probably favorites of many, a bit cliche' and not very original. So what to do?

Well, bikes, of course! So I searched Google.com for movies about bikes, looking for a connection of some sort or another, large or small. I wanted to see if that might inspire me to write something. Here's what I found:

5 movies that could have inspired my writing if...
  • "E.T."  Who could forget the scene in the movie that introduced us to Drew Barrymore where the cute and adorable E.T. is taken home into the night sky on a bicycle! Isn't the little alien sitting in a basket? Ah, the stuff that fantasy is made of. I don't write fantasy or science fiction, but if I ever do, maybe this scene will influence me then. And you know what? It reminds me of the scene in the "Wizard of Oz." The Wicked Witch of the West does something similar. She rides off on a bike, for sure, but then disappears into the tornado.
  • "Napoleon Dynamite"  "You got like three feet of air that time," says Napoleon to his new classmate Pedro. Napoleon's such a nerd, and so angst-filled, but his dry, whiny personality makes the movie for me in scenes such as the one where he asks Pedro to show him some "sweet jumps." I do not do sweet jumps, nor sour ones. I'm not a jumper at all, and it's not likely bike jumps will show up in my work. But you never know...I have written fiction before.
  • "The Day I Became a Woman"  This one is an Iranian movie about three woman, one of whom risks divorce so that she can take part in a bike race. The brave woman is willing to give up her husband rather than her freedom. If I had seen this film, I think it might have inspired my writing in some way. In fact, I bet it would inspire my life!  Maybe I should see this one.
  • "The Muppet Movie"  I couldn't remember that Kermit the Frog rode a bike in the series starring The Muppets. But he did. In the 1979 movie, he rides from his home in the swamp to Hollywood -- on a Schwinn bike. Very stylish, don't you think? Of course if I knew more about animation or puppetry, I might have been inspired. But I just prefer to sit back and enjoy a film that anthropomorphizes little green frogs who can sing "Rainbow Connection" while strumming a banjo. The bike ride is just a plus.
  • "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"  Andy Stitzer rides his bike to his job at the Smart Tech electronics store where, when his co-workers learn he's still a virgin at age 40, they to help him get what they think he needs. Hilarious events unfold on the bike and elsewhere. If I knew how to write scripts, maybe this movie would have inspired my writing. But probably not, because the bathroom humor (albeit, really funny) isn't something I intend to master.
What movies would have inspired your writing, or your creative work, if...?

11 comments:

Tia Bach said...

I love your take on the theme day. I, like you, watch movies to escape and relax. I don't catalog details, so I talked about bigger movie themes on my blog today.

If I could watch more dramatic movies, I know it would influence my mastery of language and emotion. But I find them too draining and they take to much effort to go along with my movies-as-escape goal.

So great hanging out with you in May again this year!

Unknown said...

Hi Tia, it is great to be back. I read on your blog that you kind of got away from blogging for a while. I do that every now and then. Maybe if I monetized the blog, I'd be more cautious about my time spent here. But I write here for the passion of it, and sometimes passion wanes when life gets in the way. I go with the ebb and flow. That being said, I love this challenge and am always glad to get back at it and see what I can accomplish on the blog in a month. And it's always fun to meet the new bloggers and hang out with the ones we already know. So great seeing you again as well, though I do dip in your blog from time to time, anyway. ;-)

Babette said...

I think ET remains one of my alllll time faves. And don't forget PeeWee's Big Adventure...Bike plays a MAJOR role and there's always a good message!

Fun post. I really want to see the Iranian movie now...

Anjuli said...

I'm amazed at how well you handled the theme!!! VERY well done!!!!

Julie Farrar said...

I couldn't think of movies myself, although I love them and watch them regularly. I'll have to remember the website where you found these. I played with the theme, too, and chose books that inspired my blogging (and no, they're not books about blogging).

Mridu Khullar said...

There's a 90s Hindi movie called "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar" which is totally about bikes. You should check it out!

Van Waffle said...

A bicycle plays an important role in Amélie. It seems to symbolize love. Throughout the movie she is by turns chasing and hiding from the eccentric man with the bicycle. In the end she lets down her guard and they ride happily together through the streets of Paris.

Unknown said...

Van Waffle, I never saw Amelie. And Mridu, I'll have to see if I can find this movie you mention. Is it in English, or does it have subtitles. I have a friend who is French. She loves to watch movies online through Netflix. She'd probably find this movie so we could watch it together.

Unknown said...

Great twist to the theme!

Sheila Callahan said...

I see there are some movies I must add to my list, including The Day I Became a Man (? see I can't even remember the title!) and The 40 Year Old Virgin.

Great post, Jackie.

Unknown said...

People like movies, don't they? ;-)