Editorial: Movies not a happy escape

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

April and May bring to campuses everywhere the ritualistic crescendo of homework and tests, when the only thing more volatile than the weather is the workload of students. The sometimes Sisyphean burden can breed an attitude of gloom and despair, as the seemingly endless papers and quizzes render the ludic rites of spring an elusive dream.

It is during these times that students need an escapist route more than ever, an idyllic oasis of mental clarity far from the bustle of Jayhawk Boulevard, and Hollywood’s glamorous productions can often fill that void.

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But in perusing the offerings of the local cinema and rental store shelves, you might find a decidedly bleak outlook permeating the plots of many films.

It is often said that art reflects society, and if we hold that to currently be true, things seem to be in bad shape. The last three Oscar winners for Best Picture featured prominently the themes of crime and betrayal, racial conflict and violence, and Sophoclean euthanasia. Even more unsettling is the recent abundance of horror and suspense movies; the macabre narratives of these films provide anything but a placid afternoon in the theater.

So is this a case of art imitating life? Are we really so depressed and hopeless that we must resort to these films? Though we usually have no ax-wielding assailants or possessed dolls in our daily lives, we do have some problems. Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate. The wealth gap in our country grows wider every year. We had to sit through two national championships with the same insufferably boastful schools.

In times like these, the real world brings enough solemnity to our lives. When you seek out entertainment, why not look for something with a touch more levity? Life is serious enough as it is. Compounding it with slayings and supernatural attacks doesn’t make your attitude toward finishing that paper any brighter. Consider a lighter selection the next time you spend your precious dollars on entertainment.

Older adults sometimes grumble that youth is wasted on the young, so make your time count. Your relatively carefree stay at a beautiful campus in a wonderful city will fly by faster than you expect.

Take care this season to not get completely smothered by school. The occasional delay of a paper in favor of a midday walk is not always sinful, nor is the sporadic mental vacation from your upcoming finals preparation.

Don’t let your life imitate the currently desolate state of cinema. Our mental health needs more Ferrellesque comedy, not Cravenesque horror.

— McKay Stangler for the editorial board.

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