Yesterday I went to see The Fault In Our Stars film at my local cinema. I went knowing exactly what was going to happen, having read the books multiple times. When I first read the book I had the same response as almost everyone else who has read it, I bawled like a baby. With this in mind, I didn't really expect that the film would cause me to have the same reaction, maybe a little misty-eyed, but nothing that I couldn't handle. Instead I found myself audibly sobbing alongside my friends and the other twenty or so people in the screen. This made me realise why books and films are such an important part of our lives. We designate buildings for the distribution of these experiences: cinemas, libraries, bookshops, all so we can live in a world created by someone else, so we can escape for a few hours.
There is something deeply moving about sitting in a dark room, where nobody cares who you are, or what you are, and everyone is experiencing the same thing. We may not necessarily share the same reactions to what we watch, but the main thing is that we feel. It is amazing that film makers and writers are able to inspire intense emotions within people using people who don't even exist!
Books and films allow us to leave behind our own problems for a few hours, and sometimes even see ourselves in characters and know that someone out there knows what we are going through, and understands who we are on a greater level.
Tragedy is the main focus of literature because it is something many of us relate to. We understand what it is like to lose the love of our lives, or feel failure because these are universal. Yes, it is easier to feel happy all the time, but it is cathartic to cry, really cry, at times.
This is why I strongly believe that future generations will truly understand us by looking at these mediums, and why we must fight to protect them.
A blog for people who love books, especially on cold, cloudy days when all you want to do is escape to a place with better weather.
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