If I explained to you the thought process that got me to today’s factoid, I’d be writing an essay.
But something got me thinking of movies watched at really inopportune moments. I can imagine that if someone watched “Revolutionary Road” in a really sour mood, they might go kill themselves. Some movies with powerful emotions really shouldn’t be watched in certain moods.
But then I thought of the movie that I watched at the most inopportune time. The second time I ever left the United States was when I went on a mission trip to Nicaragua (and before that, I had only gone to Canada). A few nights before, I watched “Taken,” a movie where Liam Neeson’s daughter is abducted while traveling in France without adult supervision. An attractive man elaborately preys on her at the airport, shares a cab with her, writes down her address, and sends men to kidnap her. Neeson plays a security guard and goes after, killing everyone with the intensity of Jason Bourne and the mercilessness of Dick Cheney.
Of course, this was a terrible time to watch the movie as I was feeling a little scared about going to a country I knew little about. I was with a huge group, but what was to stop someone from pulling the same stunt on me or anyone else in the group? When we walked outside with our bags, some random person walked over and started talking to us. I didn’t know he was our guide then, so all I could think about was that I was going to end up like the girl in “Taken.”
So lesson learned: look into movies you watch right before you head into a certain state of mind. Don’t watch something that will make you paranoid if you are going to be leaving familiarity. Don’t watch something depressing if you are feeling particularly glum. Movies can alter your mind – so be careful.
