Film as a Tool

Most people live their entire lives believing their thoughts, opinions, past experiences, or job title is who they are. But are these surface-level labels really the answer to this profound and seemingly incomprehensible question?

 

Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts both provide insights into why this myth about who we are is a limited perspective and encourage us to go deeper. Tolle claims that we are not our mind and that in fact, we are more than the mind’s incessant thinking. This liberating realization opens up the required space to realize we are consciousness itself, or in other words, the Universe becoming aware of itself!

 

 

Similarly, Watts believes that our true self is not separate from the rest of the Universe and that we are more connected to the world around us than our minds would have us believe. Both Watts and Tolle find words to be limited in describing who we “really are” because thought is not really synonymous with “being” or “awareness”.

​

​

Film has been around for over one hundred years, and thousands of movies have been created to inspire, entertain, educate, and captivate audiences everywhere. Some movies actually have the ability to eliminate the illusions of the self and empty the chattering mind, and what remains may leave us at a loss for words.

Most movies revolve around some kind of conflict, which can result in a shift of consciousness for the character in the movie. Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle has said that as viewers, we usually identify with the character when we watch, which can result in a transformation in ourselves.

I have identified 3 movies and will explore the conflicts, realizations, and disidentification of the ego the movies are inviting us to take part in.