Every film carries a message and resonates with an audience but only a few find a place in your mind to nest ready for you to fawn over during one of your nostalgic days. Well I have five. Yes, 5 different movies that have taught me about life, love and even a little about myself so without further ado, here they are:
•Pursuit of Happyness
Pursuit of Happyness tells the story of a father, Chris Gardner, (Will Smith) and his five year old son (played by real life son, Jaden Smith) as they find themselves evicted from their apartment and homeless in 1980s America. The primary reason why this film is on my list is because it taught me that my current circumstances or the circumstances I was born in do not necessarily determine my outcome. Eventually, Chris Gardner becomes a stockbroker and businessman with a networth over 30 million. This is the same guy who slept in toilets and train stations. Life really is what you make it.
•Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a Mumbai teen who reflects on his upbringing in the slums when he is accused of cheating on the Indian Version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The movie taught me that experience is the best teacher in life. Knowledge doesn’t just come from hearing and reading but from seeing and doing so we all owe it to ourselves to see all that life can offer because the best lessons are taught through experience. In the movie, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is able to answer the questions on the show through his own life experiences and when 14-year-old me watched it, I remember thinking: “why do I have to go to school if I can gain knowledge in other ways?” and although I now understand the importance of an education, I also believe that living through different experiences is what moulds us and helps us to either become the best version of ourselves or be aware of what is not the best version of ourselves.
•Life of Pi
One of my favourite movies, Life of Pi, taught me the power of faith accompanied with self-belief. The film tells the story of an Indian man named Pi who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck, in which his entire family dies, and is left on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Without giving any spoilers, the movie really taught me that if I have belief both in myself and in God, I can overcome even the biggest hurdle. It also taught me that the way I think shapes the ongoings of my life. So if I think with the cup half full as opposed to half empty, it’ll affect my life drastically. Obviously it’s not easy to be continuously positive but this is more about learning to see the good things in life.
•Forrest Gump
The 90s classic has so many lessons to teach us so I’ll go through my 2 favourite lessons. The first is to always do the right thing. In the movie, Forrest saves Lieutenant Dan even though he wanted to die on the battlefield and although Dan is angry at first, he later thanks him. This shows that even if it may feel like the worst thing in the world at the time, always do the right thing. The second thing is to treat everyone equally. No matter who he met, whatever race, religion or status they had, Forrest always treated them with the same amount of respect. So in my life, I plan to execute both these lessons. To always do what I feel is the right thing and to treat everyone with equal respect. Nobody is more or less important than the other.
•The Little Mermaid
Ok, so I know this movie has a bit of a sexist vibe with Ariel essentially having to choose between ‘giving up her voice’ for a man or living under the sea with her father which pretty much presents the view that men run everything. HOWEVER, something I love about this Disney classic is that it teaches you that sometimes it’s fine to leave your comfort zone. I love familiarity and comfort as much as the next person but to get the best out of life, sometimes you have to leave what’s familiar and explore the unknown. Whether this is something as big as travelling abroad alone or even getting a job in a local department store, doing something exciting and new is a great achievement so always be proud! Ariel, having spent her whole life in the sea, taught us that sometimes it’s okay to try something different, something new and exciting and that we should fight for what we want to do rather than give up at the first hurdle.
LIFE OF LUELA 
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