"what They want us to know"
by jack ridel

movies entertain us. they comfort us when we are depressed. they keep us company when we are lonely. they bring us pleasure when we can't get real dates.  but do they also teach us valuable lessons about survival? they certainly can!

films and television shows are a very powerful part of our lives.  they manipulate our emotions and make heros out of ordinary men and women. we shell out millions of dollars at movie theaters and video stores just to watch a few hours of fiction played over and over again. but is it all just make believe, or is there a higher power pulling the strings?

take for instance the movie "jurassic park". is this a suspenseful romp in the jungle or a training manual on how to survive if dinosaurs were to once again rise up and take back the planet? "reign of fire", "land of the lost", and every godzilla movie form training courses on what to do if prehistoric beasts were to attack the earth. 

so maybe the possibility of giant reptiles ruling the world is slim. so we watch "aracnophobia", "jaws", "planet of the apes", and fox's "when animals attack" series.  we're subconsciously learning how to defend ourselves against the unpredictable animal kingdom. twenty-four hours a day the nature channel and animal planet broadcasts their training videos into our home and even onto the big screen as we watch steve irwin wrestle crocodiles and jeff corwin capture dangerous snakes.  without knowing it, we are being educated in the guise of entertainment.

it's been working on children for years. they watch "sesame street" for the silly songs and fanciful puppets and before they realize it, they are counting and reading.  now, network and movie executives have turned their sights to larger audiences. backed by governing "ratings" agencies, they release their message to the unquestioning public.

a perfect example of using movies as training manuals is the popular "men in black" series. not only do these movies teach us how to defend ourselves against alien invaders (as does "signs" and "independence day"), but it also teaches us that pugs are cute, adorable dogs and we should all rush out and buy little pug puppies and eat a lot of burger king. if movies can sell us goods and services without us even realizing it, can't they also sell us ideas?

what if you were stranded on an island? could you recall "castaway" and "island of the blue lagoon" and use lessons learned in the movies to help you survive? if your plane crashed in the mountains, could you remain "alive"? maybe you're trapped in a building taken over by terrorists or bank robbers. movies like "swordfish" or "die hard" could save your life! of course if you stumble across a friendly little alien with an obsession for reeces pieces you'll be able to build an inter-galatic telephone with your speak-n-spell to help him get home.

no matter what the future brings, you can be prepared if you study the survival skills in movies and television shows. from terminators to disease-carrying monkeys, the answer to any question can be found in the collector's edition DVD. the meek may inherit the earth, but only the couch potatoes will know what to do with it.