Books, movies, or art works that have had a profound impact on your life?

If people have the time.. I'm finding myself very curious as to how some of these movies / art pieces changed some of your lives.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't say any of these things changed my life...but they all made me respect art in a different way than I had before.

Books
1984

Movies
Brazil

Art
Edvard Munch

Music
Too many to name, but Sigur Ros Ágætis byrjun would be one

 

The Sun Also Rises

 

Pretty heavy into Greek mythology as a kid. With my parents' marriage falling apart and them divorcing from around age 8 - 11, I think a lot of the Oedipal stuff from Ouranos through the Titans and Olympians, and the Zeus/Hera and Aphrodite/Hephaestus dynamic, actually helped me accept the notion of fallibe, weak and sometimes dishonest authority figures that were still ultimately worthy of your fear and respect.

 

It depends on the movie. The Marx brothers movies I mentioned showed how funny it was to act out against establishment, and how some nonsensical things could be funny, so it changed or at least helped form my sense of humor, and to a certain degree how I look at society.

As someone who writes, these other movies influenced or changed the way I saw things could be done in scripts.

Others were things I watched over and over again with my friends, and was a significant part of the free time I had in high school.

It just depends on which movies how they changed it.

The art changed my life based in the case of Bosch how imagination can run rampant and still produce something amazing. Garden of Earthly Delights was painted at a time when artists were only painting portraits of nobles or portraits of religious figures, or epic scenes from the bible. While his painting has a religious theme, it is so different than anything being painted at the time. When those were the only things being painted, Bosch was painting pigs dressed as nuns, and blackbirds flying out of people's anuses as well as the most incredible monsters and demons. It changed how I look at letting imagination come out in work.

Rembrandt and the other Dutch Masters changed it because of their expertise in the ultra realism they were painting but also it opened my eyes to a part of society at a time in history that I've fond of studying.

 

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison changed my life.

I've never seriously took music or film as serious as I've taken books. But I would say that lyrically maybe Kris Kristofferson's album Kristofferson really spoke to me.

As far as movies go, I am partial to Coal Miner's Daughter.

But really invisible man was my one true passion.

 

Oh, that's easy. There's only one time in my life that I seriously considered suicide, back when I was 16, and Jungleland from Springsteen was going to be the last song I heard before I did it. After listening to that song, I decided that there was no way I could do it b/c I might miss out on the next great song. True story.

Grapes of Wrath single-handedly got me in reading literature. I changed my style of writing after reading that and then other literary works.

Taxi Driver changed the way I viewed movies. Until then, it was 100% about entertainment. After that, I actually started to watch movies to gain insight into life and view movies as an art form. Plus, as a teacher, whenever I confronted students who I perceived as loners and needed help, that film was always in my thoughts.

Art has not really changed my life at all. Just liked those 3.

 

Also, What's going on by Marvin Gaye changed my perception about black music and black culture in general. Until then, I have to be honest and admit I thought black music was mostly about emotion and that the true thinkers were in the Beatles, Kinks, Dylan's music, etc. What's Going On changed that- and it really got me to thinking about how I applied stereotypes without even realizing it. And I also started thinking about other cultures and how I would sometimes assume things that weren't necessarily true. WGO wasn't the only reason for my change, but it's what started it.

 

My Aim is True and Get Happy! by Elvis Costello.

I was never a talkative person and there was a time in my teen years that
I withdrew from everyone, even my family. I always listened to music. I kept
the radio on (very low) when I would go to sleep.

During this withdrawal period I bought these 2 albums and something clicked.
It was like therapy. I would listen to them, sing the words out loud and then for some reason, start reading....a lot. Gradually I learned to come out of whatever depression I was in because I wanted to engage people and more importantly I lost that fear of feeling like I had nothing to say or that I wasn't smart enough.

And it was these 2 albums more than any others that I responded to the most. MAIT for the anger issues I had and Get Happy! for....I have no idea what for, but I felt a lot better after listening to it.

In fact, I rarely play MAIT anymore. The Get Happy! reissue from 1994 is my favorite album of all time because even though it can seem all over the place to the point that it drives you mad, it has heart and a redemptive quality that I always feel after listening to it.

 

Get Happy!! and London Calling are two records that definitely changed my life. GH!! is a great record on its own and it opened my eyes to the greatness of Stax. LC basically just opened my eyes.

I can't say that any film truly changed my life but I guess The French Connection helped intensify my fascination for 70's New York. The Apu Trilogy comes close to life changing.

Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, definitely.

And Velazquez's Las Meninas.

 

Music:
Kid cudi
Kanye west
Modest mouse
Rhcp
Dave Grohl

Movies:
It's a beautiful life
Fantasia
Big fish
Man on fire
30 for 30: Benji

Art:
Body worlds exhibit

Video games:
N64
Kingdom hearts

Oh and dragon ball z

Hey, I'm young

 

I might have to think about how to respond to the topic, but just wanted to mention that I've seen this Van Gogh in person as well, more than once, and it is indeed powerful. I can easily see how it had that impact on you.