Sometimes I approach this blog with one basic question in mind: "What inspires me?" Well, sometimes this question is just too vague and to be truthful, I can't think of a single answer. I think that I need to ask the question, "inspires me to WHAT?" What do I want to be inspired to do? Often I think, what inspires me to smile? What inspires me to feel good? What inspires me to want to do better in life? The problem is, this isn't realistic! I am not going to just feel good things and sometimes, these warm and fuzzy feelings aren't what is appropriate to feel. So my question today is, "What inspires me to cry, to feel torn?" Why would I want to feel these things? You see, I am a big believer in being strong when strength is needed. I'm a big fan of never wavering when things are falling apart. Now, this doesn't always happen but when there is an opportunity to break down, I usually am the strongest. I think that is how it is with a lot of people, you do what you have to do to get by. The problem is that you store up all sorts of sadness that really needs to get out. So, I have a "go to" thing that I can do when I need to cry, to let emotion flow. It may be completely different than most people though, it is a kids animated movie. The movie "Spirit" gets me every time. I don't just get a little sad during this movie, it wrecks me. If you have never seen this movie (or maybe even if you have) this may sound strange. I first saw the movie during a time in my life when one of the people that I love the most was given only weeks to live because of a diagnosis of breast cancer. Every night for a long time I watched this movie and cried, but during the day I was a rock. I am so happy that the doctors were wrong that time and my mother is now 10 years cancer free. I'm not sure if it is these background circumstances that make this movie so emotional, or if it is just that I find the story incredibly heartbreaking, but when I think of what inspires me to cry, this is it.
So what do you think? Is inspired to cry a definition of a work of art that inspires? Can a DreamWorks movie for kids be considered a work of art? I feel that in art there is two distinct roles: the creator and the interpreter. There is a (good) chance that this movie was created to be entertainment for children. I think that along the way there were people in the creation process that wanted to portray raw emotion and heartbreak but that may have not been the vision of everyone involved. I also think that there are other interpreters (movie watchers) who will see this as nothing more than a cartoon. To me, this movie is amazing because of the emotion it can evoke.
If you ever need a good cry, give it a shot. And if you need a good cry in the next couple of days, feel free to join me, because once again I feel myself in need of a good "Spirit" night. Just kidding. I would never watch this movie with someone, it is not the type of crying you do in a crowd!
I have never seen this movie, but as you well know I rarely find myself needing to be inspired to cry--I just do it! :) You are a rock Jana-Rae, so much so that I have learned to ask you what is going on and what you need because if I wait for you to tell me I know I probably won't hear even a portion of what is going on in your life. It breaks my heart though, to think of you being so strong that you don't feel you can be real with those around you. I have learned, through my own two years of pain and heartbreak and joy and celebration that while we really do have to pull up our socks and do what we need to do--especially for our families--it is so important to be real with each other and not be so strong that we block others from our lives. I hope you don't do that. Please be sure to let people in, to let others share your grief with you and be strong with you. Thank you for sharing such a raw expression of emotion with us Jana-Rae. And YES! I definitely think "Inspired to cry" is a definition of a work of art that inspires!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I often need a lot of prompting to cry, and sometimes art can really help. I remember having a really powerful cry when my mom let me know my grandparents were sleeping in different beds because my grandpa's dementia had gotten pretty bad. I sat in my room listening to the song "Empty Garden" on repeat and sobbed.
ReplyDeleteSide note: I remember "Spirit" being one of my least favourite movies ever, but I don't remember much else about it.