I do this because everywhere else all I’m offered is fun. This is the only place where I can experience something that offers me a different experience.

-16 (or thereabout) year old boy

I don’t always go to movies to have fun. I don’t go to concerts to have fun either. I have fun when I go to Disneyland. (And I admit I love Disneyland … sorry to those of you who don’t get it! I become a little kid the minute I walk through that gate!)

I go to movies, concerts and operas to be moved. I go to learn something new. I go to somehow be changed. I go for a variety of reasons, but fun isn’t usually one of them. (Okay, maybe when I go to see goofy movies, but those are fairly rare for me.)

I want to be left with something when I am done with whatever event I’m attending. I love it when, days later, I’m still thinking about what I saw or heard. And I want to feel something … even if it’s anger. I don’t like to walk away thinking, “Whatever” or “So what?”

I don’t think I’m unique. In fact I’m sure I’m not.

It’s not that I go to something to feel miserable … don’t read it that way please! (I avoid movies that I think are merely out there to make me cry, actually; I don’t particularly care to be manipulated.) I just want to care about what I’m viewing and hearing, and I really like being challenged and, believe it or not, I like learning. Mostly about the human condition.

I appreciated this article, and was especially pleased to read that quote by a 16 year old.

Well … maybe more later … Kelsey just IM’d me and I think we are going out to have fun. Or something. 😉
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