That Story That Changes Everything

Most of us have had some encounter with a story that challenged and changed us, even just a wee bit. But I think for writers, experiences such as this are even more important. In-person meetings, a character in a book, a movie, all of these are tools we can use to fashion our craft – and, hopefully, give us a reason to keep pushing on through the hard days of art-making.

I’ve had these experiences many times via movies. (And books, too! But I’m talking about movies today.) But I’m just going to highlight a few.

SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Walking With the Enemy

Set in WW2 and based on a true story (name of the main character was changed), WWtE follows a young Jewish man who subverts enemy forces by disguising himself as one of them. Now, I was possibly really impressed by Jonas Armstrong’s ability to speak with multiple convincing accents other than his own Irish accent, but I was way more impressed by the story itself.

WWtE is a well-directed, hard-hitting story of laying everything on the line for someone else. Because, after all . . .

“The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.” (James Baldwin)

This movie challenged me deeply, but I won’t get into it here, because I wrote a guest post about it on The Rebelution.

Lord of the Rings

Did you really think I wasn’t going to mention this one? 😉

LotR challenges me every time I watch it. I’ve gleaned so many life lessons from it, they could fill a book.

Mostly, though, LotR taught me why fantasy (and fairy tales, and fiction in general) matters so much. But more on that in a minute.

And last but not least . . .

Star Wars

Okay, so sue me. I’m a writer AND an avid Star Wars nerd. I. Love. Star Wars.

I never watched it until I was, like, eighteen, and now I can get enough of it. I could go into WAY TOO MUCH detail on everything I’ve gotten from it, but let’s sum up.

Fairy tales were written to teach children that evil can be defeated. Star Wars was written to remind us.

And THAT is why speculative fiction matters.

So.

What are some stories (books, movies, or stories received in conversation) that have impacted YOU? Let’s chat!