Forester Lecture

I know this is late but I wanted to write about some of the interesting points Nicole Dreiske brought up during the past Forester Lecture.

You can't have negativity and gratitude.
I never realized how true this is until Dreiske brought up this point. People who are negative all the time, don't really appreciate the things they do have. Negative people will always look for the bad in their life and they will always ignore the good things in their life so they can feel sorry for themselves. When we receive blessings and benefits we should feel thankful, not sorry.

Use your skills to help others.
This was a good point to bring up because I feel people don't do this enough. To many people seem to use their skills for their own benefits (to make money, fame, etc.) instead of using them to help others. If you think about this from the view point of the film industry, using your skills to help others is a necessity.  If GOOD films are to be made, every individual involved must use their  own skills to help others with the production process. Not everyone is good at directing, writing, or editing but if different people with these skills come together as one they can make a good film.

Choose what to take away from what you watch! We have a choice!
This was my favorite point that Nicole made. There are many people who assume that there is only one meaning behind the films, but this isn't always true. The great thing about watching movies is that people can from their own ideas and opinions from the films. Varying opinions and views on films is what creates conversations between people. If we all took away the same interpretation of a film then there would be nothing to talk about. I think it is great that people can choose what they want to take away from a film instead of agreeing with everyone else's opinions of a film.

Don't believe your own publicity.
It is unfortunate how many people DO believe their own publicity...especially in the film industry. People let the publicity get to them and they begin to think they are better than everyone else. Film directors gain a lot of publicity and they sometimes let it get to their head. For example,  Michael Bay became infamous for his movies with explosions every 5 seconds and a underdeveloped plot. A good story will always be more important than a good explosion yet Bay noticed that A LOT of people go to his movies because of his explosions. Thus, Bay continues to give what the public wants: more explosions! If Bay didn't let the publicity get to his head then maybe he good make movies with better stories.