Do you have a favorite film from your childhood? We watch films to inspire our imagination and sometimes to bring comfort by putting ourselves in the character's shoes. The movies we watch as children remain in our subconscious and play an important role in shaping our emotions and memories. More than just entertainment, these films can also instill life lessons and values, especially those we viewed with an innocent perspective at the time and still hold a special place in our hearts. Let's see what films Sookmyungians watched as children and the memories attached to them.
1. Anything Can Happen If You Let It
(Kim Ye-won, Division of Economics '24)
Unlike most children who are full of dreams and hopes and let their imaginations run wild, I was always a bit lacking in imagination. Naturally, I was drawn to films, where I didn't have to use my imagination to make things happen. My dad, who knew his daughter loved movies, started collecting DVDs one by one, and I would always watch them on Friday nights. One of my favorite movies was <Mary Poppins(1964)>. It's a bit of an old film, and the cheesy CG stands out when I rewatch it now, but I spent countless Friday nights watching it as a kid. I would laugh out loud at the ridiculous sentences in the film and even run around with my umbrella open to see if I could fly. My memories of that movie never fail to make me smile. I know that not everyone will feel the same way, but I would like to send this fairy tale film on the wind, like a spoonful of sugar, to those who are having a hard time swallowing a bitter pill to help them get through life.
2. A Hopeful Escape to Freedom
(Park Ji-young, Department of Consumer Economics '24)
My favorite nostalgic film is <The Shawshank Redemption(1995)>. I stumbled upon this film in high school, and it has remained with me to this day. The simple plot is that the main character, Andy, is framed for murder and imprisoned in a notorious prison called Shawshank. It's a violent and dangerous environment, but Andy retains his humanity and tries to find meaning in life. Andy gradually becomes an integral part of the prison, helping Tommy, a young man studying for his GED, maintaining the library, and consulting on the warden's taxes. However, this is not done to make life easy in prison, but rather as a steady and deliberate preparation for his escape, which eventually leads to his Shawshank redemption, as the film's title suggests. I liked that the protagonist didn't just have a theoretical idea of his goal but actually gained real-life allies and took on a role in the society of the prison. I think the reason this film stuck with me is not only because of the acting and the accomplished direction but also because it was the kind of life I wanted for myself as a high school student at the time. There's a line from Andy in the film: "You only have one choice. Get busy living or get busy dying." If you sometimes feel like your reality is a prison, this is the film to watch.
