Movies and Television

We’ve heard it a million times: film and TV are bad for us. Of course, in the Nineteenth Century, they said the same about novels. In general, any pastime that doesn’t involve physical activity gets accused of making people lazy and slothful. However, Movies and TV are actually a mixed bag. Yes, it is true there are downsides. However, there are positive sides as well. In this article, I will discuss some of the pros and cons of movies and television.

Pros

Increased Emotional Range: Movies and television can introduce us to new emotional experiences that we would otherwise not experience. This can include even such things as experiencing the thrill of successfully running to president to such bad emotions as a revenge movie. While there is, of course, a great deal of emotional content to our daily lives, our lives are rarely as complex as what we can see on television or films. Moreover, we only live our own lives. Increasing our emotion range can make us more empathetic to other people.

Emotional Training: By this, I am referring to how films can help us learn to deal with emotions before we need to deal with them in real life. A show involving the death of a spouse, for example, can help us to think about and develop our own emotional reactions so that when something similarly tragic happens to us, we will be more ready.

Imaginative Education: All of our thoughts are mediated through imagination. Think about something. Notice how you had an image that went with that thought? We constantly have our thoughts mediated by images, and experiencing new images gives us new ways of thinking about and reacting to things.

Cons

False Objects: I think I realized this when the character of one of my favorite shows apparently died at the end of a season. We become incredibly attached to characters on television and movies. However, those people aren’t real. This causes a couple of problems. First, we have a disconnect between our own emotions and the real world. Second, it splits our psyche. When our emotions feel something about objects our reason knows isn’t real, we become divided.

Addiction: Television, especially, is addictive. No one has ever given an especially good explanation as to why, but, for practical purposes, does it matter? We’ll often find ourselves sitting in front of the television, trying to find something to watch. The pleasure from films and television can become addictive, just like any other pleasure.

Non-Social: Movies and television are non-social activities, even when they are done with someone else. They don’t involve any personal interaction with the people around us, and envelop us in our own world. However, they give the appearance of being a social activity, which is why people go to movies together. This can give us the false impression that we are interacting with people more than we actually are.

Conclusion

Notice how I didn’t say that movie and television are wastes of time? I didn’t do so because that would be question-begging. Movies and television would only be wastes of time if they were bad; they cannot also be bad because they are wastes of time. Instead, movies and television have positive and negative elements, just like most pastimes.

the date or the seasons like summer or fall. Some scrapbookers title every page with the name of the subject in the photograph. It might be a place, like Disney World or the beach, or it could be a person’s name like Susan or Grandpa. Being creative with scrapbooking titles adds interest to a page layout just like embellishments and borders. Music, movies and television can offer inspiration and ideas for your scrapbooking titles that will capture the mood and theme of your next page layout.

Scrapbooking Titles in Music

Music inspires us all. How often have you heard a song on the radio and it immediately brings back a memory from years ago. It might be a song that was playing when you first dated your husband, or maybe it’s a song from your high school days that reminds you of your senior year. Songs have the ability to spark memories in all of us.

For your next page layout, look to music for your inspiration. Song titles are great sources for scrapbooking page titles. Quoting a single song title may be all you need to say to start singing that song in your head. Some examples of song titles that could be used as scrapbooking page titles are “Simply Irresistible,” “Brown-eyed Girl,” and “You Are My sunshine.” Keep a list of possible song titles that would work well on your scrapbooking projects.

Sometimes it’s the lyrics themselves that inspire us. You might want to use more than just the title. A lyric like, “These are the moments, and I could not ask for more,” will add just the right mood to a treasured photograph.

Scrapbooking Titles in Television and Movies

Consider adapting television show titles like, “The Brady Bunch” and “Days of Our Lives” to a scrapbook page. Maybe something simple like “Survivor” or “Lost” says it all. Movie titles, such as, “Mission Impossible,” “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Back to the Future,” might be perfect for one of your layouts.

Many TV and movie characters are known for a certain phrase or saying. These quotes often work well as scrapbooking titles. Does your favorite TV or movie character have a particular line that just fits with one of your photographs or scrapbooking pages? Think of phrases like, “How Sweet It Is,” “May the Force Be With You” or “Here’s Looking At You, Kid.”

Scrapbooking Titles in Commercials and Advertising

Slogans, sayings and jingles can all be a source of inspiration for scrapbooking titles. Those catchy phrases we never seem to forget also make fun headlines for our scrapbook pages. Scrapbooking titles can be found in the lyrics of commercial jingles, as well as, in the slogans on print advertising. The next time you are considering fast forwarding through the commercials of a taping of your favorite television show, you might consider listening to the advertisements for scrapbooking title ideas. There are many slogans that could easily be adapted to a page layout title. Consider using “I’m Lovin’ It,” or “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,” or perhaps, “It’s the Real Thing” or “A Diamond Is Forever.”

Movies, music and television can inspire a huge list of potential scrapbooking titles for just about any page layout. The next time you need ideas for a scrapbook page title just turn on your radio or television for inspiration.