What’s your favorite life lesson you’ve picked out of a fictional movie?

18 comments

  1. Mr. Freeze from Batman taught me there is no true evil in this world, or at least it’s very rare. Just opposing forces, no evil. Even Jeffrey Dahmer just wanted some company, in his own way.

    Things that are actually applicable to life guys. The good guy doesn’t always win.

  2. how about a book?

    “Well, I must go. I hope we shall meet again. I will give you some free advice, though.”
    “Will it cost me anything?”
    “What? I just said it was free!” said Miss Tick.
    “Yes, but my father said that free advice often turns out to be expensive,” said Tiffany.
    “Miss Tick sniffed. ‘You could say this advice is priceless,’ she said. ‘Are you listening?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Tiffany.
    ‘Good. Now … if you trust in yourself …’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘… and believe in your dreams …’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘… and follow your star …’ Miss Tick went on.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘… you’ll still get beaten by people who spent THEIR time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye.”

    — Terry Pratchett. The Wee Free Men

    Another from Pratchett that I really like:

    “I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs, a very endearing sight, I’m sure you’ll agree. And even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters, who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature’s wonders, gentlemen. Mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that is when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.” — Unseen Academicals

  5. Star Trek + The West Wing defined virtually my entire moral compass and outlook on humanity and interpersonal relationships soooo

  6. It’s a lesson and a quote! Obligatory, book, not a movie. “Live in the present, remember the past and fear not the future, for it doesn’t exist and never shall. There is only now.” Essentially, don’t fret over what’s to come, just try and do the right thing here and now.

  8. Fight club

    “We work jobs we hate so we can buy shit that we don’t need”

    … that stuck with me

  11. “A Bronx Tale”: Never date a selfish broad. Lookout for the man who isn’t smiling.

    “The Godfather”: never sit with your back to a door.

    “The Wizard’s First Rule”: people believe what they want to believe.

    “Fried Green Tomatoes”: be better insured. The secret is in the sauce.

  14. “Life is what we share when we’re being uncool”. Almost Famous.

    Quit with appearances, have a passion, but don’t expect to be ‘cool’ because of it. It’s also the advice I give guys who are all “how do I meet the one”. You go make your perfect life with all your passions and goals – really get things just right. Then you’ll meet some girl who’s going to fuck all of that up, but he worth it.

  15. Al Pacino’s climactic speech from *Scent of a woman*. It’s a controversial one, since one of its fundamental themes is rejection of customs that require witnesses to provide honest testimonies under threat of perjury. At the same time, the speech celebrates the will to stand apart from a corrupt status quo in service of individual principle, even if the cost of doing so is to sacrifice a fortuitous future.

  16. “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” Alfred in Batman Begins.

    Some people just want chaos and destruction and it’s not what they get out of it, it’s about denying others what they want.

  17. From the Lion King, learned a valuable lesson as a kid, when Mufasa tells Simba: “Being brave doesn’t mean you go *looking* for trouble”.

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