Seraph, They Shoot Horses was a turning point in my movie watching. I was married at the time and my husband and I had seen a string of such depressing movies. This one was the last straw for me. I decided to see only positive films. And I wasn't even meditating yet! As a result I didn't see such highly acclaimed films like Silence of the Lambs which came out much later I think. The thing is, scientists say that our body reacts as if the events portrayed are real. Especially as I get older, I see the value of protecting the nervous system even in this way.
On Saturday, January 11, 2014 8:42 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: Re "I see hedonism, debauchery and greed enough without paying to do so for two hours in a movie theater.": That's my attitude also - I'll be giving it a miss. Talking of movies, years ago I saw They Shoot Horses Don't They?, starring Jane Fonda, which took the marathon dances of the 1920s in the US as a symbol of ruthless capitalism. It's one of the most depressing films I've ever seen and I loathed it at the time. It was on the box tonight and the scary thing is that it now seems much more like a prophecy/parable of the ghastly situation we're in today in which the young have no job security; zero-hours contracts have become common (in UK law a "zero-hours contract" does not oblige the employer to provide work for the employee but the employee agrees to be available for work as and when required); there is a housing bubble putting house ownership out of reach of the young; add in massive state debt which must devolve onto the younger generation; top that with high youth unemployment and cut-throat competition for jobs; sprinkle in welfare cuts specifically targeted at the young (the under-25s) and it makes for a depressing reality.
