Skip to main content

Your Movie

If you were on the hottest social media app Tik Tok this past summer, you probably know about what it means to be the Main Character. The archetype of the main character is nearly epitomized as being the center of attention, but not in the perfect life kind of way. More like in a "quirky" kind of way.

Recently, as social media has begun to highlight quirky personalities and shame their basic counterparts, the trend has only perpetuated the cycle of homogeneity. Regardless of how unprecedented a goal may be, with everyone aiming for it, it loses its shine. Quite frankly, striving to match an archetype of any sort produces the most boring and predictable movie---for you, as the "main character," and for viewer: your friends. And not only is it boring, but aiming to fit that mold is tiring---unsatisfactory. 

So as the clíche goes: Just be yourself. 

But sometimes, even that's boring. (No offense)

I believe one of the most satisfactory and thrilling ways to live is by being shameless. Not just unashamed, but shameless. Dictionary.com defines the word as "lacking any sense of shame" or "insensible to disgrace"---even when rightfully deserved. Despite the negative connotation of the word, I often choose to describe myself as shameless (something that people don't know). 

Recently, I've learned to embrace shame and being ridiculed. As I've come to see it, nobody cares about me. Seriously, nobody actually cares about the things that you and I do; it's not their life! Really the only people who care about my actions are my friends, telling me "Sabrina, that's sooo stupid" and "that's never gonna happen." Call me an idealist but actually entertaining the random ideas is both possible and one of the most exciting decisions possible. Truthfully, it's the best way to make friends: showing your most genuine and strange side. It's the best way to improve yourself and your personality. Say hi to everyone on the street! In the car next to you! Act like someone you've just met is a lifelong friend! It may take them by surprise but ultimately shamelessness is often appreciated. 

You make friends and make it big when you do what everyone's too scared to do. You're only the main character in your own life.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pick Your Poison

 Would you rather find out that your significant other is cheating on you or never find out? Though very far away and presumably irrelevant to your and my current circumstances, this question raises an issue that's not so far from what we know: Is ignorance really bliss? Sure, I typically respond to the opening question by selecting the latter choice of oblivion as I imagine the pain and hassle it entails, but after I contemplate and fight my instinct, I choose the wiser option. The more daunting one. I choose to pop the bubble of ignorance and learn the truth. Let's break it down. Your significant other is cheating on you. This action may be a result of a few reasons, the major being dissatisfaction in the relationship and/or sole disloyalty and a lack of integrity. A cheater is prone to cheating more than once, and if one continues it may just be a sign of bad character. Do you really want to be with someone who isn't committed to you? Someone who doesn't find satisfa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome Back

Every meeting, email, or letter begins with a greeting. "Good morning," "hello," or "dear *recipient.*" Only once an opening has been made can the intent of communication be addressed. However, though unnecessary in content, such polite phrases serve to transition and maintain friendly relations beyond just solemn work. In Korean, the staple greeting comparable to "hi" or "hello," literally means, how are you? However, no one interprets it that way or responds to the question. Despite not staying true to its meaning, it is a necessary means of easing into the meat of a conversation. Very isolated from the other employees, I often found myself asking for favors or questions at work without saying "hi" or "how are you" first. I noticed I was disrupting their work and disregarding their existence as a person and instead only seeing them as a source of inquiry. By bypassing any greeting, any conversation becomes too a...
5 comments
Read more

The Fiction of Eye Contact

This picture makes me so  uncomfortable.  While it's eye-opening to find reason behind the normalities of point of view in film, the eye-level shot appears far from normal in my eyes. Is it the purple suit? The hands crossed? Or the specific positioning of the viewer on a table that makes me so uneasy? It's probably a combination of my suspicions, but I've decided that to its core, it's the eye contact that creates my discomfort. Most of these types of shots never reach the extent of eye contact. Instead, the similarity in levels creates a feeling of similarity shared by the character and viewer. There is no power disparity, no difference in viewpoint. Look at Forrest Gump and this eye-level shot (note that he's not looking at you). But once eye contact comes into play, the connection is too strong. Of course, any good producer will aim to form a connection for an audience to a film. However, there's comfort in a screen lying between a film and its viewer. It...
Post a Comment
Read more