I’ve been a bit… emotional lately, to say the least, in ways that I’m sure have absolutely nothing to do with the current socioeconomic state of affairs or my recent surgery to treat a chronic condition that may soon be even more difficult to treat thanks to a certain SCOTUS ruling that I won’t rehash right here right now. At one point I remarked to Trav that a certain terrifyingly CGIed human-vampire hybrid baby and epic-though-imaginary battle would probably turn my gloomy mood on its head. And boy, did it.
This got me to thinking: if my existential slump could be comforted by whatever meaning Breaking Dawn Part 2 tried to attribute to life, what other movies are just waiting in the wings to rescue us from the brink of emotional extremism?****
****Dear god, please do not confuse anything in this article for any kind of professional medical or psychiatric advice.
Imposter Syndrome
If you’re anything like me immediately seek therapy then you’ve surely at some point convinced yourself that whatever you have achieved in life is the direct result of people misinterpreting how awesome you are (not).
Let me first share with you the best advice for reframing my thoughts that I ever received. When I say something to myself that borders on the harsher side I ask how I would feel if someone said this to my best friend. If they’d be catching some hands, then I know I probably shouldn’t say those things about myself, and that it’s probably my depression goblin seeking his own validation.
Once you’ve tentatively made the deal with yourself to chill the f*** out, throw on some Bloody Murder (2000). We covered it on our most recent Tubi or Not To Be and I honestly found myself falling in love with this movie. It is immediately evident how many movies it is pulling from, most obviously Friday the 13th, which itself was an attempt to recreate the success of Halloween. Bloody Murder is fun, and more importantly it shows us that you don’t have to be the first or the best at doing something to be successful – you just have to be able to do it. There are people out there who will appreciate it.
Ennui
Maybe everything feels kind of pointless tonight. Like, yea you’ll eat dinner – but who really cares what? It’ll be the same shit you’ve had on rotation for months. Nothing’s bad, but nothing’s great. Rinse and repeat for the other tasks, chores, etc. in your life.
I present to you: Society (1989). Without giving anything away, you’ll find yourself whispering whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck even after the credits have rolled. Watching this film is a brand new experience and the aura of, ahem, newness will stick with you and shake things up for a while.
Euphoria
Not all feelings are bad. Sometimes you’ve had a great day: you ran out of bubble gum but it’s okay because you kicked ass. I know this blog post aims to pair movies with pesky moods, but is it not pesky to not be able to ride that kind of emotional high?
While it may be an obvious choice coming from me, but I’m gonna need you to throw on some Scream (1996). This is the movie that ushered in a new era of self-referential teen slashers because it knows how to have FUN. And if you want to keep feeling like you can conquer anything, who better to spend your time with than Sydney Prescott?
