Weekly series. Please send in your movies via email, twitter etc. Our format :
- Three movies with meaning (and movies you love and recommend!)
- One sentence on the core meaning you take from it
- Send a link to a YouTube clip from the movie that speaks to that meaning
Recently I wrote about the concept of Grit (from the book by Angela Duckworth) and converted it into an Emotional Equation of :
Grit = Passion x Perseverance
This week, then, three movies about Grit.
The Prestige (2006)
Cards on the table, I love every movie Christopher Nolan has made, and have already featured Inception and Interstellar on prior “Movies with Meaning” posts.
The Prestige is a wonderful film, and today I won’t give any plot spoilers as the “big reveal”, “The Prestige” of the whole story, is all about Grit = Passion x Perseverance.
Please simply give yourself the treat of watching this film and then consider the Grit !
Contact (1997)
Who would dedicate their life to the infinitesimal chance of success in making contact with extra-terrestrial life ? Only someone with Grit.
Hoosiers (1986)
This one takes a little background explanation as few readers may have watched this.
In the state of Indiana, High School Basketball is like a religion, and up until about 20 years ago all high schools of all sizes competed in the same State championship. The movie is loosely based on a true story of a tiny high school winning the championship.
The producers had to fight for years just to get the story into a movie, it also took belief from the stars (Gene Hackman thought it might kill his career), yet it is a cult classic and one of the greatest sports movies ever made.
I also first watched it at a time when Basketball was a huge part of my life. I was taught Basketball based on fundamental skills and hard work, and those who remember seeing me play would say I had no flashy skills (well, few skills at all), but i worked hard, was fit, pushed myself to the limit, and combined that with my only real skill, court vision and, as Gretzky put it about ice hockey, skating to the where the puck is going, not skating to where it is. So, this movie, about Grit = Passion x Perseverance, still means a lot to me.