Many facets

Life in a Day

I referenced this movie in one of my wonder journal posts. For those who don't know what this movie is about, it is a compilation of film submissions from people all over the world--just doing the normal things they do in a day--all on the same day. They also answered a few questions about general subjects that people have to deal with.

I watched it while I was in China teaching English and thought it was fantastic. Actually, I might not have felt the same amount of wonder if I wasn't in China. Since I was already in a setting where I was experiencing a different version of life than the one I was used to living, I could relate better to the great variety of people and lives represented in the film.

I have always felt a sense of awe and wonder at the multi-faceted experience of humanity. It's one of the reasons why I decided to study English. I only have my one life with its limited perspective. But every book I read represents another person's life and experience. Every book is another facet of what it means to be human. This film represents so many facets in one place. It's amazing to me.

Dr. Burton raised the question of how much time we need to invest in something to experience this feeling of awe. I've thought a lot about it since hearing the question, and it wasn't until Paul's presentation on video games this morning that I was really convinced of my answer. I found Paul's presentation extremely interesting, but I don't think I felt the same awe that he did as he played the game. I'm not knocking on the idea that video games can inspire awe, or on Paul's presentation. I think that if I had invested the amount of time and emotional energy that he had as a player, I would've felt a similar sense of awe. I think any awe is preceded by either a context that supports the feelings of awe, or by an investment of time or emotion that leads to awe. And whether mere context can inspire awe, or if it is dependent on that investment is specific to the type of experience. If I watched Paul's presentation in a imax theater, maybe I would've felt more of the emotions I'd attribute to awe because (for me) some of the awe comes from the music and graphics. Not so with the Life in a Day film. I think the awe is dependent on knowing how much footage went into the making of the movie, partaking in the massive variety of experience represented, and viewing it through the lens presented in the film (as a tribute to humanity). To experience awe, the movie requires a bit of time. (And it probably doesn't hurt to watch it in a foreign country.)