When I feel weak, some movie moments help me feel strong. Subtle triumphs speak to me more than Rockie or Indiana Jones.
My favorite is the scene from Young Victoria where Queen Victoria resists her mother's efforts to steal the throne. Victoria was a virtual prisoner of her mother while growing up. When she's eighteen, the king dies and her moment of power arrives. But her mother expects to dominate the girl the way she always has. Victoria never stood up for herself before, but she straightens her spine and pushes her mother aside to take her place in the world. I enjoyed watching this so much that I visited Kensington Palace and stood on the spot where it happened. A passionate docent recounted the whole story to me, and it was fun to share the triumphal moment with him.
Movies speak to your inner mammal. They resonate with impulses you can't put into words. Every mammalian herd or pack or troop has social rivalry, and we have inherited brain structures that evolved to manage it. As much as you'd rather avoid social rivalry, your brain goes there because social rivalry promotes survival in the state of nature. Moments of social triumph help us transcend the frustrations of being a mammal among mammals. Here are two more of my favorite moments.
We have all felt the pull of social cliques that seem appealing in the short run. The challenge of being an individual in a world of cliques is brilliantly depicted in an Italian movie, Caterina Va in Citta (Catherine in the City, available on Netflix). Young Caterina is courted by both cliques in her prestigious new school in Rome. But she gets embroiled in conflict and her father is called into school. The fathers of the two rival clique leaders are there too. Caterina's Dad greets the other Dads, but they curtly ignore him and embrace each other. They are prominent leaders of opposing factions in Italian politics. They're officially enemies, but as high-status people, they’re eager to curry favor with other high-status people. Caterina’s father is crushed by the snub, and he shares his bitterness with her. She can remain bitter like her Dad...or she can create peace in her life.
We all like to see the nerd get the girl or the guy, and that's part of the charm of The Gods Must Be Crazy. It’s cheating when the nerdy guy is a tall, good-looking field biologist, perhaps. But he’s such a bumbler here that he doesn’t inspire trust in the new schoolteacher arriving in his corner of the African Savannah. A more assertive guy makes a play for the teacher. He owns a safari company, and the teacher risks falling for him even though he's portrayed as the evil capitalist from central casting. But the nerdy guy makes the grand gesture that proves himself to the damsel. He keeps bumbling even after he wins her, and her acceptance of his bumbling is the subtle moment of triumph for me.
More movies for your inner mammal on my website.