Movies are a great platform to provoke, bond and elicit perspective shifts. Movies help us see the strengths within ourselves and others. They offer an emotional experience as we immerse ourselves in the virtual story. We either relate to or reject the characters for their character strengths or weaknesses. We watch and evaluate the ethical themes. They have the ability to inspire us to make positive changes. Take a look at this article.
Film is a great teaching tool for parents and educators. It can stimulate discussion with children or students in a non threatening way. Although film has the power to ignite deep emotions, we still know that the experience of watching the story is not reality. We are the observer, hence when we engage in discussion we can detach.
The best movies are those that focus on the character strengths or weaknesses. They continually pivot around the decisions the characters have to make that will either showcase their strength or cause them to wrestle with their vulnerabilities. Sure these films might feature a phenomenal skill, the accomplishment takes second place to the character strength required to arrive at such an ability. Consequently, watching a top rated family film can be a great way of discussing character strengths with your children or students. It’s our character strengths that are ultimately going to propel us through those challenging moments.
Lastly, I find good films have a way of affirming my convictions. Recently, I was watching The Tender Bar, which reinforced the message of celebrating and pursuing one’s strengths. Although it has received mixed reviews, overall I quite liked it. I was struck by the message of JR’s Uncle Charlie telling him he’s not very good at sports. In order to avoid disappointment and delusion he should do what he likes. Uncle Charlie asks what he likes and JR says, “I like to Read”. Listening to this segment, I chuckled thinking how ironic just before Family Literacy Week, when we are encouraging kids to read. What a good message for parents watching this movie, provoking them to accept that their child might not be the athletic type. Help the children or students in your life to find their strengths and passions.
As we head to the weekend, why not look up some top rated movies to watch with our kids. It might just be a great catalyst to facilitate discussion on character strengths. Through identifying, relating and affirming strengths we see in others, our non threatening sharing might offer that intimate parent-child bonding moment.
