How Hollywood Paved the Way for the Rise of Conscious Film<\/b>
\nWhat do Shawshank Redemption<\/i>, Forest Gump, Avatar<\/i>, Contact<\/i>, and The Pursuit of Happyness<\/i> all have in common? Yes, they are big hits. Yes, they have A-list stars. But those aren\u2019t their most important features. Think back to when you first watched each film\u2026how did you feel<\/i> when you exited the theater? Were you elated? Loving? Hopeful? If so, then you\u2019ve just received a dose of conscious-ness! Most would agree that these films fit the bill as heart-opening gems, but with one kicker\u2026 these films get you stoked about living! Who can forget Morgan Freeman\u2019s character Red uttering the now-immortalized line, \u201cYou either get busy livin\u2019 or you get busy dying.\u201d Fellow inmate Andy Dufresne immediately abandoned self-pity and chose to mastermind his dream life outside prison walls by such inspiration. These films are but a few in the genre of \u201cconscious films\u201d that change lives, inspire choices, and elevate human consciousness.<\/p>\n
According to self-described \u201cconscious filmmaker\u201d David Christopher Loya-Bojorquez, \u201cconscious films\u201d are life-affirming, hold human beings as sacred rather than expendable, and encourage the audience to ponder existence more deeply than their day-to-day routines. Loya-Bojorquez also adds that conscious filmmaking \u201cis distinct from the promotion of any sectarian theological worldview.\u201d It should be clear that movie studios follow trends. It\u2019s that simple. If there\u2019s interest in a genre, movies will get made, regardless of whether it\u2019s Avatar 2, 3, and 4<\/i> which are currently in production simultaneously, or the aptly classified \u201ctorture porn\u201d horror franchise Saw 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, <\/i>and soon-to-be 7.<\/i> Like Saw<\/i>, the Hostel <\/i>franchise 1, 2, and 3<\/i> also subject innocent, unsuspecting characters to obscene amounts of sadistic torture for sport. How could this graphic violence and portrayal of human life as expendable not subconsciously influence the behavior of its loyal fans? What good could such images and storylines add to our world, if we truly want a safe society free from gratuitous human murder? Then there are the car chase\/big explosion flicks like Fast & the Furious 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6<\/i>; high-tech gadget movies like the Mission Impossible<\/i> franchise; and high school sex-obsessed, gross-out films like the American Pie<\/i> franchise. Combined box office: $6.5 billion! The Saw<\/i> franchise alone earned nearly a billion. Yes, there is an emotional disconnect going on between Mother Earth and its denizens. Is it likely that everyone will give up high-tech action adventures, gratuitous sex, and grotesque horror movies any time soon? No. Is it likely that a whole new demographic is being birthed by viewers who are shifting their consciousness \u201cpalate\u201d from mindless to mindful, gory to glory, and demonic to divine? ILLUMINATE<\/i> responds with a big YES!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no wonder that some movie-goers are craving a deeper meaning in their films. With the emergence of \u201cconscious film\u201d offerings as the new box office titans, one may wonder, is there a planetary awakening of consciousness going on? Look around. Listen. Observe the latest trends. ILLUMINATE <\/i>certainly believes it to be true! Avatar<\/i>, the wildly successful imagination-explosion of film master James Cameron illustrates the living energy connection between humans, plants, and animals\u2026AND grossed nearly $3 billion in box office worldwide! Forrest Gump<\/i> made \u00be of a billion dollars in box office alone, and Pursuit of<\/i> Happyness<\/i> more than $300 million. A rapidly growing number of movie-goers are crying out for such qualities in their movies, and Hollywood is listening, producing such treasures as the Light vs. Dark magical masterpiece The Lord of the Rings<\/i> series which earned $2.9 billion in box office, the spiritually sentimental multi-faith film The Life of Pi <\/i>being received well with $609 million in box office, <\/i>and the preciousness-of-life film Gravity <\/i>starring Sandra Bullock pulling in $365 million in box office.<\/p>\n
Humans need inspiration \u2013 it has always been so and will likely never change \u2013 positive reminders to maintain hope during the storms of a seemingly uncertain life. It\u2019s what has sparked the monumental rise in all things self-help: from Yoga hitting the mainstream, to Deepak Chopra becoming a household name, to Eckhart Tolle setting records for online attendance in his spiritual programs after appearing on Oprah. Psychic-themed television shows abound like Medium<\/i> and The Mentalist<\/i>, and movies about angels and afterlife flourish like John Travolta in Michael<\/i> and the surprising supernatural contribution from Clint Eastwood in Hereafter<\/i>. Interestingly, monks like The Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh enjoy a rock-star like popularity. Beloved spiritual author Marianne Williamson plans to infuse her unique healing energy into the American political scene by running for Congress in 2014. Williamson commented, \u201cPolitics should not be the least heart-filled thing we do, it should be the most heart-filled\u2026When America does what\u2019s right, it\u2019s a great light on this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
A good question might be: how did this consciousness movement gain such mainstream acceptance? If we look at the trends, it was likely aided by obscure spiritual-films-turned-sleeper-hits like 2004\u2019s What the Bleep Do We Know?<\/i> and 2006\u2019s The Secret<\/i> earning unprecedented box office and global attention for a film of its kind with $16 million and $65 million in box office. These pioneering conscious films in turn paved the way for cherished spiritual book titles like New York Times best-seller The Celestine Prophecy<\/i> and Peaceful Warrior<\/i> to become major motion pictures. 2010\u2019s Eat Pray Love<\/i>, which earned a respectable $204 million in box office, delighted audiences with its message of reinventing oneself, nurturing the self, and seeking new spiritual food to satisfy the social emptiness of big city life. Now it seems that a flurry of conscious films are peppering the cinematic landscape, with such themes as Tom Shadyac\u2019s world-saving philosophical documentary I AM<\/i>; conscious food films such as Forks Over Knives <\/i>and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead<\/i>; conscious political films such as Patriocracy<\/i>; and visionary globe-spanning visual-art masterpieces like Baraka<\/i>, and recently Samsara<\/i>. Film palates are broadening indeed.<\/p>\n
Inspiration is in high demand. We live in dark times and life can feel downright disheartening: the daily news features the latest school shootings, natural disasters, new diseases, murders, corruption, starvation, and warfare. It\u2019s easy for the human mind to adopt a despondent attitude when bombarded by disastrous images. Guided by a positive message however, humanity shows greatness, valor, and uncommon compassion. But, inspiration, and how to get it, has always been the challenge. Film can be that medium. Some look for inspiration in church, some in a new hobby or even recreational highs like drugs, sex, or thrill-seeking. But inspiring the human heart and keeping it open is an ongoing matter. Film and television, for better or for worse, are informing our youth about what is acceptable behavior in this world. ILLUMINATE<\/i> believes that if more people were feeding their minds with positive films and media, a \u201ccritical mass\u201d or shift in consciousness will one day be reached. The public will simply demand a higher quality of film and programming; not a return to the \u201cGee Wally\u201d days of Leave it to Beaver<\/i> artificial wholesomeness, but authentic messages unique for our time and the struggles people face day to day.<\/p>\n
Some spiritual teachings have taught, \u201cWhat you meditate upon, you become.\u201d We would ask the question: what are most people \u201cmeditating\u201d on daily? Studies indicate that negativity tends to dominate our thinking and especially in our speech, such as a recent Penn State study by professor Robert Schraf, with an average of only 30% positive words spoken per day. That leaves 70% or more of thoughts and words moving through us daily as negative! And in between those frantic moments of racing to and from work, picking up the kids, cramming for that test, road-raging, cursing out the bill collector, and meeting the boss\u2019 deadline, that burst of inspiration in the form of a short film, feature film, or documentary inspires that person to live a better life. Finding uplifting media then, becomes paramount for the morally-conscious mother of 3, or the spiritually-minded married couple seeking to create harmony in the home, or the anxiety-ridden intellectual seeking a soothing balm from a tortured mind.<\/p>\n
We at ILLUMINATE <\/i>believe in sharing messages of hope, inspiration, and beauty, without any bias for a particular spiritual faith, and yet inclusive of all philosophies so long as they do not suggest one sectarian path as the answer to all the worlds ills. Films are now reaching billions which portray heroic events like the NYC police and firefighter crews in Oliver Stone\u2019s World Trade Center<\/i>; the extraordinary lives which changed oppressive political regimes like the recent biopic Mandela<\/i>; and depictions of superhuman love like the Mother Teresa<\/i> documentary. All such artistic or biographical renderings of defining human moments serve one purpose: to remind the haves and the have-not\u2019s alike of the beauty of the human soul. Only by this recognition, are we driven to change self-serving behaviors \u2013 not by threats, guilt trips, or slick persuasion, but by the personal realization of the beauty within each one of us; a connection to something greater; a purpose in life far more satisfying than chasing money, lust, or fame.<\/p>\n
The unfolding human drama on this planet provides ample fodder for countless cultural stories which shape new generations. Whether they are Biblical stories, legends, fairy tales, or simply modern-day heroism plucked from any town or village across the globe, humanity craves inspiring stories depicting the harrowing journey of life and the character traits necessary to triumph over hardship and attain the ultimate: happiness, freedom, and a peaceful co-existence with one another. In this way, the rich human experience with all its pain, faltering, and glorious triumphs serve as a teaching tool for its ever-evolving civilization. And again, film is that medium. What hard-working man or woman watching The Pursuit of Happyness<\/i> was not reduced to sobs when the homeless single dad whose fragile hopes rest on a high-powered broker job, earns the prized spot after months of non-paid servitude? What high school outcast could not connect to the shy, empathic nature of the school enigma Powder,<\/i> played by Sean Patrick Flanery, whose power over nature and insight into man\u2019s inner thoughts proves that beauty comes in strange packages? What weathered soul could not relate to the exhaustive emotional trauma suffered by Captain Phillips<\/i> played by Tom Hanks when he is rendered emotionally helpless from the abusive kidnapping?<\/p>\n
What we have shown you here are Hollywood\u2019s big-budget \u201cconscious\u201d film successes. But, there are thousands like the titles listed here that do not boast A-list stars, and therefore struggle to be seen, but deserve to be seen; indeed they must! They are that important in elevating our consciousness, informing our societies of what the greatest human qualities are; reminding us of the beautiful fragility and goodness of the human spirit. Our purpose with the ILLUMINATE Film Festival<\/i> is to find and showcase cinematic gems which uplift the human heart and inspire all who see them to live kinder, wiser, more consciously aware lives. Ultimately, it is our intention to share films that remind humans who they are by awakening the heart to embody LOVE once more. It is perhaps the only universal \u201creligion\u201d that everyone can agree on.<\/p>\n
Written by Miguel Montoya<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How Hollywood Paved the Way for the Rise of Conscious Film What do Shawshank Redemption, Forest Gump, Avatar, Contact, and The Pursuit of Happyness all have in common? Yes, they are big hits. Yes, they have A-list stars. But those aren\u2019t their most important features. Think back to when you first watched each film\u2026how did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10001,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,17,31,8,7,23,33,13,21,34,27,16,35,14,5,36,24,18,28,15,32,20,26,25,29,30,19,37],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-avatar","tag-celebrities","tag-celestine-prophecy","tag-cinema","tag-conscious","tag-contact","tag-eat-pray-love","tag-film","tag-filmmaker","tag-forks-over-knives","tag-gravity","tag-hollywood","tag-hope","tag-human-spirit","tag-illuminate-film-festival","tag-inspiration","tag-james-cameron","tag-meditation","tag-michael","tag-mind-body-spirit","tag-peaceful-warrior","tag-science","tag-the-life-of-pi","tag-the-lord-of-the-rings","tag-the-secret","tag-what-the-bleep-do-we-know","tag-yoga","tag-yogi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10001"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illuminatefilmfestival.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}