Friday, April 29, 2011

Sure I'm sheltered from horror movies but not real life

I once dated a guy that told me I was sheltered because I didn't watch horror movies growing up. Although there's some truth to that, I was appalled to hear him continue to ask me, "What are you going to do if someone tries to attack or rape you? If you don't watch horror movies, then you can't possibly learn how to defend yourself."
It was at that moment I knew I needed to break up with this bone head. This guy comes from a small deserted town in Upstate, New York that no one I know has heard of.
I on the other hand have moved from one country to another, had to learn to speak English in kindergarten, didn't have a lot of friends; watched my dad build his company from the ground up; moved a lot during my adulthood; took public transportation in big cities like Boston, Montreal and New York City; I lived in the city; survived an abusive relationship (or two) and a countless of other experiences.
When I moved to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, I took a self defense class at the Cambridge Police Department; the exciting part of that experience, I was with the ladies of Jamn 94.5, Pebbles and other radio employees. None the less, I've taken more than one self defense class as well as many writing and movie classes.
What I learned in movie class is how a horror movie is made and how real life violence unfolds are two different experiences.
For starters, horror movies are a part of a persons imagination and they are rehearsed as well as video enhanced.
No matter how I told the ex this, he still tried to argue that watching horror movies made you less sheltered.
I'm confused, someone who sits on his ass, smoking dope and cigarettes, drinking, feeling sorry for his self all the time while watching horror movies is less sheltered then someone who's been around a few different countries, states, people and lived to experience it all in person (instead of watching it on TV).
Wow, I guess you do learn something new everyday.
With all sarcasm aside, I don't see the point to horror movies.
I know why they are done though. The true purpose of horror flicks are:
1. To explore your fears.
2. To explore the deepest part of your conscience.
3. To be able to do something illegal, legally. In other words, fake killing someone your mad at.
4. To scare the crap out of yourself and friends.

I've never heard or been told that horror movies were made to teach you how to defend yourself.
In horror movies, you can have a person hang off a cliff as deep as the Grand Canyon by a string as thin as floss and they won't fall off.
Try that in real life, I dare you and when you survive, tell me how that worked out for you.
The point I'm really getting at is this, the people who never watched a horror movie but who got up and lived their life by moving and experience different places and meet different people are not more sheltered then those who have been sitting on the couch their whole life, never leaving the small town their mama raised them in and have seen every horror movie ever made since they've been in diapers.

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