CONSCIOUS CINEMA
of the connectedness that ’ s absent from their lives and desperately needs to be restored through their own beliefs and manifestation efforts . which a group of lost souls in a small English town look to bring meaningful connection into their lives , a quest made difficult by social and cultural pressures that no longer serve them . A comparable search also unfolds in “ Nebraska ” ( 2013 ), in which an aging borderline alcoholic on the verge of dementia ( Bruce Dern ) who mistakenly believes he ’ s won a clearinghouse sweepstakes quietly seeks to forge or revive the most important relationships in life , a task made challenging by all of the questionable influences surrounding him , including his self-serving , domineering wife ( June Squibb ), his former business partner ( Stacy Keach ) and a host of shirt-tail relatives all looking to cash in on their relation ’ s alleged good fortune .
On some level , though , many of us sense our connectedness and never give up searching for it , no matter how difficult that may be . In the ironically titled “ Six Degrees of Separation ” ( 1993 ), a troubled street kid ( Will Smith ) seeks the acceptance of others by learning the ways of affluent contemporaries and then looking to ingratiate himself with their well-to-do families , particularly an upper-crust Manhattan couple ( Donald Sutherland , Stockard Channing ) who deal in fine art . Likewise , the earnest search for a romantic connection provides the basis of “ Hard Pill ” ( 2005 ), in which a young gay man ( Jonathan Slavin ) unlucky in love seeks to change his life by enrolling in an experimental drug treatment program designed to turn him heterosexual , a move that he believes will make him more acceptable to a wider pool of prospects but that unfortunately plays havoc with all the significant bonds in his life . That kind of loneliness is also present in “ Wetherby ” ( 1985 ), in
Of course , once we realize the benefits of connection , we can truly turn it to our advantage , using it to solve problems in our lives . Such is the case in “ Hope Springs ” ( 2012 ), the story of a middle-aged married couple ( Meryl Streep , Tommy Lee Jones ) who have grown apart and look to restore the old magic of their connection , the one that brought them together in the first place .
On a larger scale , realizing our inherent human bonds can bring about remarkable results to an entire population , as evidenced in “ Fambul Tok ” ( 2011 ). This riveting documentary examines the efforts of the citizens of Sierra Leone to heal the country ’ s devastating emotional scars after a bloody , protracted civil war . The film shows how victims and abusers willfully come together to draw upon the qualities that bind them to forgive and put the past behind them , no matter how egregious the atrocities they suffered . It ’ s a powerful demonstration of how our innate entanglement can be tapped to achieve a truly beneficial outcome .
Should we really embrace the value of this concept , we can follow the example set in “ Pay It Forward ” ( 2000 ), in which an impressionable seventh-grader ( Haley Joel Osment ) takes a social studies class assignment to heart a truly big way . Under instructions from his teacher ( Kevin Spacey ) to come up with a plan that would benefit humanity , the youngster devises a concept known as “ paying it forward ,” which calls for freely giving assistance to others in need under the condition that they do the same for others as “ payment ” for having received such
41 | HAPI Guide
CONSCIOUS CINEMA
of the connectedness that’s absent from their lives
and desperately needs to be restored through their
own beliefs and manifestation efforts.
which a group of lost souls in a small English town
look to bring meaningful connection into their
lives, a quest made difficult by social and cultural
pressures that no longer serve them. A comparable
search also unfolds in “Nebraska” (2013), in which
an aging borderline alcoholic on the verge of de-
mentia (Bruce Dern) who mistakenly believes he’s
won a clearinghouse sweepstakes quietly seeks to
forge or revive the most important relationships
in life, a task made challenging by all of the ques-
tionable influences surrounding him, including his
self-serving, domineering wife (June Squibb), his
former business partner (Stacy Keach) and a host
of shirt-tail relatives all looking to cash in on their
relation’s alleged good fortune.
Of course, once we realize the benefits of connec-
tion, we can truly turn it to our advantage, using it
to solve problems in our lives. Such is the case in
“Hope Springs” (2012), the story of a middle-aged
married couple (Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones)
who have grown apart and look to restore the old
magic of their connection, the one that brought
them together in the first place.
On some level, though, many of us sense our con-
nectedness and never give up searching for it, no
matter how difficult that may be. In the ironically
titled “Six Degrees of Separation” (1993), a trou-
bled street kid (Will Smith) seeks the acceptance
of others by learning the ways of affluent contem-
poraries and then looking to ingratiate himself
with their well-to-do families, particularly an up-
per-crust Manhattan couple (Donald Sutherland,
Stockard Channing) who deal in fine art. Likewise,
the earnest search for a romantic connection pro-
vides the basis of “Hard Pill” (2005), in which a
young gay �����)���ѡ���M��٥���չ�Ս�䁥����ٔ)͕��́Ѽ����������́������䁕�ɽ����������������ɤ�)���х����՜��ɕ�ѵ��Ё�ɽ�Ʌ����ͥ�����Ѽ���ɸ)������ѕɽ͕�Յ�������ٔ�ѡ�Ё��������ٕ́ݥ��)�����������ɔ������х����Ѽ���ݥ��ȁ���������ɽ̴)����́��Ёѡ�Ёչ����չ�ѕ������́��ٽ��ݥѠ����)ѡ��ͥ��������Ё����́�����́������Q��Ё�������������)�����́�́��ͼ��ɕ͕�Ё����q]�ѡ�ɉ�t�����Ԥ����(�ā��!A$�ե��)=������ɝ�ȁ͍�����ɕ���饹����ȁ����ɕ�Ё�յ��)����́�����ɥ�������Ёɕ��ɭ�����ɕ�ձ�́Ѽ���)��ѥɔ����ձ�ѥ�����́�٥�����������q���հ�Q���t(����Ĥ��Q��́ɥٕѥ������յ��х�䁕ᅵ���́ѡ�����)����́���ѡ����ѥ镹́���M���Ʉ�1�����Ѽ������ѡ����ո�)���é��م�хѥ������ѥ�����͍��́��ѕȁ��������)�ɽ�Ʌ�ѕ����٥��݅ȸ�Q��������͡��́��܁٥�ѥ��)�������͕�́ݥ���ձ�䁍����ѽ��ѡ�ȁѼ��Ʌ܁����)ѡ���Յ��ѥ�́ѡ�Ё�����ѡ���Ѽ���ɝ�ٔ�������Ёѡ�)���Ё�������ѡ����������ѕȁ��܁��ɕ����́ѡ�)��ɽ��ѥ�́ѡ���ՙ��ɕ���%ӊé����ݕəհ�������)��Ʌѥ��������܁��ȁ����є���х�������Ё������)х�����Ѽ������ٔ�����ձ䁉������������э����)M��ձ��ݔ�ɕ���䁕��Ʌ���ѡ��م�Ք����ѡ�́������а)ݔ����������܁ѡ���ᅵ����͕Ё����qA��%Ё��݅ɓ�t(�����������ݡ����������ɕ�ͥ�������͕ٕ�Ѡ��Ʌ���(�!����)����=͵��Ф�х��́��ͽ�������Ց��́����́�̴)ͥ�����ЁѼ�����Ё����ձ䁉���݅丁U���ȁ�����Սѥ���)�ɽ����́ѕ����Ȁ�-�٥��M����䤁Ѽ���������ݥѠ��)�����ѡ�Ёݽձ��������Ё�յ����䰁ѡ���չ��ѕ�)��٥͕́��������Ё���ݸ��̃�q��她���Ё���݅ɐ��t)ݡ��������́��ȁ�ɕ��䁝�٥�����ͥ�х����Ѽ��ѡ��́��)�����չ��ȁѡ�������ѥ���ѡ�Ёѡ�䁑��ѡ��ͅ��)��ȁ�ѡ��́�̃�q��嵕�ӊt���ȁ��٥���ɕ���ٕ���Ս