Heart over Head
The struggle with identity is a
problem many of us can relate to. In so many of today's movies, there is a
focus on people relying on others for their own happiness. I want my movie to
make viewers think outside the box and actually come to terms with loving
themselves first and realize that you can make your own happiness. The name of
my film is Heart over Head. This film
will be easy for viewers to identify with in the sense that the main character
is a college student contemplating all of the decisions she's made in her life
thus far. She is used to the constant pressure of meeting and exceeding society's
expectations, which is what she is currently struggling with.
My film will take place in present-day
Los Angeles. Lina is a twenty-one year old college student currently majoring
in business. She is a slender brunette with bright blue eyes and a smile that
could light up the darkest of nights. Her charismatic nature and kind-hearted
personality are why many people find themselves drawn to her. It is her third
year at the university and she is doing well in all of her classes, but has yet
to find any which truly engage her. She chose her business major because she
knew how broad it was and that she could apply in any field of work after she
graduated school. She has very supportive parents, but they are expecting her
to graduate with a degree that, in their opinion, will actually aid Lina in
being successful in life. Lina feels as though she is living in a world where
people are no longer pursuing higher education to learn, but rather to solely
better secure their chance of getting "the right" job once they
graduate. She had many friends and colleagues who had certain career goals merely
to live up to the expectations set by their parents. Deep down, this has always
bothered Lina. She realizes the importance of having a stable job which would
aid in her being able to provide for herself and eventually a family, however;
she also knows that sacrificing happiness for money is often the root of so
many people’s problems.
This semester at college, she decided to take
an art history class to rekindle her love for art. She had taken a course on it
in the past, but now that she was a bit older, she felt that she could truly
appreciate the class and enjoy learning about her favorite artists. One day in
class, her professor recommended going to the Norton Simon Museum. Lina knew
the name sounded familiar, and that was when she remembered how every year when
her family would watch the Rose Parade on television, her dad would always make
a point to mention how he took her mom right there to the Norton Simon Museum
on their first date. As soon as she had a free day, Lina rushed to the Norton
Simon. From that day on, her life as she knew it would be changed forever. Lina
always had a tender spot in her heart for museums, but she felt as though this
place was perfectly tailored to her exact taste in art. Paintings from Monet
and Van Gogh, realistic Degas dancing figures, and Buddha statues all brought
out a refreshing excitement in Lina that she wasn’t used to feeling. It was
then when she realized that her true passion lied within the arts. Of course
she could succeed in the business corporate world; she was smart and capable of
doing whatever she set her mind to. But why waste her time and energy on
something that didn’t incorporate at least some of what she was truly
passionate for?
After going to the museum, Lina felt
as though she had had some sort of awakening. Three months ago, Lina and her
long-term boyfriend broke up. She struggled with no longer having a companion
there to remind her of how much she was loved. She felt the pressures from society that being alone
has some sort of negative connotation. After going to the museum and enjoying
herself so much, she realized that she must learn to love and identify her true
self. Now, she is slowly learning how to be more independent. She is becoming
more comfortable with going places alone and doing things for herself that she
actually enjoys, such as indulging in lattes while reading in coffee shops,
practicing yoga, making day trips, and visiting art museums. A huge benefit of
visiting the museum was Lina’s discovery of her newfound interest in Buddhism.
She saw the statues and researched about the religion immediately after she got
home. She was intrigued by the self-awareness valued so highly in Buddhism. “In
mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake.” This
excerpt from The Miracle of Mindfulness:
An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thích Nhất Hạnh shows how
critical being self-aware is in order to reach happiness, which is something
everyone wants out of life. For the first time in her life, Lina is actually putting herself, her
needs, and her own desires first.
Lina will have to decide whether to
follow “society’s rules” and play it safe, or do something more risky that she
is truly passionate for. In the end, she realizes that she can attempt to do a
combination of both. She will talk to her art history teacher, with whom she
has built a good relationship with, and she will introduce Lina to a career
path that she had never even given much thought to: being an art dealer. Lina
will complete her degree in business and apply her knowledge of how the market
operates to her job as an art dealer.
The actress that I believe would be
perfect for Lina would be Jennifer Lawrence. She is well-liked and respected by
young-adults everywhere and I believe she would beautifully bring Lina’s
character to life. I want Lina to be someone to look up to, and I know that
many young girls in particular already view Jennifer Lawrence as a great role
model. Another significant character would be Lina’s art history professor,
Mrs. Groff. I would choose Julianne Moore to play her character because I think
she would be able to portray the perfect balance of quirkiness and intelligence
that a typical art history professor embodies.
The main purpose of Heart over Head is to call attention to
the importance of self-discovery. This is something Lina has always struggled
with because she has been too afraid of “being free” and letting go of
society’s expectations. Chris Barker’s book Cultural
Studies: Theories and Practice explains that “there is no known culture
that does not use the pronoun ‘I’ and which does not therefore have a
conception of the self and personhood. However, the manner in which ‘I’ is
used, what it means, does vary from culture to culture.” Barker mentions the
fact that some cultures view personhood as “inseparable from a network of kinship
relations and social obligations.” Similar to this is Stuart Hall’s analysis of
the sociological subject. His theory explains how the inner core was formed in
relation to “significant” others. Hall also discusses the “post-modern
subject,” who assumes different identities at different times. This idea of a
constantly evolving “self” is what I find so intriguing and what I believe many
viewers can relate to. People shouldn’t feel that they are tied down to a
certain image of themselves just based on decisions they’ve made in the past or
what society tells them. I would like Lina to be seen as someone who has grown
to understand that being alone does not mean that you’re lonely; but instead it
allows you to find out who you are and what you love.
Works Cited:
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 4thth
ed. London: Sage, 2012. N. pag. Print
Hall, Stuart , David Held, Don Hubert, and Kenneth Thompson. "The
Question of Cultural Identity." Modernity: An Introduction to Modern
Sciences. Malden: Blackwell, 1996. 597-600. Print.
Hanh, Thích. The Miracle of Mindfullness: A manual on
meditation. Revised ed. Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1987. Print.
Korkki, Phyllis. "The True Calling That Wasn't."
nytimes.com. N.p., 17 July 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/jobs/
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