What Movie Changed Your Life?
When asked, a lot of people can name from the top of their head their favorite movies. Movies they enjoyed and have rewatched over and over. But when you ask them what movie changed their lives, they go quiet. There are so many movies that we’ve seen, that it is hard to pinpoint just one. Especially one that’s actually changed our perspective. Many students at Rialto High School (RHS) couldn’t name one, or they needed some time to think about it. Senior Brianna Valdez came to a conclusion for herself, and she ultimately just said none.
“I think that there just isn’t really a movie that has drastically changed me or my life. That’s a hard question, but I don’t think that’s happened to me at all. I’m still thinking about it even now, and my mind is blank.”
Sophomore Jesus Ponce was another one of those students who felt the same way.
“I don’t have a movie that changed my life, no movie has affected me that much.”
However, there were some students like junior Viviana Moreno who were able to think of a movie right off the bat.
“A movie that really impacted me was Maquia. It shows the struggles of motherhood and the sacrifices a mother makes for her child. It’s ultimately a movie about love and how in the end a mother doesn’t regret her journey of raising a child.” Moreno concludes, “It made me appreciate the difficulties my parents went through to raise me and showed me the beauty of motherhood.”
The movies people chose for themselves varied, but there were a lot of people who agreed with each other about how life-changing some movies were. For example, when The Lovely Bones was brought up by junior Valeria Ortega almost everyone at the table agreed that it is a real eye-opening movie. The Lovely Bones is a popular movie adaptation of a book written by Alice Sebold.
“I think The Lovely Bones is one of the movies that has impacted me the most, out of all the movies that I've seen. It was really sad, and it made me realize that you’re not really safe anywhere, especially as a girl. The girl gets raped and killed, and throughout the whole movie you see her trying to go back to her family who misses her. It was most shocking how close the culprit was, but that no one could see it.”
Senior Emmily Casas also brought up another movie that most people agreed with, Soul. Soul came out in the year 2020, and it gained a lot of recognition due to it being a Disney movie. It quickly became a favorite for most.
“The movie Soul is probably one of the movies that opened my eyes a lot. It was impactful to how I live my life because it makes you appreciate and be grateful that you’re alive. It’s one of those movies you just have to see once, because it teaches you a valuable lesson.”
Freshman Felix Trejo came to the conclusion that the movie that changed his life was Jumanji, a movie that came out in the year 2017. It has been his favorite movie ever since he watched it, and no other movie can top it.
“It’s the best movie I’ve ever seen, and I loved The Rock and Kevin Hart together.”
Most of the “life changing” movies people picked were also movies that make you cry. Sophomore Thais Vargas picked Instructions Not Included, a movie that came out in 2013, directed by well-known Mexican actor, Eugenio Derbez.
“Instructions Not Included changed my life because it made me appreciate the relationship I have with my Dad and it showed me to be grateful for everything my Dad has done for me. The movie shows the lengths a Latino father will go [to] for their children. It opens your eyes on how much parents, and especially single parents, go through so many hardships to give their child the best things in life and to be able to express themselves and be who they are.”
Some students said that they wouldn’t be the same if they hadn’t watched their childhood movies. That their childhood movies impacted the course of their lives. Juniors Raja Saadiq-Saoud and Tania Barajas both agreed on this. Barajas said, “For me, Shrek was just one of those movies I could never forget, and it changed my life because of how much I watched it.” Saadiq-Saoud said, “The Peanuts movie was so inspiring to me as a kid, because of how Charlie Brown wins in the end.”.
It’s interesting to see how a movie could impact so many people and in so many different ways. Movies can help us to reflect on ourselves and how we affect others too. It even makes us think about others and their situations and how we can be more considerate to that.