10 Movie Quotes and How They Affect My Life

Ah, movies. For decades, they have been an influential medium in many aspects of our lives. We are entertained by them. We use them as a social outlet. They have affected the way we think, our emotions, our culture. If we look back over the history of cinema, we can see how society has changed, grown, evolved. Movies have become an integral aspect of our lives that no one can deny.

So integral, our language has been infused with quotes and witticisms from films of every and all genres. We use them casually, almost subconsciously until they become a catch phrase, often misquoted, but easily recognized. We all have our favorites, and for different reasons. They make us laugh, cry, quail with anger. Whatever the emotion, we remember them, and they become part of us.

When I think back to the movies that first influenced me, I remember two in particular. As a young teen growing up during the 80's when excess was all the rage, it was all about hormones and puberty.

"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Kathleen Turner voicing the sultry Jessica Rabbit in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' turned my head like nothing else. It didn't matter that she was just a cartoon. Being the awkward teenager that I was, I longed to be her. I wanted that overt sexuality, the ability to turn heads, to make men drool and act fools. I wanted women to be jealous of me. What she really represented to me was the epitome of female sexuality, yet classically misunderstood, and always judged by her appearance. What teenager can't relate to the latter two? Over the years, I've used this line probably hundreds of times. It has always been an apology of sorts, an, "I'm sorry, I only LOOK like a jerk."

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner." Oh, Patrick Swayze. Despite the cheese factor, I wanted him to come stand up for me against my well-meaning-but-clueless father, pull me up on stage and proclaim to the entire world how much he loved me. His button up shirts (conveniently unbuttoned) baring his hard, hairless man cleavage, and blatantly sexual moves set my young, 14 year old heart thumping wildly. I longed for him to show up, sweep me off my feet, and teach me some 'Dirty Dancing' of my own. To this day, that movie still inspires a pitter-patter in my chest, and reminds me of my first, uncontrollable, girlish crush.

As I grew up, I found myself fascinated with horror films. It's exciting being scared, the adrenaline rush is a natural high. Being blessed (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with an over-active imagination, the horrors of such masters as Stephen King or Wes Craven incite pictures and images of some of the very basest natures of mankind. These images would wander through my head, and I would scare myself imagining what could be; creaking floorboards, rushing, howling wind fueling waking nightmares. The scariest images were always those that were truly possible.

"We all go a little mad sometimes." Anthony Perkins in Psycho inspired a passion of mine all those years ago, one that lives today. I have always been fascinated with psychology, particularly abnormal psychology. His portrayal of a split personality sparked something within me, and began a years long study of the disorder, which spilled over into other areas of psychology. I found it intoxicating, the power of the mind. The human brain is capable of such complexities it's hard to imagine. It is so amazing to realize that the kinds of things I read about weren't stories made up by a novelist or written for a movie, but had happened to actual people. It made me realize that the truth is far scarier than any story I'd seen or heard or read.

That being said, I'd be lying if I told you there wasn't a certain macabre attraction to some of the ideas in many horror movies. Sometimes, the revenge factor sounds pretty good. After all, even the really evil characters have some perverted sense of justice attached to their actions, if only in their own mind. But the baddest of the bad, the sexiest of them all will always be Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. This movie is filled with one horrible, wonderful scene after another, but the best of all is Hannibal mocking Clarice Starling's attempt to define him. He taunts her effort with, "A census taker once tired to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." His deliberate mispronunciation of 'chianti' mocks Clarice with it's hillbilly twang, and he follows it with a contemptuous slurp. It's a scene that never fails to fill me with a secret, shameful thrill.

As I got older I was introduced to movies of an increasingly bizarre nature. Enter "The Cult Classic!" This is a term I laughingly use for any B list movie I've seen half a dozen times. But there is no movie this more aptly describes than 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show." I actually learned to do the time warp, and I know what to say, when to say it, and what props I need to have. There are dozens of memorable scenes, but my favorite is during the song 'Sweet Transvestite,' when the brilliant Tim Curry teases Brad and Janet. "So, come up to the lab, and see what's on the slab. I see you shiver with antici... pation!" At 19, the first time I watched this film I truly did shiver with anticipation, the pause almost palpable, and I really wanted to be a Transylvanian just so I could hang out with the delicious and spicy Dr. Frank N. Furter. This movie screams party time!

One of my favorite directors is Kevin Smith. He's the guy who wrote all those stingingly clever films like Clerks and the under-appreciated Mallrats. His masterpiece, in my opinion, is the courageous 'Dogma.' This is truly toward the top of my list of favorite movies of all time. Tthe entire movie is about the struggle between faith and religion. Does God exist, what is His (or Her) purpose, which way are we to go? What is our path? The reason this film is so important to me is because it helped me define my own belief system. It made me realize the struggle I'd always had with faith and it's connection to organized religion. In the beginning film, there is a scene where the Angel of Death, Loki (smartly played by Matt Damon) is talking to a nun (a fun cameo by Carrie Fisher!). She is puzzled that he doesn't believe in God because of Alice in Wonderland. He replies, "No, 'Through the Looking Glass.' That poem, 'The Walrus and the Carpenter,' that's an indictment of organized religion. The walrus, with his girth and his good nature, he obviously represents either Buddha, or... or with his tusk, the Hindu elephant god, Lord Ganesha. That takes care of your Eastern religions. Now the carpenter, which is an obvious reference to Jesus Christ, who was raised a carpenter's son, he represents the Western religions. Now in the poem, what do they do... what do they do? They... They dupe all these oysters into following them and then proceed to shuck and devour the helpless creatures en masse. I don't know what that says to you, but to me it says that following there faiths based on mythological figures ensure the destruction of one's inner-being. Organized religion destroys who we are by inhibiting our actions... by inhibiting our decisions, out of... out of fear of some... some intangible parent figure who... who shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says... and says, 'Do it and I'll fuckin' spank you." The point of the movie isn't to doubt the existence of God, but to point out to us that our personal relationship with Him is the most important factor in our faith. Loki's rant may be just that, but it showed me that I didn't have to have religion to have God in my life. As a side note, the movie is pretty freaking funny too.

Then there are those movies that everyone knows. I fI mentioned 'Jerry Maguire,' what's the first quote most people would come up with? Most would remember Tom Cruise screaming wildly, "Show me the money!", and I bet we've all used this at least once in reference to the almighty dollar. I prefer the end of the movie, when he tells Renee Zellweger in a vulnerable moment, "You complete me." What woman hasn't wanted a man to love her like that? It pulls your heart strings, even if you make fun of it later. Love is universal.

Or what about, "After all, tomorrow is another day." If you don't recognize the indomitable spirit of Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, you've missed one of the greatest movies of all time. This movie showed me that history is more than just facts and dates I needed to memorize in order to pass a test. It made me realize that there are real life stories and struggles that could make me feel sadness, anger, joy, and the entire gamut of human emotion, all lurking in the history books.

Then there's 'Forrest Gump.' Tom Hanks portrayal of the title role is far and away one of the most touching characters ever to grace the big screen. Forrest is the kind of person you want as a friend. He is generous, accepting, and when he loves you, he loves unconditionally. His gentle treatment of Lieutenant Dan is a perfect example of just that. You root for Forrest. You want him to be happy. And even though he isn't the smartest guy, he possesses a homegrown wisdom passed down to him by Mama. "My Mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" This line always reminds me of one in the John Lennon song, 'Beautiful Boy,' which goes, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Both lines tell us that life is not static, and it reminds me in the hard times that this too shall pass. Forrest Gump is the kind of person you can look up to, and he shows you don't have to be a genius to be a role model.

Another movie at the top of my short list of favorites is 'The Matrix.' Normally, I'm not too excited by gratuitous violence, but it's not the movie itself that excites me, rather the ideas. One of the concepts shows itself when Neo is offered a choice by Morpheus (delivered by a masterful Laurence Fishburne); "You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." The choice is between truth and self -delusion. Is Neo strong enough to choose truth? For that matter, are any of us? This movie was the first metaphoric actualization of what has happened to society today. There are far too many people in the world who have chosen the blue pill. I can't say that I've gone down the rabbit-hole, but I've certainly been standing above it trying to peer inside. I am always striving toward honesty with myself and others, and open-mindedness. Which pill would you take?

How many more movies have those memorable scenes? Which ones have affected you? When I sat down to write this, the first thing I did was write a list of movie quotes, any and all that I could remember off the top of my head. I was amazed at the sheer volume. However, it showed me that cinema is an important aspect of our lives, and has true meaning for all of us. I'd love to hear what lines and scenes have meaning you, the reader, as well.

Hasta la vista, baby.