Movie Quotes that Have Been Significant in My Life

Movie Quotes from Monty Python
"Help! Help! I'm being repressed!" - This line is said by the peasant "woman" at the end of an argument with King Arthur over his right to be king. For some reason, this movie was insanely popular among the band in high school. Everyone knew at least a few lines, and many could recite the whole movie. My first experience with the movie, my freshman year, was one night right after a close friend (from a different school, so no one knew her) had died. A friend was spending the night, and suggested we watch Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail to take my mind off of things. After hearing random quotes for the past few months, I decided to. I was in such a funk that the movie only mildly numbed things - but then we got to the peasant scene. I laughed out loud at this line, partly because of the movie and partly because of the kids at school who were saying it....and suddenly it was ok to laugh, even though I was sad, and I found the rest of the movie hilarious.

"Let me have just a little bit of peril." - Sir Galahad says this line after he is "rescued" from the overly affectionate girls in Castle Anthrax. Right around this point in the movie was the first time my then-boyfriend, now-husband kissed me. It's an odd place to be kissed, I know, but we were both zoning out to the movie after seeing it so many times, we had been friends for a couple of years and dating for a few weeks, and we were cuddling and...he kissed me. It kind of set the tone for our relationship, that our first kiss was during such a wacky movie - but then, we were also engaged on April Fool's Day!

Movie Quotes from Dead Poets Society
"Oh captain my captain" - This movie never really meant much to me, until one time I watched the movie with my husband after I was a teacher. As a teacher, one always worries that one will do something that results in a tragedy, and the teacher will need to be let go. This scene, where the boys salute their former teacher, really means a lot to me - that students can see above the political reasons a teacher may have to leave, and still support that figure.

Movie Quotes from Moulin Rouge
"All you need is love...Love is just a game." - This movie came out before I started dating my husband, and he and my then-roommate watched it all the time. We used to jokingly sing this part together, with him as Christian and me rebuffing him as Satine. He had a huge crush on me, but things just weren't right for us to start dating. So this became the theme for our friendship - the romantic tension, unresolved.

"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world." - As Christian and Satine conquer the odds and end up together, my husband and I overcame time, jealousy, and a host of other factors to end up together, with this movie becoming one of our favorites to watch together.

Movie Quotes from Short Circuit
"Number 5 stupid name. Want to be Kevin or Dave!" - My family loved this movie when I was little. When the escaped robot decides it wants a better name, and chooses Johnny, we loved it. This movie, and this quote, remind me of such simpler times with my family.

Movie Quotes from Mr. Holland's Opus
"Playing music is supposed to be fun. It's about heart, it's about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it's not about notes on a page." - As an avid musician, I loved this movie when I first saw it, and still love it. This quote sums up music for me - and for a lot of people. As Mr. Holland is working with his students, he describes exactly what it is about music that makes it so challenging, so fun, so inspiring.

"Well, I guess you can cut the arts as much as you want, Gene. Sooner or later, these kids aren't going to have anything to read or write about. " - Being married to a licensed music teacher in the time of NCLB, this quote resonates with me. As the music program is cut at the end of the movie, Mr. Holland bites back with how much arts enrich the lives of students. The trend continues - arts programs are cut in favor of testable subjects. And education isn't getting any better for it.

"Why is everyone else's child more important than yours? " - When Iris says that to her husband, questioning his involvement in school at the expense of time with her son, it always strikes me. As the child of a teacher, I know what it's like to share one's parent with all the other students. My parents loved me, and I knew it, but I sometimes wondered what it was like to not have to share. As a teacher, married to another licensed teacher, I know our children will always need to "share" us, and I hope and pray that we do a good job of it so that they never have to question where they fit in our lives.