i want to be a mutant

i, again, geeked out and watched x2 at midnight last night (this is the 4th movie i've seen on opening day midnight release). technically, 12:10, but close enough. the earliest possible time to see this movie on the east coast was midnight, and i was there. woo-hoo! conclusion: dork.

but it's more than that.
we have no bards in our society. we have no storytellers. we have no homers making sure the odyssy and iliad.
but we do have steven spielbergs, george lucas, and peter jacksons.
no longer do we gather around the warm glow of the campfire listening to the bard weave his tale. now, it's the cool light of the movie screen or tv. stadium seating and couches have replaced logs and stones. the myths and legends of our culture are films (i make a distinction between movies and films. super troopers, as good as it is, is a movie. shawshank redemption is a film.). all rooted in fact, but expanded to be more.
and it's the more that makes us willing to drop $8.75 for a freakin' ticket or $25 for a dvd. films offer us a glimpse of what we could achieve with our limited and shallow human emotions. there is depth and substance to the reel. it is their ability to reach out through the screen and grab hold of us and draw them into their universe that makes films like lord of the rings earn over a billion for the series.
movies project what we want the world to be into an idealized form. people say watching movies all the time is a bad thing.
i couldn't disagree more.
i'm just researching humanity.