Childhood Cinema Memories Reflect on Life's Unhappy Endings
Translated & summarized from Zman Yisrael by baba
The author reflects on his lifelong love of cinema, from childhood viewings with parents to solo adult screenings and university-era James Bond marathons. He observes a recurring theme in films of good triumphing over evil, creating an expectation that life mirrors this "happy end" narrative. However, he argues this is a dangerous illusion, citing current global events and leaders as evidence that reality is far more complex and often lacks such clear resolutions. He suggests that the victors often dictate the narrative, questioning the universality of a "good" outcome.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- The author's childhood cinema experiences instilled a belief that good always triumphs over evil.
- He argues that the cinematic "happy end" trope creates a false expectation about real-life outcomes.
- The author critiques the idea that history has ended, citing global conflicts and leaders.
- He suggests that the victors in conflicts often define morality and historical narratives.
- Contemporary global events challenge the simplistic notion of good ultimately prevailing.
- The film "Don't Look Up" is presented as a cautionary tale about human folly leading to disaster.
The author reminisces about his childhood love for movies, initially experienced with his parents in the 1950s due to the lack of babysitting options. He recalls being shielded from mature content by his father, missing scenes like Brigitte Bardot's implied nudity in "And God Created Woman." As he grew, he began attending movies with friends at the "Kesem" cinema, which showed daily matinees for children featuring Westerns, gladiator films, and superhero stories, all characterized by a clear good versus evil narrative where the good always triumphed.
His first solo cinema experience at age 12 at the "Ramat" cinema in Ramat Gan was a significant event. He describes the thrill of watching an adult-oriented Western alone, reinforcing the belief that good would ultimately prevail. This marked the beginning of his regular cinema attendance, usually one film per week as his finances allowed.
During his university years in the 1970s, the author and his sociology classmates developed a habit of watching a James Bond film after each day of studying. He notes the consistent formula in these films: a villain threatening the world, and James Bond sent to stop them, always resulting in Bond's victory. This pattern, common in Hollywood films, created the expectation of a "happy end" where the wicked are punished and the righteous win.
The author argues that this cinematic trope has led many to believe that life outside the screen also follows this predictable narrative, expecting wrongdoers to be punished and society to return to normalcy. He contends that this is a fallacy, stating, "They are living in a movie." He further explores the philosophical idea that the victors define morality and norms, using the example of World War II where the Allies' victory framed them as "good" and the Nazis as "evil." He speculates that in the future, Israeli schoolchildren might learn that those who opposed a religious, messianic regime were the "bad guys."
Reflecting on Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man," which predicted the global triumph of liberal democracy after the Soviet Union's collapse, the author believes Fukuyama was overly influenced by happy-ending movies. He points to contemporary leaders like Putin, Erdoğan, Netanyahu, and Trump, along with global conflicts and societal polarization fueled by social media, as evidence that history has not ended and that simplistic narratives of good triumphing are flawed. He concludes by referencing the film "Don't Look Up" as a stark portrayal of human stupidity, greed, and political maneuvering leading to global catastrophe, questioning whether such an ending constitutes a happy one.