All About Kids
How Movies Inspire Children to Find the Meaning of Life
“What is the meaning in life?” Kids ask nowadays. Luckily, some movies already have the answer to them.
There are days, as parents, when we struggle to communicate and comprehend the simple but philosophical meaning behind life to our kids. Because we’re often worrying about providing for our family, we don’t pay much attention to those thoughts. So, our kids often try to find the answers themselves. Movies, books, and various media offer children different situations that can trigger a sudden realization of what they want to do in Life. We may admire movies for their cinematography but the artistry in itself also inspires them in these ways:
1. The children relate to one of the characters in the movie
Not just movies but even TV series as well, when a child sees themselves in a character or finds traits they like in a character, it makes the movie more relatable. For them, the movie is like a window that gives them a peek into the future of what Life will be like for them if they continue to be like that character. Despite the scripted behavior and layers of drama, children can dissect the premise from the situations in the movie.
Movies such as Dead Poet’s Society (starring the late Robin Williams), Freedom Writers (starring Elektra’s Jennifer Garner), and The Ron Clark Story (starring Friends‘ Matthew Perry) share inspirational messages about learning and how to navigate through life. These characters also portray a character that children are most familiar with: teachers.
2. Movies are based on real-life stories which may or may not be uncommon
Although everyone has their unique story, there are some events that are common and that’s how people bond. Some include moments like the loss of a fur baby, the loss of a parent, or being separated from a friend — a lot of the movies talk about how to process these feelings. When children see these in movies, they’ll find a lot of answers on how they can process grief, too.
Some movies like Hachiko (starring Richard Gere), Lilo and Stitch, Mrs. Doubtfire (starring Robin Williams) all talk about grief and loss in digestible pieces that can help children understand that grief is a natural part of life.
3. The reactions of the people to the character’s actions are what inspire them
More likely for series that focus on showing their tasks and skills, these kinds of movies inspire children to find what they want to do in life. For example, children can pick up a love for cooking when they watch shows like Masterchef: Junior or even the old Iron Chef. Other kids may be inspired to take up Martial Arts when they watch Karate Kid or Cobra Kai. Then, there are kids (particularly daughters and women) who love the drama and thrill of crime and mystery because catching and deconstructing perps can be so much fun to watch.
4. These movies encourage children to ask questions
There are a lot of things that are difficult to talk about but, movies can bridge that awkwardness. We know it’s just a movie but it’ll also help answer some questions and ease us in because there are just some people who can phrase things to our children better than we do. But our discomfort doesn’t make us any less of a parent; there are just some things we didn’t process early on in our lives or probably ever. However the sooner we do, the easier it gets to talk about.
There are a lot of lessons for children to find in movies!
Children, especially when they hit their lowest points, will not be ready to talk to someone else. But sometimes, movies can reach out to them because it gives them a simulation of what could happen if someone in their situation responded differently. Although we’ll have to filter out the movies to make sure they’re age-appropriate, we can also ask our fellow parent-friends for recommendations on their preferred streaming websites.