[The Master] understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
—Tao Te Ching - Verse 30
I struck up a conversation with a stranger and went down a rabbit hole of childhood and psychology. Early on, she mentioned her favorite movie was JAWS, and that she had seen it over two hundred times.
“Two hundred times!?”
“Yeah,” she said, “it’s my comfort movie.”
I thought the concept of having a horror film as a comfort movie was both bizarre and humorous. However, later in the conversation, she mentioned her parents getting divorced when she was around eight years old.
“Just out of curiosity, was this around the time your JAWS infatuation began?”
She thought about it for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I guess so.”
“I wonder if there’s any connection with the divorce, like watching a movie about chaos until you could predict every minute of it to the point you feel in control.”
“Maybe,” she said, shrugging her shoulders casually. “My parents’ divorce was pretty messy... like a bloodbath, you might say.”
What a strangely fascinating coping mechanism that would be if it’s true. I’m picturing this poor girl curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn as her parents are screaming in the background, shark-infested waters becoming her go-to for serenity.
I’ll need to reflect on my own past for similar coping mechanisms, but I’ll have to look outside of the cinematic realm, as I don’t think I’ve seen a single movie more than three times. (Or maybe there’s something to be said for the need for novelty in its own right? Hmm...)
Anyway, gotta love a good deep dive into the psychology of strangers.
Have you seen any good movies lately?