RobArt Penguin

Daily writing prompt

Who are your favorite people to be around?

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I love to be around people who like to talk about movies, stories and ideas. Although segments of movie, television and literature may be dominated by commercial interests (especially big budget movies), the best of human thought and expression are represented in these art forms. When discussing a current political or social issue, I often tell my family to “look to the arts.” Many issues have been examined in the stories we watch. I am a big believer in the arts leading important discussions, because when I was a kid, television often inspired me and expanded my imagination. And sometimes it was poignantly silly, like the movie “Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)” where there is a scene of young apes invoking a sit-in to block their army, mirroring the protests of the Vietnam War. My daughter and I have nick picked the details of the Star Wars mythology and probably ascribed more meaning than the creators intended. When I am at a social event, I am often quiet until the discussion leans into film and the other arts. Often I am at loss at such events, because the dominant conversation involves sports, but fortunately the arts cover that too: “The Blind Side,” “Chariot’s of Fire,” “The Natural,” and “Rocky.” I still prefer “Planet of the Apes.”