To Each His Own

One of the questions I often ask someone when I'm first getting to know them is what their favorite movie is. You can tell a lot about someone based on their favorite films. (It's a Wonderful Life is mine. Analyze away.) Favorite films illustrates a unique aspect of life: what one person may cherish, another may be completely indifferent towards.

Take the above picture for example. That's the house where I grew up. Without a doubt it is the most important place on the planet to me. But to you, it's a rusty truck next to a willow tree. Or how about when you attend a wedding. To the bride and groom that day will be one of the most important of their lives, and you're thinking "is the reception a buffet?"

Films, like some other arts, has the ability to bring a group together into a shared experience, and simultaneously polarize their feelings.