My Three Most Important Movies

Philadelphia '

No movie had more impact on my thoughts on the issue of discrimination than this one. I always list this as my favourite movie, primarily because it was an entertainer first and a preacher next. The movie was gripping and interesting, and I evolved watching it.

For example, when a gay approaches Washington at a drug store, he is offended. When I first saw the movie, I was with Washington. I thought, "Just because he defended a gay guy, how could he think that he is also gay?" But then, after repeated viewings I realized how deep rooted my own biases were. Washington asks, "Do I look gay to you?" The gay responds, "Do I look gay to you?" and goes on, "Take it as a compliment."

The power house performances of Hanks (watch him on exiting Washington's office after Washington refuses to represent him) and Washington, as he transforms himself as a human being, are themselves worth multiple viewings. The rest is a bonus; a huge one.

The Last King of Scotland '

I cannot find the words to describe why this movie is important. But I know that it is. The movie is based on Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. It is too scary for me to see a second time.

It scared me away from dictatorships for life. All of us have an affinity for the status quo in our lives. When a man becomes a dictator he enjoys absolute power; then he becomes afraid of loosing it. It is inevitable. The most dangerous type of man is the insecure one.

Artificial Intelligence '

"Man can never create consciousness." We hear that often. These people who kneel awe struck at the, real or imagined, greatness of god or nature as the case maybe, will be the ones who will lead the cruelty of mankind towards the artificial consciousness that he will eventually create. The creator of the artificial being that is capable of love, in the movie, asks, "In the beginning, didn't god create man to love him?" responding to the concern expressed over the responsibilities of man towards that artificial being.

To god, we are never real, because he created us. He tells us that our reality is maya, that we ignore our sufferings, and live thinking of him. Similarly, for us, the artificial beings we would create would never be real to us. Their feelings are not real feelings, and we would program them to live in service to us. That will be why we would be cruel to them.

Centuries ahead of its time, when the conditions depicted in the movie become a reality this movie would long have been forgotten. The flesh fairs i.e., the public destruction of artificial intelligence and thus a celebration of reality will happen. The artificial beings would heroically try to become real, and would probably take a few centuries to realize that they are real, that reality is always a definition, that it is a function of the reference frame chosen, that it is not an absolute, that it is not independent of the consciousness that tries to define it, and that one cannot exist without the other. And the cycle may continue.

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I find these movies the most important. So I guess, I think, these movies are important, in my view, to those who are exposed, in general, to similar experiences to me.