We've spent months analyzing the artistic aspects of the movie and story. Discussing symbols and subtexts and subtle details. So I'm wondering, has this experience changed your appreciation and/or understanding of other art -- or perhaps affected the way you are creative in your own life?
I feel as if we've taken the equivalent of a graduate seminar in film and/or literature. Have you find other places to apply that knowledge? (In this case, I'm talking about applying it in a creative sense, not in the sense of deciding to make a change in your love life or whatever.) Although most people practice some form of creativity, I realize not everybody's creative outlets can easily absorb the lessons of BBM (it might not be readily applicable to gardening or pottery, for example). But most people read, watch movies, go to art museums. How has your outlook changed? I don't mean, how has BBM ruined you for all other movies. I mean, what do you look for in movies now that you might not have noticed or thought about before?
For example, I have tried to glean ideas from Annie Proulx's writing to use in my own work. If I'm writing something that seems a bit sentimental, I now think, "No problem! I'll just put in a scene of someone peeing on a small child!"
... Kidding. But I do feel as if I've learned lessons from her. Maybe I would know to use "sweet, salty stink" rather than "sweet, salty fragrance" now.
And seeing how incredibly complex and subtle and beautifully designed the movie is, I look for those nuances in other art now. Often fruitlessly, it's true, and I'm probably more impatient than I used to be when I don't find them. But it's nice to know where to look. I've seen several good movies lately, and I think I actually liked them even better than I would have because I could notice things I might not have before.
