Luke Skywalker and Refugees

I find it interesting how movies allude to current world issues. Zootopia shows that people of all shapes, sizes, and genders can and do make an impact. Arrival highlighted the tensions that actually do exist between nations right now. And if you can stretch your imagination, think of how Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them highlights the counterproductive bureaucracy in politics. Such nuances woven in to movies are intentional and lead to a more thought-provoking experience for watchers. 

Most movies contain or reference wars. With most wars, comes a specific consequence—refugees, or people who are forced to leave because of an attack where they live. That’s a very basic definition*. Rarely do movies focus on the plight of refugees, but they certainly still exist. Why don't movies talk about refugees more? There are sixty million refugees in the world. Perhaps much of western culture cannot relate to refugees; North America hasn’t been successfully invaded in the past two hundred years. Additionally, there’s a sense of pride in fighting, not fleeing. Think of the Lion King: would it still be a great movie if Simba never returned to Pride Rock? Come to think of it, America's focus on freedom is probably why it's called Pride Rock. 

Luke Skywalker is one of the most noteworthy “refugees” in movies. In A New Hope, he lost the family he grew up with. He was thrown into a war and had to leave. He eventually teams up with another refugee named Yoda in an uninhabited disgusting swamp planet, which could resemble refugees' living conditions. Luke, about thirty years later, becomes a refugee again in The Force Awakens. This makes me think: I wonder if Rey will be a refugee somewhere down the road? Maybe I should finish this post after The Last Jedi comes out in December...

Here is my point: movies intentionally mimic our feelings towards today’s important issues. My hunch is more movies will come out with refugees in 2017 and 2018. Whether they will be portrayed as terrorists or as innocent humans will likely depend on us, because big movie producers will shape their messages to coordinate with our feelings and opinions of today's news.  

*The definition of a refugee given by the United Nations is rather wordy, though more accurate:

Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no

nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or

unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that

country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,

nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

The Misleading Meaning of "I'm Busy"

Excuses are the obstacles from commitment and the ultimate weapon of feigned innocence. Imagine you just read the following: "I'm sorry I didn't see your email about the presentation that was due yesterday." Even better, you could hear somebody say "I'm too busy to come to your party."

Either way, excuses hurts a little on the receiving end; you can never be certain of their motives when first hearing people make excuses. According to the status quo, people should be honest, unless it unnecessarily harms other people. With that in mind, you should  sometimes expect people to be somewhat dishonest if they think the truth can hurt. Or, they may want to avoid the consequences, like the classic phrase "My dog ate my homework," which obviously demonstrates our propensity to hide excuses behind our lies. 

Yet, sometimes excuses are valid and need to be considered. Excuses are also necessary when unable to do a task. Consider the following example:

"Hey Matt, do you want to go on a run with me? I need a partner."

"No, I sprained my ankle. Sorry!"

Nobody should (or can) run with a sprained ankle. That's a valid excuse.
On the other hand, what if the conversation went like this:
"Hey Matt, do you want to go on a run with me? I need a partner"

"No, I have an ache in my back. It's been going on a while. Next time."

Run a mile in my friend's running shoes (figuratively speaking). Do you believe I'm too "achy" to run? You're probably not sure. Giving people the benefit of the doubt and accepting their excuses provides a temporary mental crutch to hold back our suspicion that they're lying. That suspicion will exist until you know I'm truly handicapped.

My favorite excuse is "I'm busy." What does that actually mean? Let me give you a few definitions:

• I'm going through personal issues and don't think it's a wise decision 
• I have over-scheduled my entire life and am currently paying the consequences
• I think I don't have enough time (though I do)
• I don't want to commit for whatever reason
• I may commit, but I need more time to think
• I don't like you
• I don't think I have the skills or talents needed to do that
• I hate committing to anything (i.e. I'm lazy)
• I just don't want to do it

Have some of these lines went through your head when you heard somebody say "I'm busy?" Unless it's the first two, those two simple words are misleading. The meanings undermine trust and respect. 

Here's my advice: say what you need to say! Avoid cliche excuses and give the listener a glimpse into actually what's going on. Validate yourself and your actions by your excuse. Develop respect by letting them know what is actually in the way. Don't leave your excuses open to interpretation. People may be angry at first, but they will trust you and respect you.