The other day I was set to transcribe an interview my editor at my internshipconducted with Hal Rubenstein, Fashion Director at InStyle Magazine. Rubenstein was chatting about his new book, "100 Unforgettable Dresses," many of which came from the red carpet and from actresses in film, so naturally the conversation turned to cinema.
"I love movies more than anything," Rubenstein said in the interview. "Movies make people dream… Movies should take you out of life, and put you somewhere else. And then you should walk away wanting to take some part of that dream with you."
I realized I couldn't agree more with what Rubenstein was saying. How often do we lose ourselves in the darkened theater to the world a film or a play creates, only coming back to reality when the credits role? The worst is the walk out to the car and the subsequent drive home – it is like shaking the last of the film's effects off. But Rubenstein's advice is to take a little bit of the experience of the art, be it a lesson or emotion, and keep it with us. Then hopefully, we would use that lesson to improve ourselves or others.
In the Pirate Life section of this week's issue, we focus a great deal on film. And this and every week we always write about many forms of entertainment: theatre, music, live concerts, fine art, literature and more. The subdivisions of "arts and entertainment" can always change from week to week, but one thing about art remains the same: we are meant to take something away from it.
Earlier this week, Zachary Quinto, an actor well-known for his role in the new "Star Trek" film as well as the television show "Heroes," made headlines when he announced to the public that he was gay. Quinto cited the suicide of Buffalo, N.Y. teen Jamey Rodemeyer, an openly gay teenager who was bullied by classmates and peers, as a major catalyst in his decision. Quinto was obviously deeply affected by Rodemeyer's tragic death. But perhaps Quinto also saw something in his art that inspired him to do more. My applause goes to Quinto, if he can combine the tragedy of Rodemeyer's suicide with the positive implications of his experience in theatre to take a lesson away from that entertainment experience, and use it to make a difference in not just perhaps the lives of other young men and women struggling with bullying, but in society as a whole. Hopefully we can all learn to occasionally lose ourselves in art, and to become better for it.
Erin Bell is a senior journalism major from Burlington, NJ. She can be reached at erin.bell@student.shu.edu.
Follow Erin on Twitter @belle0990.
