The Butterfly Effect

Rabbit

It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's
wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. --Chaos Theory

I just saw this movie for the first time tonight on satellite. It was one of the most intensely emotional movies I have ever seen. It's not the improbability of time travel that interested me, instead, it was the accurate portrayal of events in a person's life and how that affect themselves and others -- for good or bad.

I could not watch that movie without thinking about my wife, she was sexually abused by her father when she was a child. (In case you haven't seen it, this is a central theme that 'started' many 'timelines' of tragedy.) She has one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever seen...no, they were never JW's (thank goddess, it, god, creator, mother earth, mother nature or the God of Good Luck, etc.)

It's a very powerful movie...it makes you think about all the bumps and turns each of our lives endure. Sometimes innocent, sometimes guilty...we've all done things that have had effects on others we could not fathom. Like myself becoming a JW, then marrying one, having children, having the joy that brings and now...being shunned by everyone of those children -- who I taught to be the way they are.

I'm not ashamed to say I broke down sobbing at the end of the movie...thinking of the choices I've made in my life -- good or bad.

For all those out there reading this, I'm OK. One thing I did right was to go on with my life, I sought out happiness and I found a large measure of it in my wife of 2 years. Having a good relationship with my kids and having them safely 'out' of the Wt's clutches would complete 'my' happy dream.

Please never give up on your dreams and try your best not to harm others. We never know how our words or actions will affect others.

For people that have seen the movie...what did you get out of it ?

Rabbit

bem

Seen the movie when it came out on video and it is a great movie, It makes me wonder if nothing we do can change things into what we really want them to be for others to what extreme would we go to, so that others could have life.

Great heartfelt words

Please never give up on your dreams and try your best not to harm others. We never know how our words or actions will affect others.

Dorothy

Oroborus21

Hey Rabbit,

It is a good and thought provoking movie. I don't think it did as well as it could have at the box office but a lot of higher intelligence movies don't always play with the hoi polloi.

It is good when story touches us deeply and makes us think about things in our own lives. I am sorry that it brought forth hurt but it is a useful process towards healing.

best wishes,

Eduardo

PS: I love movies that deal with choice and alternative paths. For some lighter fare you might check out these movies that have a such a theme if you haven't already seen them:

Sliding Doors, Run Lola Run, Tampopo, American Graffiti, and to an extent Rashomon is the prototype for variable perspective films.

Es

Yeah its a great movie...it def makes you think for days and days. Apparently there are two different endings the one i saw is the baby ending dont want to give too much away in case people havnt seen it, that image stuck with me for days

es

MsMcDucket

I thought that it was a pretty weird movie. It does show the effect that an adult can have on a child's life. The children were afraid to say no to the bully. We can learn from that. "Fear of man is what lays a snare." I kept getting confused at some parts of the movie. I guess that I'll have to watch it again. Edited to add: I haven't watched very many movies since the twins became witnesses. I guess that I shouldn't let that keep me from doing things with my youngest daughter.

gaiagirl

I've seen two endings for the movie. The first (theatrical release) was kind of bittersweet, the second was quite depressing. The idea for the movie came from a short story by Ray Bradbury, titled "A Sound Of Thunder". In the story, a group of people travel into the past to hunt dinosaurs, and unintentionally change the direction which history takes from the time of their adventure in the Mesozoic. They return to a very different world in the 21st century.

dinah

I rented The Butterfly Effect when it first came out on video, then saw it again over the weekend on satelite. I've seen both endings, the one where he goes back to the baby stage was very sad, so I enjoyed the other ending.

He goes back to pivotal points in their childhoods, trying to make things right for all of them. It was rather disturbing. It makes you think of the impact one single event can have on your entire life and the lives of those around you.

We watch TONS of movies here. It's hard for me to find something I haven't seen when I go out to rent something.

joelbear

this movie and Run Lola Run are my two favorite "what we do, even small things, can affect our life in major ways"

its happened to me several times in my life. i call them life pivot points.

1. heard a song on the radio on the way home from the meeting one night that made me decide to apply for bethel.

2. father threatened to make me wash trucks at night when i was pioneering that prompted me to move out, quit pioneering

and go to work full time.

3. missed meeting my sister-in-law for an appointment that ended up with me getting a job that led to my 25 year banking career.

4. bought a pornographic magazine at a store in Key West that led to me finding out about gay guesthouses which led to me

getting my first kiss from a guy named Billy that started my coming out process.

5. volunteered for the Atlanta gay helpline where I met Mitch.

who i am and where i am today is based largely on these 5 events.

i'm waiting for the next one i know its out there somewhere

Elsewhere

Oh lord, here it comes... people are going to start talking about farting butterflys again.

BlackSwan of Memphis

We never know how our words or actions will affect others.
For people that have seen the movie...what did you get out of it ?

Think ripple effect. The smallest decision you make in your life, smiling at a stranger and saying hello to recycling, has much larger consequences then what we see, hear or experience first hand.

There is a 3 fold law in Wicca, what you do for better or worse, will come back to you 3 fold. If you keep that sort of attitude, it's amazing how your perspective changes.

Also, try as we might to be awesome wonderful human beings, we aren't perfect. We make mistakes constantly. We can't see the future, be it immediate or in the distance. We can do our best and stay aware and constantly learn and grow.

Yeah, you made the decision to become a JW, you thought that was the best thing for you at that time. Maybe for who you were, it was. You just did not know the effect it would have.

Since we can only guess what the effect of our actions might be, we can only do/try our best at making the right decisions and continue growing from those experiences.

Maybe it teaches us a greater lesson of forgiveness and mercy.

Great, great movie. And Ashton Kutcher is so cute. I really thought that movie deserved awards.

meagan

The Butterfly Effect

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