Movies.
For millions of dollars and thousands of hours, audiences are transported from their bland, cookie-cutter lives into worlds where anything can happen. A god is banished to Earth; a mermaid receives legs for her best asset: her voice; a rat controls a man by his hair and helps him become a great chef.
The most important events in history are told in different ways to people who couldn't be there. We held our breath during the Mexican standoff of Blondie, Angel Eyes, and Tuco; we held back tears as Colonel Robert Shaw led his men into battle at Fort Wagner and ultimately failed and let our tears flow when Scarlett learned that Rhett didn't "give a damn".
People spend two hours sitting in a crowded, cold, musty theater for these reasons. They love the thrill and undying love, and even the heartache that the characters experience. In 2011 movie-goers in the United States and Canada spent $10.2 billion on box office releases; the highest grossing of these being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Each year a new milestone is reached in the movie industry because of one reason: people keep going. Without movies people are forced to come to terms with their ordinary lives where it's not possible that you'd be accepted into a wizarding school when you're eleven or go to classes with a family of stupid vampires that sparkle in the sunlight.
This blog is dedicated to all movies: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.