Movies that inspire us to do something with our lives

June 22, 11:07 PMWichita Women's Community ExaminerRebecca Siebert

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There are movies that make you cry, movies that want to make you sing and movies that make you want to become a better person. Then there are the exceptional movies that make you want to peruse your dreams no matter at what cost and no matter how big or small they are. The characters in these movies and the situations they get into demand our attention and force us to take a look at ourselves and ask “Is this the life I want to be living? Am I living the life of my dreams?”

I must admit I am a sucker for the underdog. Granted most of these movies are spun around a sports theme we can apply the lessons these inspirational characters went through to our own lives and make us better people.

Amistad 1997 Staring Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou and Matthew McConaughey. The passengers of a slave ship of Africans being sold into slavery becomes mutinous and takes over the crew. Not knowing how to steer the ship they land on the eastern shore of America and are charged as runaway slaves. The Africans are doomed for the gallows when an abolitionist lawyer steps in and defends that they were free people to begin with.

Why this is inspirational No matter what your background is you deserve to stand up for your rights.

Glory Road 2006 Starring Josh Lucas, Jon Voight and Emily Deschanel Struggling to get his college basketball team off of the ground coach Don Haskins created a basketball team out of both white and black students at a time when it was inconsiderable to do such a thing. The Texas Western Miners proved to the rest of the United States that physical appearance and cultural differences could be over looked to create a winning team.

Why this is inspirational This movie proves that it is what is on the inside that counts and not the outside. A person should be valued for their talent and not discriminated for what others see on the outside.

Lean on me 1989 Starring Morgan Freeman, Beverley Todd, Robert Guillunume and Michael Beach. Joe Clark returns to East Side High, where he used to teach, now as a principal to find it ridden with thugs, drug dealers and under achieving students. Taking drastic measures with his “Crazy Joe” style he cleans up the school and makes it a productive learning environment when many said it couldn’t be done.

Why this is inspirational If you put in enough effort and time and believe in anyone or anything long enough anything is possible no matter what anyone says!

Take the Lead 2006 Starring Antion Bandres, Rob Brown, YaYa DaCosta, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco and Jenna Deuan Dance instructor Pierre Dulaine seizes the chance to teach some ruffians self respect through ballroom dancing. As the lessons ensue the students not only learn respect for themselves, for each other and fall in love with ballroom dancing.

Why this is inspirational Investing in kids and helping them find their true potential is always a good thing. This also shows that music can gap many social and ethnic backgrounds.

Remember the Titians 2000 Starring Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Kip Pardue, Hayden Panettiere and Nicole Ari Parker Joining a racially ripped apart football team was no easy feat for football coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast. Through hard work and persistence the coaches forced the players to learn how to respect each other. Once the team learned to respect each other it had the ripple effect and spread out to the school and eventually to the whole town. (It didn’t hurt that they also had a perfect season!)

Why this is inspirational When we put aside our differences and work together anything can be accomplished in an amazingly short amount of time!

The number one most inspirational movie of all time is….
Rudy 1993 Starring Sean Austin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beauty and Charles Dutton While growing up Rudy always dreamed of going to Notre Dame and playing on the football team. Through struggling with his grades and playing his heart out on the field he achieved his dreams and got to play for the Fighting Irish.

Why this is inspirational No matter what happened to Rudy he always kept his eye on the prize. Through his devotion to his dream he inspired others as well. It just shows that if you work hard enough at any dream no matter what size it is it can come true if you believe in yourself enough!