Divide

This weekend, I watched the movie 'The Astronaut Farmer.'

It was about a man (in his late forties or early fifties), who is obsessed with his childhood dream of building a rocket and flying off into space in it. He has a beautiful and highly supportive family. But building a rocket that can orbit around the earth in your own backyard is no mean task and no matter how brilliant you are, risks can never be eliminated. In the story, this man takes huge sums of money as loans from the bank in order to fulfil his dream. And in case his mission fails, the survival of his family is jeopardized.

I was just reading a few of the reviews for this movie out of mere curiosity and I realized that there are many people, to whom this was the most noticeable aspect of the entire movie. They found him highly indulgent and self-obsessed who was willing to risk the lives of his family for childish whims.

The movie, however is about something else too. It is about believing that no matter how unreasonable your dreams may sound to others, you should not give up on it. I mean, most of us give up our dreams along the way in order to fulfil our responsibilities and I understand this this is a rather big debate. But again, holding on to your dreams goes on to say that you are not cynical and despite what might be happening in the world around you, you still have an ability to retain hope. And ultimately, it's qualities like these that can make an individual, and as a result, society, happy.

Now, when I watch a movie, it is not just the facts that are important. The facts are usually a vehicle, a way in which ideas are expressed. And given that some parts of the movie are silly and unscientific and might insult any thinking man's intelligence, I am usually willing to forgive it, if the message is worth it. So, yes, the movie was highly clichéd and I agree that the farmer was irresponsible, despite the happy ending. But I still think, it cannot be wholly disregarded. If you ask me, it is meant for children. If they are able to take the movie in the right spirit without the cynicism that is rampant in today's world, it can definitely leave a positive impact.

And finally it will be up to the parents to teach their children to find the balance between dreams and responsbility.