Movies have come a long way sharing emotional experiences. Have we?

​Friday night, the boys and I watched the original Alien movie. It was created in 1979, 45 years ago, and yet, it was the first time I'd seen it.

Then yesterday, we went to the theater to see the newest of the Alien creations. Only this one was created in IMAX, with ultra-high-definition visuals, immersive sound, and even CGI that created entirely lifelike extraterrestrial worlds.

On the way home, the boys and I marveled at just how far technology has come. (Uhm, it's obviously come MUCH further for me than you, boys.)

We talked about how the impressive images and vibrating sounds made some of the scary scenes scarier, the anticipation scenes more intense, and the flame throwers a little hotter.

Technology has clearly added to the movie experience.

But as I thought about it, no matter how far technology comes, it is the emotions we take away from a movie that impact us. Years from now, it will be how a movie made me feel and not the effects that made me feel that way that I'll remember.

Certainly, technology can help deepen the emotional experience, but technology can't REPLACE the total lack of an emotional experience.

It made me think about us. Me and you. We are all living out our own movies in a way. And from time to time we invite each other into them.

But I wonder, with that invitation, are we inviting people into our fancy productions, our state of the art recording studios decked out with the most expensive equipment, with hopes of dazzling our way out of an emotional experience?

Are we hoping we can send people away impressed by our stories even if unmoved by the experience?

We have fancier ways than ever to share our personal movies with the world; reels and tiktoks and YouTubes, but are we using them to guide people through emotional experiences that will impact the way they see and feel life, or to protect ourselves from having an emotional experience at all?

Listen, we all need a little IMAX in our lives. Entertainment for the sake of entertainment alone. But as I look back on the arc of my life from 1979 to present, I'd have to confess I spent a lot of time developing my IMAX productions as a way of protecting myself from the risk of any emotional experiences.

I'm happy that's changed a lot the last several years. I've had the chance to enter into the movies of a lot of people who haven't been afraid of sharing their emotions, and who have created safe places for me to do the same.

The result has been being a part of some pretty life changing movies.

Some of these people have been fancy movie equipment folks. Others have been the old black and white or silent movie crowd. But none of that made any difference.

The difference has been the joy or sadness or fear or hope or gratitude they've shared in their stories. The difference has been their smiles or their tears. The difference has been the meekness in their voices or the overwhelming confidence.

The difference has been their willingness to share an emotional experience and not a theatrical production. Because as much as we all need to connect with a little theater now and then, it's emotional connection we can't live without.

It's emotional connection that makes life memorable or forgettable.

Movies have come a long way. Technology has made them better than ever at sharing an emotional experience. I wonder, though, has it done the same for me and you?