Introducing Wellbeing Matters, a new weekly regular part of Film Stories – and Jane Roberts is here to introduce it all.
Hello, and welcome both to 2020 and a regular new Film Stories feature, Wellbeing Matters. Pull up a pew, get comfy and feel free to have a natter.
Here at Film Stories we realise that life isn’t always experienced through a celluloid gloss. It can be dark, painful, uncomfortable. There aren’t always the happy endings that people deserve.
Wellbeing Wednesday aims to throw a beam of light on what is often known as hump day. That midweek point of the grind. It’s for you, the readers, to have a natter, get stuff off your chest and think about the positive.
A disclaimer: we’re not medical health professionals. We’re just humans. And we can offer support and advice to a degree, but if things are bleak, or you have concerns about any aspect of your physical or mental health we would always ask you to consider seeing your doctor wherever possible.
With that said, let’s start the collective hugging. And maybe a bit of film chat too. It doesn’t have to be about recent films. It could be about any that chime with you, or your anticipation of something due out at the cinema in 2020. I’m looking forward to Bond in No Time to Die, and I’m sure many others are. But I’m also a little stoked to see Morbius later in the year. Vampires plus Jared Leto equals catnip for me!
Did anything catch your eye over Christmas? I know a few people have a Lord of the Rings trilogy annual viewing (and I never regret watching The Two Towers myself). But the film that caught me unawares one lazy afternoon was The Queen (2006). I hadn’t expected it to be so amusing. What was also fascinating was its prescience, as embodied by Michael Sheen morphing into Tony Blair, who was at the time riding the crest of his popularity, even while being warned not to expect it to last for ever. How optimistic the UK seemed, back in 1998.
We are in a different age in 2020, but it would be nice to take a little of that optimism forward into this decade. To have a little faith in ourselves to step forward with kindness, and to look out for those around us. Also, let’s be considerate of opinions that differ from our own. I love cinnamon but think liquorice was sent by the devil. Other people think the reverse. Not everybody shares my Jared Leto appreciation. And that’s okay.
So welcome, both to 2020 and Wellbeing Matters. This is your space. Feel free to comment, to chat, to say hello. Or just have a read and hopefully a smile. Give a shout out to future topics you’d like to see covered. Constructive suggestions are always welcome.
Most of all welcome, and be excellent to each other.
