C: Is for the fear of Cinema

Addictions come in numerous varieties: drugs, alcohol, food, sex. How about fear? We seem almost addicted to the feeling of being afraid, whether it's the apocalypse or the common cold. We see evidence in the way the news media serve up horror to us, their customers. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking recently warned, “Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world". The most famous of all quotes about fear "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"....Franklin D. Roosevelt. I bring all this up because I saw the film 1408 based on the terrifying short story by Stephen King. This story is about a man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences. He gets a postcard and adds up the number 1408 which adds to 13 and decides he will go check into the fabled room at the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror. Truly a place where guests don't check out by noon, or at all for that matter! The tag line plays on the idea of the viewer being told to look away as the truth is too horrible to contemplate, which of course is designed to have the reverse effect. Here is the tag line: The Dolphin Hotel invites you to stay in any of its stunning rooms. Except one! No one lasts more than an hour! Enjoy your stay. Don't stay in 1408. The only demons in room 1408 are those within you. It is the things we don't face that scare us and this movie scared me. I recommend it, as it is like a roller coaster of emotional rummaging. If you are like my friend David who I went to see the movie with, I expect a long discussion afterwards. Fear is engulfing all of us and most have lost their way or worse their hope so I leave you with some inspirational verses:
We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If we could raise one generation with unconditional love, there would be no Hitlers…Mankind's greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear. --Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

I wish you all hope and that is a F.A.C.T.