Is A Movie More Powerful Than A Book?

 

While surfing Instagram mindlessly the other morning, a daily ritual of mine, a stunning video came across my little hand-held phone screen. It was what now must be the most-watched and most amazing several minutes of movie celluloid wonder in the past 50 years. Can you guess what I am talking about?

Rocky.

You know the scene, the one where he is training just before the big boxing match. You see Sylvester Stallone running through Philadelphia, with cheering kids trailing him as he ascends upon the top of the library steps overlooking the city. The music cues up and makes you feel like you want to rise and get up. He was training for his lucky shot at the heavyweight boxing title and the look of grit and determination is on his face. I have seen that clip probably over 100 times over the years and every time it energizes me.

It is the music, the way the scene is shot, the physical visual, and the context that gets me always. There goes an underdog bum who believes in himself when no one else would, readying himself literally and metaphorically for the fight of his life.

Why do some movie clips motivate, move, and inspire us many years and even several decades after our initial viewing?

What is it about the medium or subject matter that stirs something deeply within us?

Can we replicate that type of moment and invoke a strong emotional reaction in what we create as writers?

Ok, so Rocky is iconic and is not the norm, but many movie scenes or videos can still make us feel a lot long after the first viewing. Sly’s film is not the only memorable movie that strikes something within every viewer, so powerfully and enviably, but none have the dramatically inspiring staying power as this movie.

If only books could do the same — or do they?

Can we re-read books or quote passages many years after we first come across them? Yes. But do they stir in us the way a clip from Rocky does? Not likely. Why? Words on a page unable to compete with visuals blended with music and/or spoken words.

I love books and treasure the art of writing, but I must admit that a Rocky movie beats all books in terms of how one piece of art impacts and even changes me. If you don’t believe me, just watch the clip of Rocky training.

Rock-ee, Rock-ee. Rock-ee.

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About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.