Have I been enlightened?? That's the main thought that has been relentlessly barging into my mind for the last two days.

So where did this come from? Well, a couple days ago I was sitting with co-workers discussing who knows what, when the topic of movies came up. Sheepishly, I admitted that my current favorite movies have remained StarStruck and Princess and the Pauper since the age of 10.

Yes, I understand they aren't the most complex movies that ask for severe mental contemplation, but I saw them, and movies in the same ballpark, as familiar films to rally back to to ease the mind. This just became my normal and an experience I accepted as the best movies could offer.

But after talking to my co-workers and seeing them light up as their inner Tarantino geeks surfaced, I yearned to discover what I could possibly be missing.

So that night (and the next morning because I fell asleep), Disney Jrs number one rep, sat down, propelled by the need to dig deeper into more substantial films, and watched a 2 hour and 58 minute Tarantino classic, also known as "Pulp Fiction". Not going to lie, the first twenty minutes may have been the most labor intensive, grueling experience I've ever encountered. Yet, thirty minutes in, I a was hooked. Finally the character's names, plot, and captivating format of this film had me fully engrossed and on the edge of my seat pondering what could happen next.

By the end of the film, I was edging emotional and mental enlightenment, and had no idea how a film could be so deliberately off, but 100% exactly correct.

As my quest toward discovering the magic in films is far from complete, I want to understand the breakdown of how such artistry works. For example, Tarantino's specific style highlights strands of dry humored witty dialogue, set in places close to our reality, with huge surprises and quick jumps throughout scenes. That makes the movies relatable, to a point, but allows for our minds and imaginations carry us even further, and incorporate ourselves into his ridiculously savage worlds.

I just started "No Country for Old Men", another film directed by a great mind. Within the first three minutes of the movie, it was set up in a way for us to picture the narrator as a main character with us for the long haul. But surprise surprise, by minute four, the narrator, the only character we've been personally introduced too, has been strangled, is laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood while the criminal, air tank in hand, sets off to locate his next victim. And wow did that get to me.

So overall, my consciousness has been exposed to a whole field of an unfamiliar artistic films. These have swiftly come to show me that movies are not just 1, 2, 3, but can be 3, 1, Z, 5, B, 2, A, and tiered on a whole other level. I'm excited to dig deeper and uncover film secrets that take a special mind to produce.