Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Movies reflect human needs: Quest

Blogging from A to Z Challenge

ThemeMovies reflect human needs...


Quest


Image from storyblocks.com


Okay, I am stretching this topic a little. Quest is not found on the lists of universal human needs, but goals and hobbies are, and a quest can fit with those.

What do I mean by quest? Activities involving seek and find, or seek and do.

I never considered how important having a quest could be until I stumbled across the following in an article (found here) about natural ways to increase dopamine (to boost my mood). 
Enjoy the Quest 
Our ancestors were on a constant quest to survive.

They got a dopamine surge every time they spotted a new patch of berries or a better fishing hole because this meant they'd live to seek another day.

While you can still pick berries and fish, there are endless other healthy ways you can enjoy the quest in modern life.

You can forage for new music to download, specialty ingredients to cook with, a travel package bargain, a hard-to-find collector's item, or that perfect gift for a loved one.

You can engage in specifically quest-oriented hobbies like geocaching, bird watching, rockhounding, amateur archaeology, and collecting of all kinds.

The act of seeking and finding activates your reward circuits -- with no regrets later.
Ever since learning how a quest can help increase dopamine, I've tried to incorporate them into my goals and hobbies. This is one way I include "hide-and-go-seek" elements mentioned in yesterday's post about Play!

I've been on a quest to find images to represent my daily topics for this A to Z Challenge, and on a quest to watch movies in preparation for these posts (any excuse to watch movies, right?). 

Here are some quest-oriented films:

The Big Year (2011)
  • A young man (Elijah Woods) collects odd items connected to his family, and goes on a quest to find a woman who saved his grandfather during WWII.
  • Julia Powell (Amy Adams) challenges herself to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) first cookbook. (Based on a true story.)
Kon-Tiki (2012)
  • Based on the true story of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl who set out on a quest to prove the possibility that South Americans settled Polynesia prior to Columbian times. To do this requires using the same methods that would have been used in that time period... sailing on a balsa-wood raft across 4,300 miles of the Pacific Ocean.
One Week (2008)
  • A young man (portrayed by Joshua Jackson) travels across Canada in search of the meaning of his life as well as a quest to find "grumps" from a childhood story. (This would have fit with meaning and purpose, too!)
  • Walter (Ben Stiller) goes on a quest to find a missing photo negative.
  • There's a lot of seek-and-find as the robotics club searches for parts they can use for their underwater robot, especially with an extremely meager budget. (Based on a true story.)

Do you have any quest type hobbies? 


(Note: The movies listed might not be completely family-friendly. See my "Movie Content" information on the blog's sidebar.)

21 comments:

  1. I think Quest seems like a legit human need (much like Purpose and Meaning). You could have included any number of fantasy movies on your list - Lord of the Rings, for a start.
    Black and White: Q for Quentulus Quazgar

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    1. Oh so true! Lord of the Rings is a great example of a quest. Let's hope none of us have to go through such harrowing adventures during in our quests, though. Yikes!

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  2. I was highly impacted by the movie Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. It touched my heart. I wonder why its box office collection is so low? All my quests are now reserved to computer games.. LOL

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    1. I'm so glad you mentioned Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close! Somehow I missed seeing that one... how could I miss a movie with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, two of my favorite stars together?? I checked our local library and they have the DVD, so I'm excited to see it soon.

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    2. I am glad I reminded you of that movie.

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  3. I think Walter Mitty is the only one of those I've seen. Will need to look out for the rest of them.
    https://iainkellywriting.com/2021/04/20/the-state-trilogy-a-z-guide-q/

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    1. I love The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Such a good story with gorgeous cinematography.

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  4. A big quest could be King Arthur's 😉 A quest is like curiosity to me, in the good side, curiosity for what is around us.

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    1. I'll be including curiosity in an upcoming post! I hadn't thought about how it can link to quest, though. Thanks for your comment!

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  5. Ha. I was on a big "find the 20 year old digital art files" quest recently. (For M is for Maps) After two or three days scouring my computer and back-up externals to no avail, I woke up remembering that I saved them to CDs. Phew.
    https://www.anne-m-bray.com/blog/167639/atozchallenge-2021-m-is-for-maps

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    1. That sounds like a stressful quest! LOL So glad you found them.

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  6. Interesting to learn that having a quest can lift one's mood. Never looked at it as physically beneficial before, but after reading your article, setting goals takes on whole new meaning.
    https:/gail-baugniet.blogspot.com

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    1. I was surprised when I learned about the connection with quest and mood, too. Our bodies and minds are amazing.

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  7. Great list of films. My top 5 quest films would have to be The Goonies, National Treasure, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, & the modern Alice in Wonerland.

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    1. Oh my goodness, excellent movie additions for quest! Thanks!

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  8. "Quest for Fire." I've always remembered this film, even though it's from way back in 1981.

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    1. I'm not familiar with that movie so I just now looked it up. Intriguing!

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  9. Quest for Fire was also the first thing that came into my mind.

    Another "quest" film that is one of my all time favorites is Kiss Me, Deadly where a private eye. Is on a quest to figure out why certain people are being killed and what they are trying to attain. In the end it's not so good of an outcome, but it makes for a good story.

    In my younger days I used to collect stamps and was always on a quest to find certain ones. The same thing applied later in life when I started collecting record albums. When you start collecting it seems like you're never done and always on a quest for the next attainment.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Kiss Me Deadly... yet another film I haven't seen. I have a list of the movies people mention in the comments and will search for availability.

      Hopefully with your collections you get a good hit of dopamine when you find something you've searched for!

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  10. Trudy,

    I'm always seeking out new music videos to share on Monday's Music Moves Me and I'm always seeking images for inspiration for weekly art dates. I do enjoy using the Internet for these resources and more. Researching artists and songs is another quest to learn everything I can in that moment. Most of the info flies right out of my head but the process of learning something new is thrilling. :)

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    1. You have multiple quests going on! Wonderful!

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