MOVIE REVEALATIONS

Your favourite movie can reveal your personality. According to Dr. Mikko Kuikka, visiting professor of media psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, your favourite film can expose hidden desires, fears, motivations, and fantasies. If your favourite film is . . .

LORD OF THE RINGS (2001) you're an optimist, with a considerable imagination, and a strong belief that good should triumph over evil.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHERS' STONE (2001) you're probably a teenager, fantasize about being an adult, more powerful, and more popular with your friends. You probably have a great imagination too.

TITANIC (1997) you're youthful, romantic, value independence, but you have fears of the future too. You don't trust technology or authority. You believe that life is precarious and disaster could easily be just around the next corner. You're probably female too.

THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) you're into questioning reality, existence, and the meaning of life and death---also the powers of the mind.

FORREST GUMP (1994) you're nostalgic and sentimental. You believe that life is simple and that the basic traditional values and common sense of generations gone by will win out in the end.

THE LION KING (1993) you may have unresolved conflicts with parents or other authority figures. You may have a problem with trust and self-esteem too. You probably believe in rightness of today's world as "the natural order of things", including the current political system. Nonetheless, you may be threatened by new or foreign people, cultural trends, or ideas that you don't quite understand.

INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) you're easily threatened and perhaps somewhat frightened by new technology, social change, the altering face of today's world, and the uncertainty of the future. Some people who relate very closely with this movie may exhibit paranoid fantasies.

JAWS (1973) you're probably dealing with unresolved fears if this is your favourite film, especially fears of death.

BATMAN (1989) you're a candidate for a psychiatrist's couch if this is your favourite film. The dark, menacing aspect of this film is filled with symbols and metaphors with deep psychological significance. So different from the fun 1960s T.V. series!

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) you're a romantic at heart but a real down-to-earth realist too. You're stubborn, clever, willing to bend rules, and go after what you want with gusto. If you're a man, you respect women. If you're a woman, you believe that women should be on top.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) you're nostalgic as well as romantic and have a simple view of life and romance. You also tend to idealize things and probably had a very happy childhood.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) you're happy and hopeful for the future. You also have a good imagination. You have good relationships and usually meet other people more than half way.

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937) you're basically an optimist, but occasionally are prone to both loneliness and depression. Relationships are very important too you, but you have not always been successful in them.

JURRASSIC PARK (1993) you're generally pessimistic and fearful of the unknown. You may be suspicious of other people and reluctant to trust.

TERMINATOR 2 (1991) you're action-oriented and enjoy doing rather than thinking. You also are overly-concerned with power, violence-prone, and may even be psychologically unstable. If a male, you're attitude towards women may need some re-thinking.

STAR WARS: EPISODE IV--A New Hope (1977), STAR WARS: EPISODE V--The Empire Strikes Back(1980), STAR WARS: EPISODE VI--Return of the Jedi (1983), or STAR WARS: EPISODE I--The Phantom Menace (1999) you're an optimist with a good imagination. You also have a tendency to be religious, may follow an alternative life-style, and don't think twice about challenging popular views, bucking trends, and standing up to authority.

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) or GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989) you're probably very interested in the spiritual and supernatural aspects of life, but you probably have an upbeat attitude towards life as well.

THE EXORCIST (1973) you have a dark, forbidding view of the world. You are a pessimist, mistrustful of others, probably a regular church-goer, and rely upon punishment for bad rather than reward for good.

HOME ALONE (1990) you perhaps did not have the happiest of childhoods. Perhaps it was punctuated with fear, loneliness, personal or family health problems, or even family break-up. You seek reassurance in your relationships, but give your love willingly once trust is established.

TWISTER (1996) your world is chaotic, you think life is precarious (subject to overwhelmingly strong and destructive forces), and you may even fear the future a little.

TOY STORY (1995) or TOY STORY 2 (1999) you've probably had an average, uneventful, and fairly happy childhood.

MEN IN BLACK (1997) you love the unreal, have a great imagination, question authority, and don't mind being different even to the point of being alone.

DR. SEUSS' THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000) you like happy stories and probably the only thing that can be said about you is that you're probably under ten years old.

 

ALL-TIME TOP ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MOVIES

How does your favourite movie rate in international popularity? The figures below are based on international rental figures as of the beginning of 2001, according to the latest survey by Variety magazine. The figures include box office earnings only and do not include video sales or rentals. Note: Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone and Lord of the Rings had not been released at the time of the last survey. Both will probably figure highly in the next.

Rank Title & Theatrical Release Date

1. Titanic (1997)
2. Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope (1977)
3. Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace (1999)
4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Jurassic Park (1993)
6. Forrest Gump (1994)
7. The Lion King (1993)
8. Star Wars: Episode VI--Return of the Jedi (1983)
9. Independence Day (1996)
10. The Sixth Sense (1999)
11. Star Wars: Episode II--The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. Home Alone (1990)
13. Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (2000)
14. Jaws (1975)
15. Batman (1989)
16. Men in Black (1997)
17. Toy Story 2 (1999)
18. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
19. Twister (1996)
20. Ghostbusters (1984)