Flickering pictures hypnotize

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*I apologize if this post doesn't seem to completely fit in this section. It starts out with a lot of background info. before I actually get to the film part.*

I've gotten the sense from the several books and many articles I've read about AS that, like most people I suppose, some Aspies gravitate more towards math/science-type subjects and some gravitate more towards art/music/fiction/poetry, etc. I think I'm definitely in the latter camp, although I do have a strong respect for science and have the capacity - not always used - to think pretty logically at times (Btw, I'm "self-diagnosed," but after all the material I've read and all the reflection I've done about my life from the perspective of AS, I'd be amazed if I didn't have it. "It just explains so much," as I'm sure many others have said).

Anyway, since I was a kid I've always felt almost intoxicated by certain music, books, and images (film, art, photos, etc.) Sometimes these kinds of things draw me in so strongly that the pull seems almost irresistible. When I was a kid I wanted to be an artist and drew pictures all the time, and I also read a lot. As a teenager I got heavily into music, wrote songs, and played in bands with friends (I was semi-capable socially, although with some deficits. And, as I've read many times regarding AS, a definite help in attracting a social group is having "special interests" in common with them. Most of my friendships revolved around music). After that I went to college and got a bachelor's degree in English literature. I did well in school, but I took a long time to graduate; in an attempt to not get too "stressed out", I tended to take smaller class loads (anxiety has been an issue for me).

Anyway, I just thought I'd try writing about one aspect of my interests in this post, in case anyone else might be interested, have similar preoccupations, etc. I have many other interests as well - actually, almost everything is interesting to me (could I have used the word "interest" any more in this paragraph?)

So, as I mentioned above, I have this thing about images in art, film, photography, etc. They just suck me in and I stare at them and kind of become entranced by them - sometimes it's almost like a kind of "ecstasy" or something (although I don't to want to over-dramatize it too much). I realize that images that are strong, or beautiful, or repellent or whatever tend to have a pronounced effect on most people, but I feel that with me it goes a bit beyond the "norm" that you find in the general population.

I also have a strong interest in history. Sometimes it's been certain historical periods (in college it was the "modernism" of the 1920's), but, more and more, almost any other time and place is interesting to me. History just becomes so fascinating when you actually feel, and don't just understand intellectually, that the people who lived decades or centuries or millennia before you were just as real as you are now. Things in their lives were just as vivid and tangible as the chair you're sitting on and the monitor you're looking at (or phone, or whatever). And their feelings and perceptions and thoughts were just as real to them as yours are to you now. It kind of blows my mind when I apply that perspective to ancient Greece, or feudal Japan, or England in the 1940's, or any other time/place.

So, given that I have these interests in strong images and in history, I guess it makes sense that I'm also interested in older films that have good cinematography. In those movies you get the amazing, beautiful imagery, and also a sense of life in another time and place. Even though the action and events in the film may be highly dramatized and not necessarily all that "true to life," you still get a sense of the aesthetics, worldview, etc. of the time it was made in. I especially like older films from other countries (non-U.S.), but there have also been plenty of good American movies made (and also plenty of really sh***y ones).

One of my favorite movies of all time is called "Point Blank," and came out in 1967. It's sort of a crime drama set in Los Angeles and kind of has the feel of the less "idealistic" side of the 1960's. I like everything about it - the performances (Lee Marvin is in it), the "look" of it, the story, etc.

I just saw "Rosemary's Baby" about a month ago. I think it came out in 1968 or '69. That movie is dripping with atmosphere, and the acting is also really good. Another great film for getting a sense of the 60's (and Mia Farrow's pixie haircut and clothes would probably be considered pretty fashionable to some people right now). For those who aren't familiar with it, "Rosemary's Baby" is a horror film about a Satanic cult centered in an old New York apartment building.

I guess both of those movies were Hollywood films, but they were from non-American directors (John Boorman, Roman Polanski), so they seem to have more of a "European" feel to them in many ways.

Well, I guess that's about all for now. I realize that this post will be a definite TL;DR for many people, but I wasn't sure how to say what I wanted to say in fewer words. So let me know if you have any similar interests, or comments, or whatever.

This may be getting a little "off topic," but what you said about early hominids reminds be a little of reactions I've had to seeing bonobos (close relatives of chimpanzees and humans). I've never seen them in real life (I think they may be pretty rare in capitivity), but I've seen pictures, video, etc. They're the animals I've seen that seem the most "human" to me in many of their behaviors, facial expressions, etc. In particular, it's kind of eerie to took at their eyes. You can see actual, human-like intelligence in them. Unfortunately, their main habitat is the horribly war-torn Rwanda (if I remember correctly). And, of course, there has been some concern about their possibly becoming extinct some day - they have been poached, captured, hunted for food, and I believe that their habitat is threatened by human encroachment. Wouldn't it be a horrible irony if we killed off the species that may the closest to us in the whole animal kingdom? It sounds like some kind of dark science fiction book or something.

That would be a horrible irony.
Although Neanderthals co-existed with modern humans in Europe until about 30 thousand years ago and approximately 40 thousand year old Homo Erectus remains were found in Asia, both those species are now extinct. Our closest relatives now are apes that we shared a common ancestor with 7 million years ago. We would not want to lose them also.