The Best Speeches from Cinema. Part One

How does a speech in cinema differ from a live speech? It takes on an artistic form through camera angles, editing, actors' expressiveness, costumes, locations, lighting, and music. All this allows authors to create an emotional video that inspires viewers.

Live speeches that are maximally prepared and thought out, as well as delivered in the right place and at the right time, can also evoke similar emotions and effects. Therefore, our task is to understand which speeches are the best, why, and what they can teach us.

In this article, we'll examine speeches from motivational, beautiful, inspiring films.

Motivational speeches about courage and dreams

Jobs from 2013, a film about Steve Jobs, ends with a scene where Steve Jobs records a motivational speech. The text of this speech in reality was heard in Apple's advertising campaign called "Think Different." But here the hero delivers a final speech addressed to everyone who hears him:

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

It seems that Steve Jobs is addressing only creative people or geniuses, but this is not so. This speech is motivational and addressed to everyone. But it calls each of us to be braver, more purposeful, to fear nothing, to live our own life and do what we want.

Peaceful Warrior is one of the most inspiring and motivational films based on real events. It is based on Dan Millman's autobiographical book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. The film is about an athlete who received an injury and was ultimately doomed to failure in sports. In the final scene, the hero speaks with an inner voice in a dialogue-address to himself and to everyone who hears him:

"Where are you, Dan?
Here.
What time is it?
Now.
Who are you?
This moment.”

Today the concept of "being in this moment," "being yourself," "striving for your goal" is one of the key concepts in our lives. Therefore, it's so important to understand that everything is in our power. No matter what anyone says. The main thing is what we say and do.

The Pursuit of Happyness from 2006 is one of the most touching and motivational films ever made. This is a biographical film about Chris Gardner, a speaker, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. The film shows the difficult story of a father who, during a difficult period of his life, raises his son alone and tries to achieve something in life. In one moment, the father tells his son something important. Just a few lines, but they made this film one of the most motivational in modern cinema:

"Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period."

Speeches about deep values and choice

The Devil's Advocate – a 1997 film with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino in the lead roles – is one of the best films of the 20th century. At the end of the film, a dialogue takes place between the devil and his son. The devil uses compelling offers and metaphorical language. When asked what he's offering, he responds: "Everything. Anything."

The devil then uses a powerful metaphor about free will: "Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings."

The mystical story from this film tells us how shared cultural heritage in the form of history, literature, artistic images allows authors to evoke the same images, emotions. Thereby uniting us and making us feel like one whole with the entire world.

Another short motivational speech can be highlighted from Titanic (1997). The main character was asked if he finds his wandering life attractive, to which he responds affirmatively:

"Well, yes, ma'am, I do... I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count."

With these words, he unites people who represent different classes, reminding them of a shared philosophy about embracing life's uncertainty and making the most of every moment.

Speeches about professionalism and mastery

The film The Devil Wears Prada from 2006 is one of the best depictions of the fashion world, with Meryl Streep in the lead role. In one scene, the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine cannot choose between two seemingly identical belts. Her new assistant, far from the fashion world, laughed at the situation of choice. After which follows a speech from her boss:

"You go to your closet and you select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back."

Then the heroine voices a logical chain of facts about how the color chosen by the assistant was invented by designers and used in high fashion, and only then descended downward:

"However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs. And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room... from a pile of 'stuff.'"

Such a rhetorical technique is called globalization of thesis or statement.

What can be taken from motivational speeches in cinema?

Films with motivating and original speeches worth watching: Jobs, The Devil Wears Prada, Peaceful Warrior, The Devil's Advocate, The Pursuit of Happyness, Titanic.

As we can see, every word in cinema has meaning and emotional coloring. In life, everything should be real, so live life as your heart tells you. And inspire other people to beautiful deeds.

 

Mykola Ovcharov