Unleashing Your Potential : A Review of Limitless

Just finished the movie Limitless by Bradley Cooper and have found out it has much more of a

following than I originally thought.   The story is about a burned-out writer who can't seem to focus on his writing.  He is kind of sloppy and very unmotivated.  Then he starts taking an experimental drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain rather than the 10-20% that normal humans use on a day-to-day basis.   After he starts taking this, he realizes his potential and begins to write and become an amazing individual due to his tremendous focus and expertise even though he is the same person.  The problems begin when he relies on this drug to do anything meaningful in his life and dangerous people start to want to control this drug so that they can be limitless as well as controlling of others.

This movie definitely had some twists and surprises and I was kind of puzzled by the ending.  Turns out the ending is open to several interpretations as to what happens and that sets it apart a lot from other movies.  After googling Limitless and endings, there are several ideas of what really happened,  but I won't go into spoiling it for you.  Here is what I thought the movie did well:

1. Showed how productive someone can be with complete focus using all resources we've been given.

Granted this is fiction, but it was an interesting story because his drugs didn't make him superhuman, so much as optimized human.  We all want to be intelligent and focused to do amazing things,  and this movie creates a hero role who can do just that.

2. Showed the dangers of addiction to any substance that is relied on to live life to the max.

The main character quickly learns that success has some high costs.  The miracle drug in this story caused others to want a piece of the action, and it creates a very strong addictive tendency in those that use it on a regular basis.  However, once the main guy experienced the perks, he became more and more willing to take chances to have the experience again.  Over time it changed him and his character went to crazy length to experience the high it delivered.   This is a great modern day parable for the dangers of addictive substances to live life above average.  Everyone needs to accept who they are and strive to grow without legal or illegal substances determining the outcome.

3. Great modern-day parable about the dangers of dependency on anything/anyone besides your Creator.

The writers may not have intended for this - but I found it a great modern-day fable/parable with a strong moral lesson.  Don't allow anything or anyone control you except the God who created you.  The second part of this lesson didn't come across so clearly, but the first part was very clearly shown in this movie's tale.  Crime/violence and crazy things begin to happen when the main hero gets to a point where he can't live without this untested drug.    Jesus says quite clearly in John 15:5 (NIV) "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." That is the truth - if we aren't relying on God we will try to lean and rely on others and end up messing up in major ways.

Conclusion

This was a very thought provoking movie.  I didn't realize until after viewing it that it even spawned a TV series of the same name.  It was definitely entertaining to watch and made you consider the dangers of dependency on substances to function.  However, that being said I felt the writers went a bit too far in showing the gruesome, violent outcome of this hazardous journey.  The movie stuck with me for a while,  but in some ways I think it was because it was a bit shocking.  In other ways I think it was because the ending is open to interpretation and debate.  I liked how they did the ending. It wasn't tied up with a bow, but it made you think about the choices of the characters.    If you like good science-fiction/fantasy movies that make you think - you may want to try watching Limitless.

Are Video Games the Cigarette of the Modern Man?

In this day and age - Cigarettes and tobacco are getting less and less popular it seems.  CVS doesn't even sell tobacco products any longer!  There are anti-tobacco ads on TV and in the theater and all that is a good sign that people are waking up to the dangers of smoking and it is growing less and less popular to do.  However, video games seem to be rising in popularity as the average age of the American male playing video games seems to go up every year.  The games that are rated 17+ seem to attest that older and older players (or at least people interested in older rated material) are spending time and money on this hobby and it is becoming known to be quite addictive.  While there may be no physical addiction created like cigarettes there still is a psychological addiction as teenagers, 20-somethings, 30+ men and women are spending countless hours trying to beat levels and gain achievements at their new favorite past time.   So this brings me to my question :

Are Video Games the Cigarette of the Modern Man?

If so,  is this something we should be conerned about?  How bad is it that young men are spending time and money trying to level up their player rather than smoking and killing themselves physically little by little?  Well that is a complex question that has many parts to the answer.

Physically Speaking : Video Games are a better habit than Cigarettes

As far as I know no one has died of cancer from playing video games too long.  Sure you may not have much of a social life and your time in front of the console may be a bit over the healthy limit, However, as far as shortening your life - there is a clear win for video games as long as you supplement with regular exercise and a healthy diet.   Video games can be a healthy way to relieve some stress and can cause you to persevere under intense hand/eye coordination until you achieve the prize or win the game.

Mentally Speaking : Hard to Say

Cigarettes did no favors to your mental development,  but unless you are playing educational video

games it is a stretch to say that they help you grow and develop mentally.  In fact having a smoke and socializing with others on the back porch may in the long run prove to be more healthy mentally (at least socially) than grunting in triumph with a friend as you punch endless buttons and beat his character in the competition.   I'm sure there are healthy social video game avenues where people actually socialize while enjoying the video games - but I'm unaware of them in my limited video gaming at this stage in my life.  I enjoy playing games but I'm concerned what they are doing for the modern man.  

The Danger of Video Game Addiction

The danger of this new addiction in the modern man's life is that it could keep them from befriending members of the opposite sex,  could keep them from finding a trade/career and begin to suffocate them socially from others.  Pretty soon they have to beat the game rather than finish their school project, work longer hours at work,  or take time off to catch up with family and friends.  This is all related to how many hours the guy is putting in on the game - but many men today are consumed with video games to the extent that they stall in their career, and never seem to innovate and find other productive uses for their time.  When addictions are absent in a man or woman's life it allows them to focus on who they are - and what they hope to become.  Cigarettes didn't really eat into a man's time as much as video games have the potential to do.  Therein lies the danger of video games.  They have the potential to so invade the free time of the modern man that they cease to become all that God has called them to be.  Video games can be a fun diversion but they can also become so all-consuming that higher priorities are left untouched in a person's life.

In Defense of Video Games

I'm not against playing video games.  I have a few of them myself and I think in moderation they can be a great way to relieve some stress.  I just write this article because I think they are becoming too expensive and time consuming in our modern American culture.  Spending 40+ hours a week of your free time trying to beat the next big boss may be gratifying,  but when it is all said and done - what do we really have to show for it?  A new XBox achievement?  A Playstation trophy?  These are fun prizes, but I hope our culture realizes there is so much more to life than that.  For one, getting to know God and enjoying the people He has placed in our life can be far more rewarding than any XBox achievement ever could be.  Video games are great - as long as they are occasional.  Turning off the console and talking to those around you can be so much more amazing if you try it.