Chapter 24: Ten Films That Include NLP Processes 357
The biggest transformation takes place in Cameron. At the start of the film
Cameron is a victim, completely at the mercy of the people in his life; his
father, of whom he is terrified, and particularly Ferris, to whom Cameron
can’t say no. By the end of the film when Cameron has ‘killed’ his father’s
sports car, he admits that he allowed himself to be led by Ferris and could
have said no at anytime. The best part is that Cameron has the courage to
stand up to his father when he tells him about his car.
Starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, and Jennifer
Grey. Director: John Hughes. Studio: Paramount Pictures (1986).
UP
UP is an animated film that appeals across generations, although adults
rather than youngsters may relate more to some particularly poignant
moments in the first 11 minutes. Ultimately, this film tells a love story about
Carl (Edward Asner) and Ellie (Elie Docter) and how he finally fulfils a
youthful dream after being propelled into the adventure of a lifetime.
Ellie is utterly charming as a gap-toothed youngster with a shock of red hair.
She’s loud, extrovert, with strong proactive tendencies (check out Chapter 8
on meta programs) and completely bowls over the quiet, introverted, reactive
Carl. Carl’s helium balloon floats to the ceiling when Ellie pounces on him at
their first meeting. In her ‘gung ho’ way, Ellie decides they should retrieve
Carl’s balloon and pushes him across a board on the first floor of a derelict
house with no thought of any risk, resulting in poor Carl breaking his arm.
When Ellie visits a recuperating Carl because ‘you may need cheering up’,
she shares a secret she’s never shared with anyone: her diary that’s labelled,
‘My Adventure Book’. One page has a picture of Paradise Falls where Ellie has
decided she’s going to live. She shocks the timid Carl when she exuberantly
announces, ‘I ripped this right out of a library book,’ with no thought to the
consequences of her deeds.
One page is labelled ‘STUFF I’m Going TO DO’ and is followed by several blank
pages. She then tells Carl, ‘I’m saving these for all the adventures I’m going to
have.’ The interesting point about Ellie’s Adventure Book is that, although she
shares its details with Carl in the beginning, he isn’t aware that she has kept
it updated. He looks very sorrowful when he finds her ‘Adventure Book’ years
later because he thinks she missed out on getting to Paradise Falls. He’s very
surprised when he sees the pages are full of photographs of their life together.
Carl’s idea of an adventure focused on visiting Paradise Falls: Ellie lived each
moment as an adventure.
