So 1-2 months later, it hit theaters and I saw it…twice. The first time was more for fun, to see what ends up actually happening etc. After I had seen the movie I kept thinking about it, and it occurred to me there were some good lessons…so I saw it again.
At one point in the movie there is a discussion about insecurity and masks in a sense. As humans we put up masks or certain appearances to hide what's really going on etc. This movie has it's two main female characters. There's the party girl, who plays "Nerve" and actually gets dares that are more like, let's see how embarrassed she can get to make her laugh and others laugh at her, but she'll think it's making her more popular type dares. And then there's the main character who is not a party girl, more reserved but actually gets interesting dares that are more thrilling. The "party" girl is more popular and outspoken when it comes to school and such but really she's insecure and get's her worth from other people. Where the quiet one (yes, she's trying to prove a point) is more confident in who she is…it's a quiet confidence. I'm not saying this is always the case, but don't estimate us "quiet until you get to know us" girls.
Throughout the show, you see how much people invest about what others think of them via the game "Nerve" and people will put out appearances on this game, yet they aren't really themselves…similar to what I had mentioned above. So it got me thinking…we don't actually have or play the game "Nerve" - thank God…but we (humans) do the same thing on social media. Many have said this before…but people put their highlight realz out on social media, so it seems like everyone's life is perfect and amazing all the time. I'm not saying life's awful, it's a blessing, but everyone has good times and bad or hard times. It's easy to sit on social media and look at everyone's "highlight realz" and think…I wish I could be more like them, they're always going here or there, look at their cute little family, they are in such great shape…the list goes on…but think about it…how many pictures did that family take to get the perfect shot, getting in shape takes a lot of discipline and work, same with traveling. There is so much more behind the scenes that we don't see and the behind the scenes aren't always pretty…they can be pretty but they aren't always.
To push that deeper the second time I saw the movie, I thought about "bullying." I really want to give a spoiler here, but I'm going to do the best I can not to. So the name of the game is "Nerve" and there are watchers and players. The watchers watch and make the dares, and the players attempt to accomplish the dares. A player can complete the dare, fail the dare, or bail. If for some reason you decide to tell the police, you are labeled a snitch…and the phrase is "snitches gets stitches." So I'm watching this movie with these different thrilling dares, but then it takes a dark twist as some of the dares could result in death…now I'm going to pause on the movie and just ponder that aspect and bring it back to real life. So these players are doing these dares given by other people that could potentially lead to death. So today people try and fit other people's molds, or with social media, they try and "fit in" and some time it can lead to really poor choices and if you add the bullying factor into it…what people say about you, rate you, what people are willing to do to fit in can be damaging and can lead to death, so this movie made me think about that hidden message in it.
So this one part of the movie all these watchers have masks and Vee tells them to basically man up and take off their masks…they don't. They're hiding behind their disguise, their watching name, etc. There's a super powerful part at the end of the movie that I don't want to give away, so I can't fully tie it in, but if you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about and if you haven't hopefully you can still get the just.
Basically, what you say or do whether hiding behind a mask or social media, or even in person can have catastrophic consequences, so let's have the "Nerve" (see what I did there) to take off our masks and live authentically, rather than behind anything, where you may feel more invincible. Let's start a movement of being real with people and honest, when people ask how we are…open up. Everyone knows that "fine" does not mean fine. Let's change the world with love, understanding and authenticity.
Do You Have the Nerve?
Peace & Love,
Jessica Lynn (Jalynn)
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