official movie poster from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (credit itunes.apple.com)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 teen comedy following the exploits of high school senior Ferris Bueller and his friends. Filmed by John Hughes (director of many of the major 80s comedies) and set in his city of Chicago, it's a movie made timeless by its not only one but many great messages.
First, it should be addressed that even without that, it's a fantastic movie. The comedy is on point, the casting is well done, and the characters and writing are ultimately uplifting. It has the feel of a cool 80s movie, but it isn't quite stuck in the 80s.
I'd argue that's because the ultimate message of the movie is timeless- and right now, it's one that we need more than ever. In the final scenes of the movie, staring into the camera, Ferris Bueller says, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
His point is that people often get caught up in the minute details of life and forget to actually find time to enjoy living. Now, some people do have to grind. Life can be relentless, and for some, means that to stay on top of bills and difficulties, they're forced to give up the things that make life fun. This is not a good thing, but it does exist.
Some people do the opposite of this and solely live in the moment, but there's enough criticism for that behavior.
Now for us, life does seem to have sped up, whether rushing to stay caught up on homework, making time for relationships, trying to find time for shifts at work, or even keeping up on memes. Then, while you're doing all that, your hobbies happen to take a back seat to everything else. Does that sound about right? If it does, first off, do yourself some good and take a breath.
After, when you have some time, and do make a conscious effort to take a break, watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
You can watch it on Netflix right now. Rated PG-13 for language and mild innuendo.