I can make it on my own...

 I recently watched a movie Beyond Borders which is essentially a love story set against the backdrop of the relief work done at various times and places when some of the worst atrocities were happening. It was good but depressing on many levels.

Firstly, the ending was really rather sad despite me feeling quite confident that it would be smurfy and lovely. I suppose it is pretty difficult to make a chirpy movie about people starving and dieing from disease or war, but I kind of thought that it would end in a romantically happy way. However, I'd best stop before I spoil the plot completely.

The second depressing factor was the whole “what am I doing with my life” angst it seemed to induce. To allude to a recent Strong Bad email (crying) this movie was the equivalent of the one-legged puppy, Little Brudder, saying, “I can make it on my own”.

There is nothing quite as heart-wrenching as people (or cute drawn puppies) being brave and noble in the face of adversity. It made me feel ignoble, selfish and shallow. I really don’t do much to help the suffering masses and whilst I’m aware of the terrible violations of human rights and tragic situations that many people are forced into, I generally spend more time thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner than how I can make the world a better place.

The really bad thing is that after watching a movie which once again reminded me of how ridiculously comfortable and easy my life is compared to some, I didn’t instinctively want to run out and volunteer to do relief work or give generously to some worthwhile charities. Rather I just had the inclination to watch something about really shallow and nasty people so that I could feel comparatively good about myself.

So, any recommendations of movies or books about really mean and petty people to help alleviate my sense of guilt?