Why the Extras in Movies Matter

Everyone has watched a movie at one point. Everyone has noticed the extras in the background who linger and observe. Extras are an integral part of a movie. They are not the focus of the movie, but some of their lives have an impact on the main character. These extras come in many different forms like a person holding a door open, a nurse in the operating room or the driver in the other lane. No one focuses on the extra because it’s not their story but every extra has their own story as well. 

This had me thinking about the people in daily life who count as extras. There is minimal or no interaction, but sometimes they can make a day brighter or darker. Similarly, we could have a positive or negative impact on someone else’s life and not realize it. 

So, with this in mind, think about the interactions you had with someone who could be considered an extra in your life. Was it a good one? Were you mean? Were they? Was it a friendly mutual smile shared between strangers? Did you receive a grimace when you smiled at a stranger? Did you return a grimace back? At the moment it might not seem relevant but a reciprocated smile can easily brighten your day. Whereas, a received grimace would result in you giving a grimace to someone else, who would give it to another, then another. Thus began a cycle of negativity that could have easily been a cycle of cheerfulness. 

To sum up, everyone matters. No one is less important because they are not significant in your life. They are significant in someone else’s life, the way someone is significant in yours. “You are a piece of the puzzle of someone else’s life. You may never know where you fit, but others will fill the holes in their lives with pieces of you,” -Bonnie Arbon.

• background
• body language
• communication
• humanity
• impact
• interactions
• main character
• movie characters
• people
• Significance