Movies are filled with characters living glamorous and colourful lives, from James Bond to Indiana Jones – movies are a form of escapism for most watchers, but there’s still a lot we can learn from the people on the silver screen. Some skills you’ll see shown in a popular movie are helped along with CGI, but many actors take pride in learning skills their characters require for themselves. Of course, you won’t have a Hollywood-level budget to help you hone the skills you’ve seen from your favourite film character, but that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. Thanks to the internet, there are more resources out there than ever before that can walk you, step by step, through mastering different skills.
Survival Skills – The Martian
2015’s The Martian sees astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, find himself stranded on the planet Mars. He uses his knowledge of botany to help grow enough food for him to survive until he can be rescued. Of course, this isn’t a scenario that most people will find themselves in, in their own lifetimes, but the survivalist skills Mark uses can certainly be applied to life on Earth. You could consider starting your own garden at home, using compostable materials from food scraps. Mark starts out with potatoes on Mars since they’re relatively easy to grow and rigs up his own irrigation system to help. There are plenty of resources you can find online that will help you work up your own self-sustaining veggie patch in no time.
Card Games – James Bond
James Bond has a whole bunch of skills as a spy that he showcases in movies over the decades, but none is more memorable than his abilities with a deck of cards. Bond has played a huge number of card games in his time as 007, but famously he’s seen playing Texas Hold’em in 2006’s Casino Royale. If you want to replicate the suave skills of James Bond, you’ll need to get plenty of practice in. Make sure you understand the rules before playing against others and never bet more than you can comfortably afford to lose. Online casinos like Jackpot can be an excellent place to try your hand at the card games that make James Bond famous.
Sign Language – A Quiet Place
For the filming of A Quiet Place, each main case member learnt the entirety of the script in American Sign Language (ASL). This certainly comes in handy for the protagonist’s family, as it allows them to communicate without drawing the attention of an invasive alien species that uses only sounds to track its victims. If you want to try your hand at one of the many sign languages that exist around the world, there are formal courses and informal training videos you can find online and in local educational institutions.
Conclusion
Characters in film have run the gamut of skills; almost any skill you can think of will have been shown on screen at some point. As someone eager to learn from your favourite characters, you’ll already have the innate curiosity that is critical when learning a new skill. Just keep in mind that it is never going to be as easy as it’s shown in the movies – what might look like it takes a few days of intense study could take much longer. Don’t be disheartened by this, but instead, redouble your efforts, and eventually, you’ll master any skill you want.