Law of Attraction in Pop Culture
Monday, April 30, 2007

In a post last Friday, Joe Vitale had a funny "ps":

Last night the famous action-packed movie Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis, was on television. The lead character, who barely survived terrorists in the first movie, is again barely surviving bad guys in the second movie. At one point Bruce Willis says, "Why do these things keep happening to me?" I said out loud to the screen, "It's the Attractor Factor, bro." Until he gets clear, he'll keep attracting the same stuff, and never realize he's the magnet. Not being clear makes for a great movie but a lousy life.

I love movies and TV, and pop culture in general, so I started wondering if there are other movies/shows that indirectly reference the Law of Attraction.

1. My Name is Earl

This is a fairly obvious one. In the show, Earl used to be a "bad" guy doing bad stuff and wasting his life away. After he wins the lottery and learns about "karma", he decides to do only good things, and even makes a list of all people he wronged so he can make it up to them. As he's working through the list, we see all sorts of positive things happen to Earl... and when he slips and starts focusing on the negative, we see negative things happen to him.

2. Perfect Strangers

Okay, I may be dating myself a bit, but I used to love this show. Also, it's a classic example of the LoA in action. First off, you have Larry, constantly negative and expecting bad things to happen, and surprise - they do. Then you have fun-loving Balki, who has no concept of "can't" or "impossible", and he always comes out on top. Even when Larry tries to pull him down, Balki moves forward with his plans, and they usually work out great. About that time, Larry decides to follow Balki's plans, but his motivation typically comes from greed and need, and NOT true goodness and desire. Larry will take Balki's plans, go WAY overboard, and fail.

3. American Idol

This is a classic example of the "action" in Law of Attraction. In the preliminary rounds, quite often you see kids say things like "if I don't get picked, I'll die" or "they HAVE to pick me" or something similar. Then, they get in front of the judges and are absolutely horrible singers. It seems like many of these people are living their lives JUST to get on American Idol, and eagerly wait for the next auditions. They aren't in a pure "receiving" state, and therefore won't be able to attract much of anything.

A singer utilizing the LoA will let go of any need to be on American Idol, and spend their time practicing their singing and enjoying the gift they have. All the while, letting their heart and mind be open to endless possibilities around them... and if A.I. is one of those, great!

4. The Breakfast Club

One of my favorite movies from my youth... and also a classic examination of the Law of Attraction. In the beginning, all five students are stuck in their pre-defined roles, and focus their attention on the negative aspects of their lives. Claire tries to play her emotionally distant parents against each other, Andrew is afraid to seen as "weak" by his father, Brian is afraid to be seen as "stupid" by his parents, Bender thinks his life and his father are the worst of all them, and Allison is so afraid of being rejected that she intentionally separates herself from everyone. Not coincidentally, they all seem to have tons of problems, which has led them to Saturday detention.

By the end of the film, they have let go of their preconceived notions, and start to realize that their lives CAN be better. If those characters persist in that notion, they will lead much happier lives.

5. Lost

The LoA problem with "Lost" is right there in the title. The characters focus all their energy on the fact they are lost, and also trying to figure out the strange things that are happening on the island. If they spent their time on the beach focusing on positivity and manifesting an airplane passing by... they could change the name of the show to "Found".

Also, they talk about the people on the island who weren't in the plane wreck as "The Others" - which instantly puts a wall up between them. They should learn, we're all one - there are no "others". If they let that go, then it's quite possible they could build an entire paradise on the island.

at 2:24 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Tags: american idol, breakfast club, Law of Attraction, lost, my name is earl, perfect strangers, pop culture