15 Movies That Changed The Way People Saw The World

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08-07-2025

Even though most of us watch movies as a form of entertainment, sometimes we catch a film that literally changes our perspective on certain things. So when Reddit user Intrepid_Moment_8879 asked: "What's a film that changed the way you saw the world?" so many people shared their insights. Here's what they said below.
"Honestly, it's Inside Out for me. The whole idea of how important it is to feel and process all our emotions instead of locking them away and putting a joyful facade was an epiphany for my teenage self. Loved how they portrayed depression as a lack of emotions and not too much sadness. Also, the movie is hilarious! The whole 'triple mint gum running' gag lives in my head rent-free. Such a flawless masterpiece; Pixar nailed it with this one!"
—sonanona"I love Sadness; she's probably my favorite Disney character of all time. And she's so important to the story in a way I wasn't expecting. When she sits down with Bing Bong and just listens to him and validates his feelings, it fucks me right up, and I'm a grown-ass adult.""I've struggled with depression most of my life and Sadness as a character really helped fix me up in a way that's hard to explain. The way she touches all the memories and 'fixes' them again? Thinking about my childhood, ugh, I just ugly cry every time.""When they go into the mom's mind, and you realize that Sadness is in charge in the way that Joy was in charge in Riley's mind? It...I don't know, normalized that for me and let me see that of myself not as useless sadness, but as empathy and openness and kindness that is integral to who I am as a person.""All that, and she's so funny to boot. 💙💙💙"—quillseek
"Office Space. Work, money, and happiness. In today's world, the ability to simply be content and happy is a luxury. Doesn't matter the money or job, being content and happy with life does wonders."
—Hussard"Watching that movie in high school is why I will never work in an office."—OlyNoCulture
"I was maybe 10–12 when I first saw Magnolia with my dad. I had a great childhood and was probably a little sheltered, so I had never seen a lot of adults being depicted as broken and scared and embarrassed and angry. It was wildly informative to see how plausible it is for things to just not go right in life."
—doctor_parcival"When I was growing up, I thought all movies were kinda the same. They all spoke a common language.""And then this movie blew my mind open, even more than The Matrix, which came out the same year. Three little vignettes to open the film before the story begins? Matching dolly-in-whip pans between each of the concurrent stories and everyone breaking out into song, despite not being a musical? It's the first film that I remember seeing where I became aware that it's not meant to be pretty but to feel more grounded and real.""It made me realize and appreciate cinematic language is a far bigger and more creative force than I had previously thought possible."—RyzenRaider
"Blood Diamond made me never want to buy a diamond. Seeing how child soldiers can be brainwashed really troubled me."
—bluejester12
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Love and breakups are quite the life lessons."
—Primary-Picture-5632
"Koyaanisqatsi. One of my all-time favorites and possibly the best original score of all time. I've seen it 15 or more times, and it's a different experience each time. I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen a couple of years ago at a local indie theater."
—palpebral
"Fight Club."
—JoMoReMa"It affected me on so many different levels over time. At 16, I wanted to be the badass ripped Tyler Durden. At 25, I saw it as a nihilistic anti-establishment capitalism critique, and now, at over 30 and guys like Andrew Tate on the rise, my focus lies on the toxic masculinity commentary in the movie."—slothPreacher
"Boyz n the Hood. As a white male from a small town, when I watched that way back then, it hit me hard."
—riraven"I used to wish Laurence Fishburne would be my dad. Now that's a great example of a father and positive male role model."—AF2005
"Interstellar for me! Can't believe it took me so long to watch it, but I went to watch it in IMAX last year and loved it! It's well-written and directed, and the soundtrack is so good! It makes you think about life and the concept of love."
—seafoodboil247
"Perfect Days. I learned to appreciate life more. Then, a few days later, I became depressed and pessimistic again."
—Mikyay_
"Cloud Atlas. Whenever I'm feeling a touch out of sorts, I'll find myself returning to it. 'Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.'"
—Villordsutch"The movie was terrific, but the book resonated so hard for me. When I was reading, I figured out what he was doing, and I thought the second half would be necessarily anticlimactic. Instead, Mitchell nailed every ending."—Jean_Genetic
"As a person with ADD, Everything Everywhere All at Once."
—Theslootwhisperer"That movie is exactly what it's like to have ADHD. The main character is extremely ADHD coded; the constant 'channel changing' with her thoughts, the poor emotional regulation, the struggle to settle into a vocation or manage her life, and being unaware of how she neglects the important relationships in her life; they all but say it out loud."—we_are_sex_bobomb"One of the co-writers of the movie [Daniel Kwan] was researching ADHD for the Michelle Yeoh character and ended up being diagnosed with ADHD. The film is very much like the experience of living with ADHD: chaotic and difficult to follow. As an ADHD person, I felt tremendously seen after watching it. My neurotypical wife literally said, 'What the fuck did I just watch?' I cannot think of another film that better captures the ADHD experience."—Yamuddah
"The Matrix."
—iniumbuilder"I think the power of this movie is hidden underneath the awesomeness of it. It truly was a great action movie inside a stylized mind fuck, but the power of it was how skillfully they disseminated the guise of reality."—DaBlue357
"Back in middle school, when it came out in theaters, What Dreams May Come had quite an impact on me. I haven't seen it in 15 years or so, but I'm curious to rewatch it."
"We lost a family friend around that time (she was 13), and my mom debated whether or not to suggest the film to her mom, given how harrowing things get at times. Ultimately she did, and our friend's mom found a lot of comfort in it."—Help_An_Irishman"This one was hard for me. I was still drinking at the time and very, very depressed. When I saw Annabella living in the 'physical' world of depression, I was crying in the theater. I couldn't shake it for days. Now, sober 23 years, I see the beauty in the message."—Lasherola
"Schindler's List. It's impossible to imagine how people can be that hateful."
—BROS-MOTO"That movie did it for me, but for an unexpected reason: I'd actually seen it before (my dad would rent anything about WWII), but in the eighth grade, they showed it to us in history class. I remember when it ended there was the natural amount of sniffling and whimpering in the classroom...including from a guy I considered to be an utterly heartless jackass. Like, the sort of proto-troll you'd probably expect to carve Nazi symbols into a desk — not because he actually was one, but to get a reaction from people and be a jerk.""Couldn't ever see that dude in the same light after he had tears in his eyes from Schindler's List. People aren't always the face they show to the world."—LupinThe8th
Is there a film that changed the way you saw the world? Tell us what it is and why in the comments or anonymously in the Google form below: