Fifty Favorite Films of All-Time as Exposition

I think that most of the things we possess in life, or even like for that matter, are representative of who we are as a person, or who we want to be. What we eat, how we dress, how we act, and what we like are the building blocks for our social images. I noticed over the years the numerous facets of my social schema, but there was always one that kind of annoyed me when it comes to films. Said issue was the notion that I instantaneously fall in love with quirky and dramatic independent films. What does this say about me? Well, depending on which paradigm we take, it could mean an assortment of things.  Now, I'm not entirely sure how this perception of an "indie maven" gained any credence, but I often felt this assertion gravely mismatched my own perception of the films I liked and who I was. Out of curiosity, and to see how quirky I like things, I started to strike up a list of my favorite films of all time. It took me a while to honestly form a list of 50 films that I could watch endlessly, and because of this, my own judgement of myself was somewhat in flux. Yet, with numerous additions and subtractions, I have finally assembled a list of films that I can say are truly representative of me. Here is my list:

Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds'

50. Anchorman                                     

49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

48. Edward Scissorhands

47. Zodiac

46. Artificial Intelligence

45. Inglourious Basterds

44. Big Fish

43. Little Miss Sunshine

42. The Bicycle Thief

41. Pan's Labyrinth

40. Platoon

Pixar's 'Wall-E'

    39.  4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days

    38.  King Kong (2005)                                      

    37.  The Wrestler                             

    36.  (500) Days of Summer              

    35.  Wall-E                                      

    34.  The Departed                            

    33. Signs                                          

    32.  North by Northwest                  

    31. In Bruges                                   

    30.  The Godfather                           

The legendary 'The Wizard of Oz'

29. Once

28. Memento

27. Kramer vs. Kramer

26. The Sandlot

25. Goodfellas

24. The Wizard of Oz

23. The Truman Show

22. Amelie

21. Monster's Inc.

20. Superbad

Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows'

19. The Dark Knight

18. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

17. The Pride of the Yankees

16. The Apartment

15. Meet Me in St. Louis

14. Cinema Paradiso

13. The 400 Blows

12. Boogie Nights

11. Magnolia

10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Numero Uno: 'Eternal Sunshine...'

9. Singing in the Rain

8. Lost in Translation

7. Children of Men

6. Almost Famous

5. There Will Be Blood

4. Dumb and Dumber

3. Adaptation

2. Punch-Drunk Love

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

So, does my list adequately match up with assumptions about me? I'd say not, but even then there's a bit of dissonance between my list and what I originally perceived. Initially, I figured my list would be more inclined to the more dramatic side i.e. a slow burning drama like '4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days', but when browsing over my list, it's clear to me that my tastes are a little more rounded than I had expected. With the inclusion of numerous musicals, comedies, and fantastical films, I feel my appreciation and love for certain films go beyond the dark and serious.  Now, I know for the longest time I have indicated that my love for film lacks any kind of genre prejudice, but the context my list provides further cements this idea as my favorite films have a vast range between them.  Ultimately, what does this list say about me? It simply says that I'm a person who has the ability and desire to transition from the dramatic to the comedic. It shows that I'm a person who has an appreciation for the unbounded nature of creativity, as well as the minimalistic and hard-nosed moments of everyday life. Most importantly though, it emphatically declares I'm not a man bound by genre. What does your list say about you?