‘IT’ movie emphasizes topic of fear

After watching the movie “IT Chapter Two,” I couldn’t stop thinking about two things: the first being the creepy image of Pennywise laughing and the second being fear. 

For those of you who are not avid “IT” fans or know nothing about the movie, fear plays a huge role in the film and not just because the movie is scary.

Fear is what Pennywise the clown feeds on; it is what strengthens him. In order for the main characters to defeat this villain they have to learn to overcome their fears or else he’ll keep terrorizing their town.

As I was watching this movie, my heart was racing. I was on the edge of my seat and I had my hands covering my eyes. I will admit, I was afraid. By the sounds of other people screaming, I know I was not the only one afraid in that movie theatre, and I am not the only one to ever experience fear. 

I want to talk about fear because fear drives people’s lives. It makes people do things they shouldn’t and not do things they should. 

With a new semester beginning, it is the perfect time to face some of your fears and step out of your comfort zone. 

As I watched each character in the movie overcome their fears, I asked myself, “what am I afraid of?” 

I could answer this question in so many ways. I could list my “go to answer” for when this question is used as an icebreaker or I could actually dig a little deeper and think.

Let’s start out with my “go-to icebreaker answers.” 

I am afraid of elevators.

I am afraid of drowning. 

I am afraid of heights. 

Now, let’s dig a little deeper.

I am afraid of failure.

I am afraid of not reaching my potential. 

I am afraid of being alone.

It is okay to have these fears, but when they run your life, that is when it is not okay. 

A great concept that Times magazine noted in an article about “IT” was that “without belief, there’s no such thing as fear.” This is important to dwell on because a lot of what we fear is based off of unrealistic events that could happen in the future. These construed fantasies are not realistic. Therefore, if we stop 

believing these thoughts and fueling them, we could stop being afraid.

In the movie “IT,” whenever the characters realize that their fears are not real, the hallucinations caused by Pennywise disappear. This does not mean the fear is gone. It just means they have come to terms that the imaginations inside of their head cannot be real. 

A part of me believes we can never live without fear. Fear keeps us alive; it is a survival instinct, engraved in our minds. 

Fear is not bad, but like anything else, it can be twisted into something dangerous. What controls it from becoming something bad is our own minds. 

Realistically, the only person who can determine how you react to fear is yourself.

None of my words can make you stop being afraid of clowns or heights, and I know that. What I am hoping, though, is that the next time you’re afraid, don’t let it get in the way of you being alive. 

If you’re afraid of meeting new people, don’t let this deter you from joining a club you’re interested in. You might not know anyone when you join, but just think about the relationships you’ll create with people after a year in the club. 

I encourage you to get out there and stop being afraid of things you can’t change or you believe could happen. Don’t let a world of “what if’s” stop you from living in a world of “I did.”

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

I challenge you to write down your fears, the go-to icebreaker ones and the deeper ones. Try to think about how you can overcome these fears and step a little out of your comfort zone this semester.