Top 5 Movies to Watch While Studying

Are you a student who tries to study hard so you can pass those dreaded midterms, finals, or any other exam throughout the semester? If you are, you probably know what it’s like to get tired or bored while you look at those textbooks trying to grasp all the information. Studying is hard sometimes because you are trying so hard to remember every little thing, and eventually, you get tired and lose some or even all of the info. Sometimes, a break is necessary during times like these. One of the things I love to do while I study is watching a movie. Movies help me study because they give me peace of mind. It also helps me balance my time between gathering the info for my studies and the movie I’m watching. While I’m studying, I also like to grab chips, popcorn, or chocolate to give myself the full movie-study experience. If you plan on watching movies while you study, here are five movies I recommend that will give students a relaxing, calming study session.

5: “The Breakfast Club” (1985): This movie focuses on a group of five high school teenagers forced to go to detention on a Saturday morning. The group consists of Brian Johnson as “The Brain”, Andrew Clark as “The Athlete”, John Bender as “The Criminal”, Claire Standish as “The Princess”, and Allison Reynolds as “The Basket Case”. These five teenagers come from different cliques and seemingly have nothing in common. However, as the hours go by, they all slowly begin to open up to one another, and they all learn that they are more alike than they think. This is a movie where teenagers are simply talking to each other and having both fun and deep conversations. There are also fun sequences where the teenagers hang out and dance with one another, too. There are no drastic action sequences outside of the hallway and dance scenes. The fun, deep atmosphere of this film makes it a fun and calming movie students can watch.

4: “Reality Bites” (1994): This is a film that many college students can relate to because it focuses on a group of college students after they graduate. The leader of the group, Lelaina, works on a documentary about her and her friends trying to find careers and relationships in their lives after college. The documentary is named after the title of the film. This film is a good insight into what life is like after college. I recommend this film to students on their way to graduating college soon. It would give them an idea of how to navigate their lives in their careers and futures.

 3: “Good Will Hunting” (1997): A legendary classic known to many people due to the performances and dynamic between Matt Damon and Robin Williams. This movie also won Williams the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and also secured Matt Damon and Ben Affleck the award for Best Original Screenplay. The film focuses on math genius and janitor Will Hunting, who has trouble figuring out his future and putting the past behind him. After being arrested, he is sentenced to do therapy sessions with a man named Sean Maguire. Throughout these therapy sessions, Will learns how to let go of the past and figure out his future.  I highly recommend this movie because it teaches very important lessons about life that many who are struggling can learn from- lessons about letting go of the past and moving. The music in this movie is also relaxing as it is very soft and soothing. I enjoy this movie because I am a Psychology major and want to pursue a career as a therapist in the future. This movie can give Psychology majors a better insight into what the field is really like.

2: “Lilo and Stitch” (2002): A Disney movie that is hailed as a beloved masterpiece by many people due to the lovable main character Stitch. He has become an icon to many people due to his funny antics, cute face, and the dynamic he has with his best friend Lilo. This Disney classic focuses on an alien (Stitch) who escapes from his captors and lands in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Lilo is a little girl who has no friends and lives with her older sister after the death of their parents. One day, Lilo and her sister go to a pet shelter to find Lilo a pet. She finds Stitch and adopts him. Over time, Lilo teaches Stitch about many things in Hawaiian Culture, like surfing and the word “Ohana,” which means family in Hawaiian. Lilo and Stitch grow closer and bond while escaping Stitch’s captors. This is a Disney movie that is relaxing because of the beach and Hawaiian graphics. The dynamic and interactions between Lilo and Stitch are also really cute because they are strangers and they protect one another. This friendship can resonate with a lot of people. Many will also learn a valuable lesson from this film: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten”, just as Stitch says at the end of the movie.

1: “Spirited Away” (2001). An anime film that is a beloved classic by both anime fans and people around the world. It is also the most recognizable work of Studio Ghibli, a Japanese film studio that made famous anime films like “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, and “Princess Mononoke”. The film focuses on a young girl named Chihiro, who is moving to a new town with her family. Along the way, they stop by an abandoned amusement park, which is secretly a world inhabited by spirits. Chihiro’s parents are turned into pigs after eating at one of the restaurants which cause Chihiro to find a job in the world’s bathhouse to free her parents. She goes through many obstacles and meets strange figures during her journey, and learns how to mature into an independent girl. This movie is really great to study to and to watch because the art and animation are so beautiful. You could put almost every scene of the movie in a picture frame. The story is also strong because learning to be independent is something everyone wants to do in their lives as they get older. Chihiro is a perfect example of what it is like growing up to be an independent person. The music is really soothing because it mainly has piano sounds, which are perfect for studying and relaxing, which makes “Spirited Away” the perfect film for anyone who wants to watch a movie and have a relaxing study session.

Above are the top five films I recommend to students who want to put on a movie while studying. I chose these movies because I think all of them have a very relaxing and calming vibe, with no scenes that are action-packed, violent, or explosive: easygoing movies with a nice, simple plotline without anything super big to think about. The relaxing tone of these movies allows for an easygoing background while studying without being distracted. With my list, I hope students will not only enjoy these movies but make studying a much more relaxing experience.