Purple Rain 30 year anniversary

July 27th marks the 31st anniversary of the cult classic film, Purple Rain, with hit-maker and legendary artist Prince. Since 1984 when the movie came out, a lot of things have changes, but other things haven’t.  Here are some important things we can learn from the movie:

1. Mental Health Can Be Hereditary – In the movie, Prince’s character, “the Kid”, had issues with his father who was a great musician in his earlier days. And throughout the film, the movie showed parts where Prince’s character exhibited the same issues as his dad.  In real life, those behaviors can be transferred as well. So what what you say, and do around those who you love, unless you want them to pick up those habits.

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2. Music Can Heal – The Kid would play music to either set the mood or change the mood.  In some medical institutions, musical therapy is used to treat and sometimes communicate with patients. Breakthroughs have been seen in many different medical conditions.

3. Knowing When To Leave Is Key – It’s important to know when to leave.  When the female lead, Appollonia was trying to decide between two men, she struggled with who would be better for her career or her heart.  Many women struggle with this today. It’s important to know the difference no matter who you are.

4. In Love, We All Do “Crazy” Things – Remember when prince said, “you have to cleanse yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka”. How many of us would have done that?  Don’t lie, you would have too, lol.

5. We Can Change Despite Our Family History – Just because Prince’s characters father had mental issues and went down one path, in the end, Prince chose to walk down another path.  Many times we dismiss behavior because previous family members had that issue, but that’s no excuse.  We all have choices as well.

6. Competition Is Good – Competition can bring out the best in us if cultivated correctly.  Check the part of “Purple Rain” when the club owner was trying to find only one band to be featured. That led Kid to create a better music, treat his band mates better and ultimately start making better choices.  Perspective can help motivate us.

7. We Can Learn From The Past (Without Staying There) – In what seemed like his darkest hour, Prince’s character “the Kid”, trashed his basement only to find old scores of music from his now troubled father.  Yet those musical notes gave him a new appreciation for what his father was and what he could learn from him moving forward.  It led him to create and grow bigger.

After all is said and done, it’s still a movie. But these are just a few fun facts about how art imitates life and vice versa.

Long Live Purple Rain!