By Jordan WeissmannThe Daily Northwestern

I’ve never been a fantasy person. In ninth grade I was terrified by the girl in my physics class who lugged around a bound edition of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. When she told me she’d read through it maybe 50 times, I shuddered a bit. Pretentious, I know, but true.

Still, the other night I found myself watching a film about a dying race of bird-lizard hybrids that ruled over their world with the power of a broken crystal. It also involved elves and a small, humanoid race that seemed to be modeled after some indigenous South American culture. Oh, and they were all puppets. Absolutely gorgeous puppets designed by Jim Henson.

Right now, Block Cinema is showing a series of 1980s fantasy flicks – films like “Labyrinth” (you know, the one that stars David Bowie’s crotch), “The Princess Bride,” “The Neverending Story” and “Conan The Barbarian.” They’re films many of us watched when we were kids and remember fondly, even if we just took them at face value. They jump between black comedies, action-adventure, slapstick and musical, making allusions to Hegel and Nietszche unobtrusive enough not to bother a six-year-old.

The dictatorial birds belonged to “The Dark Crystal,” which operates at about a third-grade thought level, but probably makes for a more effective aesthetic and escapist experience because of it. The showing I went to was fairly empty, as is to be expected at Block. And that was a shame.

More of us at this school could use the trip to Neverland. These movies all make an effort to wake up the same wide-eyed enthusiasm so many of us tend to lose in our headlong rush into careerist hell.

And it certainly is the season when we could all use a break from the realities of the job market. We’ve all heard the trope about what a pre-professional school NU is, and we all know what a demoralizing environment that can create. Is it any wonder NU alum Zach Braff is fixated on quarter-life crisis?

I myself am writing this column while still in the suit I wore to an internship interview. For those who manage to be relaxed about their career prospects, I commend you. To the rest who marched off to the last career fair even if it made you a little queezy, I’m guessing you can relate.

It’s not that I think we should all fixate on childhood. I get as irritated by the whole “rejuvenile” idea as anybody else. But who wants to deal with a consultant, investment banker, journalist or other professional who can’t remember what it felt like to experience a little bit of wonder? In that sense, there’s just something productive in opening up to a dose of unfettered unreality.

There are plenty of other ways to exercise your imagination, some more legal than others. Regardless of your method of choice, though, it’s something we should all remember to do once in a while.

Hell, even if it means cracking open Tolkien for your 51st go-around, I’m not one to judge. But my recommendation: Go spend $4 and catch a picture at Block Cinema in the coming weeks. It’ll pay some personal dividends.

Campus Editor Jordan Weissmann is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].