“Classic.” When you hear this word, most people think of an older book, movie, song, or even a car, like the 1969 Chevy, Camaro ZL-1. Unfortunately, sometimes the younger generation will link the word “boring” to it when someone talks about a classic because, let's face it, we all were forced to read old books we didn’t want to in school. The online dictionary, however, defines a “classic” as “a work of art of recognized and established value.” With this in mind, is it possible that maybe this kind of literature and cinema should be the kind of stuff we submit ourselves to more often? Perhaps our 5th-grade teachers weren’t ‘full of it.’

If you haven’t figured it out for yourself and you’re curious as to why classics, specifically movies, are so great, here are the top 3 reasons why classics are important.

#1 Uplifting

Movies of today portray families that are broken and hateful. They too often focus on the negative in the world when putting our focus there will only bring us down individually and as a nation. There are good movies still being made today, but those will eventually be considered classics as well because a classic has value. They teach and inspire us in some form. It could be something simple like John Wayne in Rio Bravo helping his drunk friend choose to live his life again or The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy finally realizes that “there’s no place like home.” If you don’t feel like you got something out of the movie, what’s the point of watching it?

#2 Clean

I’m truly sad that good, clean movies are becoming more and more scarce. If it’s not rated PG-13 or R, no one wants to watch it, so all kinds of filthy language and dirty scenes are added to movies to get the rating and popularity. However, back in the day, movie ratings were much different. What is rated PG now might have been "R" back in the mid-1900s: the classic Psycho was rated “R” in the 1960s, but it wasn’t full of cuss words, inappropriate scenes, or even lots of blood and gore. It was simply a movie that scared people, as was its purpose.

#3 Good Morals

The classics are often filled with people who have good morals: they do what is right for no other reason than because it is right. Leave It To Beaver is a classic T.V. show about a boy who can’t seem to keep from getting into trouble, but his parents continually guide him and teach him how to choose between right and wrong. Also, classics are full of people who put truth to the statement,“Chivalry is not dead.” Men treat women with respect and as actual human beings instead of objects of pleasure. They open doors, stand up when a lady enters, and tip their hats when a female passes. Women of today want men like in the classics.

There are so many things you can take from watching an old Fred Astaire movie or even a film adaptation of Tom Sawyer. These classics are valued because they are clean and positive and full of things we can learn and grow from. They are movies you finish with a smile on your face. Movies you want to go back and watch again and again.