The 2016 movie ‘Collateral Beauty’ was heavily criticized for being unable to live up to the expectations, despite having numerous A-listers. There was also plenty of questions regarding the premise and the message it was sending to society at large, so what does collateral beauty mean exactly?
Something beautiful about the movie was the theme that focused on how to rediscover oneself after a disastrous personal tragedy. It deals with one of the hardest themes ever expressed through an act – the loss of a child.
Collateral beauty consists of experiences, memories and connection that tie two persons together. It is something that lasts even after the death of one of them.
It is that beauty which the survivor of the relationship treasures for the lifetime. It is a beautiful, bright part of a tragedy. Collateral beauty refers to the time and love in memory with somebody you have lost.
The Inner Beauty
Collateral beauty is a type of beauty that lies within. It cannot be seen directly because it hides in something dark happening to the person.
The meaning of this term is that there is something beautiful always taking place for you, no matter how difficult the time is.
It is a beauty that seems impossible to be seen. However, it can often turn out to become the best thing in life.
It is a beauty that you find in things you have, forgetting about everything you wanted in life. When you forget about your goals, wishes and ego, you can feel the beauty of things you already own. This inner beauty helps you feel happy and satisfied with whatever you have.
The Meaning Behind Something
Collateral beauty is a term used largely to explain the hidden meaning behind something. When a person encounters tragedy, he tries to see the hidden meaning behind it once he starts to heal. The beautiful thing gives meaning to life and makes it worth living.
It takes a lot of time to understand that love continues through and after death and the trauma brings us closer to the love and connection we shared with the person.
It also raises the significance of the love that person shared with you and the ways he affected your and others’ lives.
This movie explores different kinds of emotional pain in life and the ways to cope with it. It focuses on the aspects of emotional pain – love, time and death.
It shows us that these three elements ultimately affect the way we react to tragedy. If the pain came from something we didn’t love, we won’t feel it. We feel pain when we realize that we have no control over time.
The film tries to answer the question of whether a person is capable enough to find the hidden beauty in these three elements amidst the pain coming from them.
People are used to collateral damage – the connection that people share and the feeling of being hurt. However, not all of them discover the hidden things behind these moments that can make them feel better.
The Bright Side
Those who separate may take an entire lifetime to understand the good within the dark. They may take time to realize that love is so strong that even death cannot kill it.
Collateral beauty is often referred to as the bright side of a situation. If the person can look at the bright side of a disheartening event, life becomes easier.
The movie describes the three concepts of love, time and death through the stories and situations of the characters. Collateral beauty shows, in all these three cases, that a source of emotional pain can also be a source of happiness.
It shows that the concept of collateral beauty applies to everybody who can relate to pain and find the bright side through the beauty of love, time and death.
Selfless Kindness
As depicted in the movie, a person becomes kinder after suffering from a tragic situation. This is because when they suffer, they develop empathy for those in suffering. The plot beautifully expresses the act of selfless kindness that comes from tragedy.
Collateral beauty actually becomes a character trait that cannot be seen until the person suffers. It is in the personality of the sufferer and brings big changes to the way the person perceives and behaves after the loss of a loved one.
Collateral beauty affects the personality to a great extent and he comes up with a lot of useful things and qualities that change his life and the lives of those around him.
The Hidden Bliss
Sometimes, collateral beauty can be used to refer to hidden happiness behind some event. This meaning can differ from one individual to another. It can be a good thing for some while others find it negative. If you find that the bliss is hidden as a bad thing, you should look for the collateral beauty in it.
When the person can see the love in the place where darkness lived, he can finally transform the lives of himself and those around to something beautiful.
Collateral beauty is something that will last in your mind and heart forever but you may find it hard to accept at first. When grief heals and you accept that your loved one is gone, you can find the hidden beauty that you once shared with the person and this is what you are left with.
Collateral Beauty can give you life back as you understand that you went through something that life was meant for – Love and there is nothing bigger than it.
Lesson of Life
This term can also be used to describe a lesson learnt from an unfortunate event. As seen in the movie, a person learns a lot of positive things after going through pain. The tragedy experienced in life changes one’s personality to a great extent.
Life is a teacher and it teaches us useful lessons through different experiences. Ultimately, love is the reward in whatever form life gives us.
Collateral beauty is a beautiful concept disguised in dark, tragic experiences in life. It has a deep meaning that the movie explains through the triangle of love, time and death. Collateral beauty is something that lives in all of us and makes our life better if recognized at the right time.
