Your Three Global Recommendations

[Karifean]

If you have the opportunity to have everyone in the world experience three movies/books/albums/comics/games/TV series, and only three, which would it be? Which artistic works do you feel EVERYONE should experience for themselves at some point, which you feel is underappreciated by the general public? Something you think people would enjoy but never give a fair shot? But remember... you can only choose three.

The end result is that everyone in the world gives it a fair shot all the way to the end, goes in with an unbiased outlook and forms their own personal opinion of it afterwards. So are there these particular works of art that you feel would enrich the lives of many people that for one reason or another don't get to experience them?

Very tough decision for me, and probably subject to change as I'm just now starting to really get into exploring different series, etc. And I never really got into reading, so I've yet to find a book like that.

In no particular order.

#1: Elfen Lied (Anime)
While many don't think highly of this anime, there are people, like me, who adore it. It is the one anime that changed my look on anime series forever and made me interested in finding another to surpass it. If there are just a handful of people who don't know about it yet can come to think of it as highly as I do, I would globally recommend it in a heartbeat.

#2: Final Fantasy X (Game)
I think it would be cheap to just write the entire series, although it would be true, so I just picked one. Just like Elfen Lied, it's a mixed bag. Some people hate it, some people adore it, like myself. I played it at a young age and it was one of two games, along with Final Fantasy VII, that proved to me that games can be for so much more than mere playing. It's not that Final Fantasy X is particularly unknown, but I believe there to be many, many people who would love it if they ever gave it a chance. And if it possibly affects them the same way it did me, there's no reason for me to even consider otherwise.

Don't know a #3 yet. I have a few possible contenders, but give me some time to decide.

[Shorty]

This is a little confusing because when I think about what recommendations I would make to other people, I am not thinking about how well-received it they are.

1. I would and do recommend Ender's Game to everyone to read.

2. Death Cab for Cutie. I think they are one of those bands with many songs that which everyone can relate to in different ways. Many of their songs of their have cleverly written lyrics or metaphors, which I think is something everyone can appreciate.

3. Choosing a third is difficult. I think I would probably recommend everyone to watch On the Waterfront. It tells such a brilliant story of inner conflict, sacrifice, persuasion and conscience, and battling what is wrong and what is right in the face of a terrifying and brutal force. It is a mirrored reflection of what the director went through in real life, and for him to tell such a personal story through film to resound so loudly in historic cinema is simply incredible. Additionally, I think it could be argued that the speech the priest makes down on the docks is one of the greatest ever written.

[Slothy]

1. I would and do recommend Ender's Game to everyone to read.

I really need to get around to reading that.

My picks:
1) Farscape. It might be the zaniest, most off the wall sci-fi TV series I've ever seen. They literally threw everything at the wall to see what stuck and most of it did. And it also had some great characters who underwent some great development at a time when sc-fi shows still weren't really doing a lot of that. It's definitely one of my favourite shows of all time, and it is just plain fun. And even when it's not fun, it's usually heart wrenchingly good.

2) Tool. Probably my favourite band. Specifically I'd say their album Lateralus because I think it would not only have the widest appeal, but is also possibly their best album (I always waffle between this and 10,000 days). The majority of the album is uplifting, inspiring, challenging, and not to sound too silly or cheesy, listening to it straight through is the closest I've come from a work of art to understanding what people mean when they talk about having a spiritual experience.

3) smurf 3 is hard. This is the point where you've thrown out two choices and then realize that you only have one left and you don't want to screw up. I think I'll go with Dune because it's easily my favourite novel and is required reading if you like science fiction. I reserve the right to change number 3 to something else though.

[noxious.sunshine]

1.) Dragonriders of Pern. Specifically Dragonflight and Dragonsdawn. Dragonsflight was the first published Pern novel while Dragonsdawn is chronologically the beginning of the entire story of Pern. The series spans well over 20 books with a time frame of about a millenia, if not more. I haven't read every single one yet, but they're so so amazing.

2.) A movie... Hum. Probably the animated Alice in Wonderland or Pocahontas. I love them both.

3.) Ace of Bäse. I was gonna say like Backstreet Boys or Bjork , but Ace of Bäse is a legit good group.... Or used to be. Whatever. Lol

[Loony BoB]

Oh, geez, this is nigh on impossible given the range of things I can pick from. These are three, but I like too many things for them to be my "all time" three.

1. The Raven book series by James Barclay - it's like Final Fantasy in book form. It's awesome, entertaining, engrossing and has a healthy mix of deep/intense and funny/witty moments.
2. Suits, the TV series, so I can go on about it with a few more people than I already do.
3. Intouchables, the French film, because it's extremely rare I can find a movie that I could watch about four times in one year, let alone one week. I can only think of about three or four movies I've ever been able to do that with, and this is the one that I feel would be most universally enjoyed.

4. The Emperor's New Groove & Final Fantasy VII - my favourite movie and my favourite game, I only name them in this 'also worth mentioning' spot because most people have already seen/played them so I don't need to force anyone.

[noxious.sunshine]

YOU CHEATED AND PUT LIKE 5 THINGS!

You can't do that!

lol

[Pike]

1. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - because holy trout.

2. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - needs to be played while doing a serious study of lore or else it won't be properly appreciated. Spend your mornings on UESP/TIL and your evenings playing this and it's a trip like none other.

3. Deus Ex - dat atmosphere.

[Loony BoB]

YOU CHEATED AND PUT LIKE 5 THINGS!

You can't do that!

lol

I did leave a gap and say that they were in the "also worth mentioning" spot. It's unofficial.

[Karifean]

Final Fantasy VII - my favourite game

Dude, spoilers!

Intouchables really was a great movie, along with Gran Torino and Invictus one of the best I've ever seen.

I'm thinking of putting Steins;Gate as my #3, but it kinda hits the same tones as Elfen Lied. You're right, the third is really hard -_-

[Jinx]

1. Album: Tori Amos, From the Choirgirl Hotel. I first heard this album when I was six years old, and literally changed my life. I started me on a 16 year love affair with Tori Amos. Her music in general means so much to me, but this album has so many songs that just move me and have seen me through hard times in life.
2. Movie(s): The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. They're brilliant. Seriously. (And no I don't care if it's technically 3 movies, I'm counting it as one.)
3. Book(s): Harry Potter series. While they're not my favorite books of all time, and aren't the best written, they are still so so so wonderful. This series was the series that got me interested in reading. So many years of my life and emotions went into this series. Entire friendships started just on this common ground. I want everyone to have that experience.

[Madame Adequate]

1. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - because holy trout.

2. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - needs to be played while doing a serious study of lore or else it won't be properly appreciated. Spend your mornings on UESP/TIL and your evenings playing this and it's a trip like none other.

3. Deus Ex - dat atmosphere.

[Quindiana Jones]

1. Dresden Files.

2. Dreden Trilogy to occur after the conclusion of the 25 book introductory series.

3. I can't decide which anime to put here.

[Pike]

You know the most difficult part of this question for me was choosing between Deus Ex and X-Com: UFO Defense, but ultimately I had to go with the former. I'd slot X-Com in as a runner-up.

[Bolivar]

I'd recommend they read Hyperion by Dan Abrams, watch Solaris by Tarkovsky, and play Sword of Vermilion by Yu Suzuki.

[Spuuky]

1. Gothic 2 (especially for people who care about "atmosphere" - hi people who have already said Deus Ex, it's a totally different atmosphere but it's worth the barrier of entry). It does have a high barrier of entry (some kind of bad controls, a few bugs, some dated graphics, ideally having played through Gothic 1) but that's why I'd put it on a list to force people to experience. Once you commit, it's incredible.

2. Oh who cares I already listed the important one.

*snip*

Also, I don't think listing stuff like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Final Fantasy 7 and X, or any other massively appreciated media is a very good choice. People have already seen/read/etc them, and they certainly aren't under-appreciated. People typically already give them "a fair shot."

We generally don't go around calling the entire forum incompetent ~ Vivi22