Sociological movie making - Crash!

 

Cast Sandra Bullock Don Cheadle Matt Dillon Thandie Newton Brendan Fraser William Fichtner Jennifer Esposito Ryan Phillippe Tony Danza Keith David

Directors Paul Haggis

Screenwriters Paul Haggis Bobby Moresco

I hadn't realised that the cop was Ryan Phillippe.  Paul Haggis also wrote and directed In the valley of Elah. I gave them both a 3.75/5. Hmmm not a great film either of them but though provoking and difficult subject matter to tackle without being too sacremental
It makes it's strong points about racism and prejudices and fear and hatred. Ingroups and outgroups - (Tajfel). And anger and blame. How people take out their issues on others. Lack of self awareness and all about self gain. This all ends happily except for the one happy-go-lucky criminal and the suffering father. It's a creul world according to this film. There was no goodness overall. The odd deed of true humanity but a rarity. And the criminal who has certain morals right at the end. And the righteous black woman who is suddenly racist against chinese - and so on and so on.
Yup it mades it's point alright. It saddened me to have it all highlighted like that.

I remembered how threatened I suddenly felt when in Johannesburg. I was too flipping arrognat prior to that to realise I could be a minority. I was suddenly very aware that I was an unwelcome white. And then the risk we took without even realising it when we decided to drive from Pretoria, beautiful Pretoria to Sun City - 3 hours of driving without another car or town. It was all so spontaneou but now I would really be overly cautious and not do it without better preparation. At the time I just didn;t even consider the dangers. And after all we made it OK. That was always how my life was .... when did it change. When did I start becoming cautious to the point of withdrawal and anxiety. And after reading today how the brain cells are actually different in those people who have depression .... interesting.
In Niger there just wasn't the same hostilility. The very opposite. Not subservient but definitely interested in us whitey's. L.A. Well that was a culture shock. I didn't believe anyone when they said no one walks anywhere because it's too dangerous. Not even across the street. So off I went to the off licence over the road. Very quickly I realised this was trouble. I ran back to the hotel room. That was the last time and I had to buy into the fear and do what everyone did - for my own safety.
Having been to New York from 1978 until 1998 I truly saw some changes in the fears and attitudes. The zero tolerance did alter things - in downtown Manhattan - but not out of the centre. Bronx and Queens were still troubled areas. And then even in the rich suburbs like Garden City, well I saw the wealthy whites and the poor blacks.
As I was writing to my friend, I feel sad about the way folk focus on the differences. Sure there are differences, we are each and every one of us individual. But we are all humans and there are more similarities if we could only all find love. I say that to someone like my dad and he immediately picks up on "their" attitude towards "us". Ugh! Putting me in his us is so uncomfortable. Anyway, it's everyone, every race, culture, religion, community, person. If everyone could put away the differences and enmbrace the similarities - there is a lot of repairing to do. I think there are increasing numbers of people working in that direction. Not enough. I have my prejudices - I realise that I have been anti fat people and older people at differnt times. Not rude or mean. But I would probably choose to talk to someone else. I am not like this I hope now. I try to embrace everyone. I realise I can't like everyone as their are differences that cannot be overcome but I do not hate and want to destroy because of the differences. I can agree to disagree and use that as a way to explore my differences. No blame or shaming.
I pray for more people to be more tolerant and patient. I pray for that for myself.
But this has been going on since the day Adam bit into the apple and Cain and Abel were born. We have a long way to go before there is ever an Eden again.

So anyway this film is critiqued as a socialogical presentation and that it was. It certainly evoked feelings in me. I get very stressed in films anticipating the killing or the trouble or similar. I realied I ate 2 apples on the stress of anticipation. Not good.

Bliss
XX

Therapeutic trust

I think I hear in M her desire to have a degree of control but there is a real validity in knowing her therapists background.
I wrote this to her but decided against sending it ....
As I am studying about affective disorders and the value of psychotherapy either instead of or as well as chemical treatment I wondered if you had managed to acquire more inforamtion of the therpaists training and experiences and which perspective she specialises in or is she integrative. We practice integrative psychotherapy but Aleans more strongly towards psycho analysis. My slant is from a humanistic direction but of course involves behavioural as well as psycho analytic/dynamic. I also adopt NLP and REBT alongside CBT - etc. Actualy the 12 Steps is all of them.I am learning and growing with every year. Experience in my opinion as well as personal aptitude counts highly - both in observation of colleagues and personal experience as a client. But everyone has their own preferences as I see daily with clients. There is no rule.

Stoical versus outwardly passionate

An interesting dichotomy. As are many others. Compartmentalised versus whole, active versus accepting ...... there are more that raise curiosity in me. Oh commitment versus variety yes that's another as I read with amusement about the Coolidge effect.

I would love to have these debates with a diverse group of people and try to be open to the ideas of people from different backgrounds and experiences. I hear mainly about being in control of oneself . A was talking ahout being stoical as if this is a great quality. I like calm when it truly is an inner calm but a forced outwardly only stoic to me is actually a lie. It actually is quite annoying how there is a judgement that goes with that too. Or rather I feel angry I am just realisng. There is a criticism of me I think built into that by A, R and G. I have talked openly about physical changes as I have been going through menopause. Gosh as I write that I think flip! How have I become to this time in my life when mainly I feel so much younger. It seems impossible that the years have passed so damned quickly. And I laugh as I write this as when I was yonger I used to tut and mock the so-called elders as they said those very words. Ha! And those words are truly coming from me and not a replica. How very funny.
Anyway back to my irritation moving towards anger at believing I am being criticised for my way of managing my menopausal symptoms. And I guess that's where I can see that for A is is far more valuable to be stoic even if inside she is not feeling that way. I wonder where that comes from. Her sister C is very supposedly stoical (again I think that's an attempt at appearance because actually I experience her as nervy and uncertain and seeking back-up approval). G even acts as if she is serene and yet all those years she has been hiding her deepest darkest secrets. That only comes from shame surely. So, I notice that I feel like  need to air or exorcise all their faults to get the shaming I feel by them. I don't need to do it directly with them as it's actually nothing at all to do with them. I know that. But this is a part of my process. I say that as a way of excusing this meed in case anyone I know ever reads it. I really do know it's not about anyone else. It is about my reactions and thoughts about things that evokes the feelings within me. And that is when it helps me to write, write, write before I open my mouth. Then I can see whether I need to say anything or whether I can just let it go. And let it go without enabling too. That's another dichotomy. If I let go and have no emotional reaction anymore do I still say something??
I could ask if they have found it difficult hearing all my moans and groans. Hmmm that's not really going to work as they will be all code about that and say no no no then come up with some sort of justified explanation that still tells me they would prefer not to hear it all but never being direct. So they were pretty obvious yesterday. No moaning basically.
It's not permitted to be anaything but OK. I feel angry about that as it's just another group of people that won't allo others to simply be and therefore don't allow each other to simply be and it's all fucked up despite appearances.
Ha! How flipping judgemental of me. There's another dichotomy - have judgements but not working towards loving all and moving away from judgement. I guess so long as it's working but the sad thing is it's not. It's full of flaws.

Well as I am studying about emotions, it all fits in well. The ways in which different cultures promote or discourage the display of emotions. I wonder where the culture of stoicism falls within A's family. I can see how the Victorians would have developed Darwins statement that emotion is an unnecessary fallout from our animal roots. He said that emotions had outlived their usefulness. Thus I can see how to be emotional would have been considered to be quite animal-like. And then special forces in the army are prided on their lack of emotion, purely rational decision-making, regardless of death and killing. It is all revered as heroic and special". I lean more to the way of the Dalai Llama who is aware of anger and sadness for example and of happiness and disgust or fear and surprise. Accoring to Paul Ekman as a result of his tudies, the 6 basic emotions he considered are universal and therefore inherited. To me it's our emotions that are a part of our instinct and the reading or telepathy between humans. Theory of mind - gosh I remember more that I realise I even know.
So I buy more into the stoicism through emotional awareness developing emotinal intelligence. Not to push feelings down to appear stoic but to go through them working towards stoicism, i.e. wholesome calm. The more I practice the sooner I get to the stoicism these days. And I feel fulfilled, not stunted or weighted with the past. I feel light and in the present. Well more and more I am experiencing this difference and cherish it.
But if others find a different way to manage this all but weird and brief time on this planet who am I to say there is a better way. There are simply ways. The other way wasn't serving me too well and this way is serving me better the more I grow. Long live peace and serenity but even in that I am calmer as I know that everything changes and there is an AFGO with every turn.

Lots to write but studying to get on with - I will add more as I go along ......
Ah ha - "Social control of expressions results in their rapid inhibition, not the elimination, of their display" (MacKintosh, B, 2007, pg.44). Absolutely and the experiement this is referring to involves some Japanese and American people watching video clips. When on their own the Japanese show their emotional experssions. But when with other people they start to show the expression then correct themselves and smile instead!!! And people do truly value the ability to be "emotionless". For me I spent my life trying to be because it was my fathers value and in fact he condemned emotionally expressive people including my mum and eevn baby me. I was criticised for crying as a little girl.
It's infuriating but I cannot try to tell others how to be otherwise I am being the same as him. Unless of course people are coming for professional support.
Hmm - maybe the Japanese people in the experiment had been westernised? There's a confounding variable to consider.

Bliss
xx