Friday, November 23, 2007

OH I GLASS HOUSE! lets throw some stones
I think my Friday night movie ritual has a lot to answer for when it comes to this blog. I rented ‘Reign Over Me’ last night, I actually have no idea why I just seen a poster for it the other day and I just felt like watching it. I was pretty surprised after watching this film how appropriate it was at the moment. All week I have been really annoyed about the way everyone around me seem to think that they know what is best and that they are adjusted enough to give everyone advice and expose them to the brutal truths of reality. But if they actually stepped back and took a proper look at themselves they would find that the people they are trying to reshape are no different from themselves.

A friend of mine had a fight with her father she called him weak and said that he needed to take more action or people would walk all over him, in disgust she said to me ‘damn why can’t he be more like me, I mean I never let people tell me what to do. I always let people know how I feel about them.’ It took me all my time not to burst out laughing at her, this is the same person who is practically a lap dog, she works double loads, and will work through illness because she to afraid to say no to her boss or ask for time off, she even gave up a new career because her best friend said she couldn’t miss her wedding. But as funny as it is, it’s infuriating at the same time. I mean what right did she have to say such things when she is no different to that person.
It was just like this film Johnson believes that Charlie needs help that he needs to face his grief and personal issues otherwise he’ll never be happy. But even though Charlie doesn’t not express his grief is a so-called conventional way he still grieves in his own way. While Johnson himself can’t face anyone around him, he has no friends because he can’t tell his wife he needs space and his business partner’s walk all over him. Both characters are trapped but the difference being that Charlie has no desire to free himself or tell others how to live. And throughout the film everyone seems to try to push Charlie to be more like them, to do things the way they perceive as socially acceptable but in the end it nearly gets him institutionalised he can’t handle things the way other people can, he is different. It doesn’t mean that he is any less or a perceived human.
But it really got me thinking are these people nieve or just ignorant. Is it that people like this recognise that they aren’t able to stand up for themselves and take their own self loathing out on people that reminds them of themselves or is it that they truly think they are stronger and push weaker people around to achieve a sense of power that is normally unachievable for them in society? I get it that people fear what they don’t understand and they try to change it to fit something they see as more acceptable but why does that have to apply to human personality? Why can’t people just be left to deal with their own issues, in their own way, over their own time, if that’s what they truly want?

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