Posted by fallsfall on March 16, 2005, at 20:37:51
In reply to Re: Go see this Marlee Matlin movie, posted by caraher on March 16, 2005, at 17:17:03
I read the web page you referenced. I can't say one way or another because I don't understand enough of the science.
From my time last night with my friends I was able to see that they took much more of a spiritual message from the movie than I did. I was much more into the physical side of things. I found that the movie introduced me to things. Understanding Peptides, for instance, has helped me to understand how things are coordinated in my body. Their visualization of the neurons in the brain helped me to understand why my recovery from depression is taking a long time (I've been depressed for a very long time, so the "depression" pathways in my brain are firmly entrenched). I think there is also a connection between how my therapist says that my behavior encourages him (and others) to repeat the patterns from my past, and the idea in the movie that we have more control than most people realize over how our lives turn out.
I think that I've been fairly oblivious to the "cult" tendency that your source talks about. My friends tend to see it as we have control/responsibility over our lives. At this point in my journey, having control and responsibility is a bit scary for me! I can see how people might object to that part of it. I thought that their discussion of God was a bit "brazen", but my own beliefs are that different people have different needs and beliefs about God, and that all beliefs are valid for those individuals. So I am happy to let those in the movie believe what they want to, as long as it works for them. My own beliefs are not so different from what they described, so perhaps that is why it didn't bother me so much. I do think that you can accept some of what is discussed in the movie without accepting it all. And I hope that brings information and discussion to those who see the movie.
In general, I thought the movie did a good job of explaining some pretty complicated concepts. And even if people see the movie and then decide that what it is saying is wrong, at least it has started a conversation about those things.
For me, it has reminded me that I enjoy learning about new things (and this is non-trivial with someone who is as severely depressed as I am). I held the first party I have given in many years. It has increased my patience with my therapy (and my impatience has presented a problem in the past). So, for me it has been a good thing.
I hope that the movie is helpful to you in some way, too.
poster:fallsfall
thread:406677
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050316/msgs/471873.html