Grace is Gone - Realistic

             

Grace is gone is a 2007 movie directed by James C. Strouse. It star John Cusack as the father of two girls Dawn ( 8 years old) and Hiedi (12 years old), who struggles to tell his children that their mom (his wife) has died in the Iraq war while serving.

            At the beginning of the film Stanley Philips (John Cusack) can be seen going to a support group for army spouses in which their other half are in battle. Him going to the support group itself depicts that he has trouble coping with his wife fighting in battle while he his at home. Besides that, he was the only male in the group,  this shows differences in the role male and female take in parenting. Stanley Philips and his wife Grace broke the usual norm of husbands going off for battle and wife staying back at home. This led him to take up the role as a mother as well while his wife was away, which was different and slightly difficult for him.

          When Stanley gets news that the his wife has passed away in battle, a series of episodes take place. Throughout the movie it shows his stages of grief, the five stages of loss and grief experienced by Stanley Philips can be seen through Elisabeth Kubler-Ross theory.

5 Stages of Loss & Grief
  1. Denial & Isolation (First reaction someone goes through when there is death of a love one is to deny it. This is a form of coping mechanism to cope with shock. One example is to block out words and hid from facts)
      -When Stanley Philips opened the door to see to army men on his door step, he refused to let them in at first but after awhile heard what they had to say. Even when he knew what happened he refused to tell his children about it just yet which led him to avoid it by taking them on a trip to enchanted gardens. Later you could also see him in his mothers house lying in bed isolating his self.

  2. Anger (When denial & isolation begins to wear down, reality and the pain which comes with loss of someone re-emerges, but one is still not ready to come with terms with the death. This is where anger emerges, anger may be aimed at friends, family or the person who had died.)
      - On the way to the Enchanted Gardens, Stanley stops by his mother's place in which he sees his slacker brother. Before getting on the road again, his brother gets a call about the death of Grace (his brothers wife) in which he confronts Stanley and asked why he hasn't told the kids. Stanley gets really angry and throws a fit in which his anger is outrages.

3. Bargaining ( Bargaining is done when someone tries to regain control over the situation so that the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability can be diminish, 'what if's' situations.)
   -Stanley can be seen calling home to hear his wife's voice and as well to talk to her. In one conversation with her he tell hers he does not know what to or how to tell the kids. He states as well that it should have been him out there and not her. That he should have gone for battle, in that way she would still be here.

4. Depression ( Associated with mourning)
    - Throughout the movie while Stanley is on the road with his kids, Heidi asks her father is anything is wrong as she can see sadness within him. He also acted differently, and avoided his the underlying issue by giving his kids everything they wanted such as ear piercing and watching tv till the next morning.
5. Acceptance ( finally coming to terms with the death of a loved one)
    - Stanley finally comes to terms with the death of his wife Grace when he stops at the beach and finally tells his children that their mom has passed away. One other reason why he could not tell his children earlier as well could be cause when he does, he must finally accept that he has lost his wife.

Insomnia
Moving on to Heidi, at the age of 13 she has insomnia. Symptoms of Insomnia are not being able to sleep at night, or lack of sleep. It causes day time sleepiness and feeling lethargic. Heidi, can seen falling asleep in class and when they were staying in the hotels, she can't sleep at night, sometimes she wonders off out of the hotel when she's awake in the middle of the night. The cause of this sometimes are psychological factors, one of it could be due to the fact that her mom left for war.

This story is about loss and some say it most accurately depicts how family of an army victim feel. John Cusack played a different role in this movie which was shocking to me, I am or well was only exposed to his rom com movies and this is well, refreshing.

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Sybil (1976) - Riveting

          

  Sybil is a 1976 movie based on a true story which is about the disorder known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Bare in mind, although it is a true story there are controversies about the client Sybil and her diagnosis. I would also like to point that there was a recent remake of the film in 2007 where the story varies a little from the original movie. All in all the outcome of the book published about Sybil (Real name Shirley Mason) made DID (aka Multiple Personality Disorder) an official disorder in the DSM-111. There are still many individuals both scientist and psychologist alike who questions the validity of DID.

                In the movie, Sybil a Kindergarten teacher can be first seen having flashbacks while noticing a old lady pushing a girl on a swing, her flashbacks was of a younger girl being abused violently but when she is back to the present moment she seemed to be in different place altogether not knowing how she got there.

Real Sybil (Shirley Mason)

                One symptom of DID is that clients has amnesic episodes where they can't remember what had just happened or how they got to a different place. This cause anxiety or fear because one is unable to control their own life.

                 This fear and anxiety caused by puzzlement in ones own life cause Sybil to end up in  Dr. Wilbur's office (unknowingly she broke a window and hurt herself in the process). After that incident she herself comes to see Dr. Wilbur seeking help for her moodiness with her father. At one point Sybil's fear and anxiety built up that Sybil was about to commit suicide, that is when Vicky emerges (one of Sybil's split personality). Vicky is aware of Sybil and the other personalities Sybil has (16 personalities one of which is a child) but Sybil isn't. Vicky is the one who tells the past and other things that Sybil would not say to Dr. Wilbur.

              What Dr. Wilbur found out was that Sybil had a traumatic past with her mother who was 'diagnosed' as schizophrenic and her father who was quite neglectful (fathers were not responsible of their daughters development and care at that time because the culture of those time were of such where only the mom is responsible for it and father's to provide for the family). Her traumatic past cause Sybil to repressed her feelings and past through forming different personalities. That was her defense mechanism, what Sybil could not do, her other personalities could. Sybil was shy whereas one of her other personality was not.

              Defense Mechanism, Repressed memories and traumatic past such as childhood abuse (including sexual abuse) can be seen under the psychoanalytic perspective. This was the approach Dr. Wilbur used as later Dr. Wilbur does hypnosis to Sybil to find out her varying personalities as well as to make her a whole again. Only with hypnosis can these repressed memories and feelings emerge from the unconscious mind.

            I would also like to point out that Jung's Persona which is another word for mask is similar to DID. It talks about the different roles individuals play in society. We wear different mask (have different personalities) in different settings such as being in a party compared to being at work. One reason why we do it is so we are accepted by that certain group or we do not want to seem as an open book thus masking our true self. This of cause is normal in our everyday lives, DID disrupts normal human functioning and destroys relationships.

            Other themes found in this movie is stereotype and discrimination towards female psychologist and psychiatrist. Strong religious background (& culture) also caused in-congruence in Sybil's life where she has a personality just for her religious view and another personality just to act out against her religious upbringing

            While Sybil's case may have been misleading as the drugs given to her allowed her to fantasize and dream by Dr. Wilbur and all her personalities only started to emerge more after their sessions (causing some to assume Dr. Wilbur lead her client to believe she has these personalities), there are other cases which were true. Studies has also shown that a part of the brain of DID clients are different than of others. One true and interesting case (Sybil apparently was a scam in which Dr. Wilbur and her real client may have exaggerated it to become rich and famous) on a guy name Billy Milligan who had 24 different personalities one of which is a rapist and murderer. He would go for about 10 years not knowing what he has done (amnesia). He was one of the first cases in which charges were all dropped due to DID. Rumors has it that the life of Billy Milligan will be  adapted into a movie in which Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in and James Cameron may be the director. YESSSSS!
           

Billy Milligan's own painting of a few of his 24 personalities

Whale Rider - Phantasmic

  

           Whale Rider (2002) is a New Zealand film which is based on the Maori Tribe (Whangara tribe in particular). It is a film a bout the chief of the community who is trying to find a male successor to lead the tribe to a better future. Koro the chief, finds it difficult as his first born child rejected this offer, moreover the son of Koro (Porourangi) lost his first born male child and his wife. The only one left was that child's twin Paikea, but according to customs and traditions of this tribe, Paikae a femal cannot take the role of the successor, only a male can. The movie shows the struggle of girl who wants to accepted by her grandfather, to show him that she is capable and the story of a grandfather who is blinded by his culture and traditions.

      Paikea, while loved by her grandfather (Koro), only took up roles of a female in her tribe, she was never allowed to do the things or take up responsibility such as the boys in the tribe. She knew about her past where her twin brother passed away causing her grandfather to hold a slight grudge on her (thinks she caused it), he also affiliates all the other bad luck the tribe has had to her, this is because she had broke the rules and traditions of the tribe.

     From this movie the stereotype of gender can be clearly seen. The female in this indigenous tribe has a submissive role, they never make decisions and can never be a chief of their tribe. Specific roles are given to them and when it is not obeyed, consequences are there.

     Besides that, sexism can be seen as well. Koro gave the boys who were trying out for chief more attention than he gave to Paikea. She could not do the Taihaha (ways to battle) because she was a female, when Koro saw her doing so he said that she had dishonored the ancestors. Koro treated her differently and did not want to see that she was capable because she was a girl.

Erikson's psycho-social development 

Koro's attitude and actions can be seen from Erikson's point of view.
He finally sees that his son Porourangi does not want to take up the role of chief. Koro was unhappy and distress by this, though after contemplating his emotions had change as he came up with an idea. He needed to teach the young generation the ways of the tribe so that in future they can take after him and he can choose a successor whom can take over his role since he is not getting any younger. He groups all the first born boys in his community to teach them and train them the ways of his ancestors.

This can be seen in the 7th stage of Eriksons psycho-social development
Generativity vs Stagnition
- Koro volunteers to teach the younger generation what he knows not letting the knowledge he has go to waste. This is him contributing back to the society through raising they boys in their traditions and being active in his community

Towards the end of the film, when the boys are finally ready for their final test, Koro throws the tooth of the whale (Rei puta) in the sea and they first boy who finds it is heir to the thrown, although no one finds it. Who was very unhappy and fell into depression as he could not find an heir and that his community would probably go their own way leaving the tribe to deteriorate.

This can be seen in the 8th stage of Erikson's psycho-social development
Ego Integrity vs Despair
This is where Koro contemplate his accomplishments and see if he had a successful life. He thinks he has done nothing to save his community hence feel hopeless.

The main theme surrounding this film is old vs new. Koro wants his culture to remain exactly as it is with no change. That is exactly why his tribe is falling apart and is not developing financially and so on. But in a ever-changing world, a few changes has to be made in order to live happily. How can the things surrounding us change but not us. This would lead to stagnation thus only deteriorating the tribe causing the people in it to leave. At the end Koro finally realizes this and is aware that Paikea is the next heir of the throne who can lead his people to a better future.