There is freedom when there is choice, and freedom from fear when there is freedom of choice. This is my biggest feeling after watching the movie "The Assistant" (The Assistant 2019). I think the heroine in this film is not far from depression, because she lives in fear of the workplace all day, and the source of her fear comes from her lack of freedom of choice. She has nothing more than doing this job. Good job is optional.
Of course she knows that she is doing repetitive and boring service work all day long and is getting further and further away from her career ideals, but what can she do. The pressure from all sides gathered together, and it deepened her sense of no choice. (1) The second male colleague in the office shouldn't be Xiaobai, and his qualifications in all aspects are not worse than her. He kept his breath under the boss's nose and endured the boss's roar. (2) The human resources manager of the company, she wanted to complain to him about the unfair personnel arrangements, but she never wanted to be severely warned: For your job position, there are more than 400 Ivy League college graduates who have applied for employment. (3) After the boss knew that she complained, the choice he gave her was: either leave or apologize; more importantly, even the apology must be extremely humble with a grateful heart: "I am very grateful for the opportunity Working in the company, I won’t let you down anymore.” “I’m glad to have the opportunity to continue to work for you, and I won’t let you down anymore.” This is what the two colleagues gave her. Stance. (4) Everyone mistakenly thought that she was really worried about the girls for the boss' improper behavior, but the consolation of the company's seniors in the elevator was: "Don't worry, she will get more than him, trust me. "(5) I thought that my parents might understand her and would be her last bastion. As a result, the first thing my parents care about is the treatment of her big company: "You work there, the opportunity is good, and we are all happy for you." (6 To make matters worse, she finally stared at the boss's window that was still lit, and her gloomy expression seemed to reveal her subconscious fear: even if she wanted to sell, I was not his food.
Just imagine, what kind of pressure is this? The pressure from all parties is actually creating an atmosphere of terror: Do you think you have a choice? Do you have a better choice? What else can you do after resigning? As long as her inner cry is no higher than these horrible sounds, she must continue to bear it, otherwise she may face a mental breakdown.
To be honest, whether it is a company, an enterprise, or an institution, if you dare to bully you, what you see is that you have no choice. If you have a choice and don’t look up to it, then you are the lord and you will be highly regarded, but How many people can have this ability? The most indispensable thing in this world is people. Horror is one of its operating methods. What you can strive for is to strive for as many options as possible under this operation, but never expect to get out of the end.
Although the "freedom from fear", one of the four freedoms proposed by President Roosevelt back then, was proposed in the context of World War II, and more of the freedom from danger to life and safety, but in today's peaceful era, "freedom from fear" was proposed in the context of World War II. "Fear" increasingly points to psychological safety. This kind of fear caused by workplace pressure can destroy people’s souls as much as they deprive people of life. This should cause us to pay enough attention. I think, we are paying attention to me too. In addition to sports, this is another meaning of the film. (Written by Slate Planting Flowers Friday, May 8, 2020, thanks to the Ferry Subtitles Team for providing the Chinese subtitles for this film!)
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