In the film, on a picturesque sea island, the little boy Ben and his pregnant mother Brona spent their last happy and unforgettable night. Soon after, sister Saoirse was born, but her mother died. In the blink of an eye, six years later, their father Connor never came out of the pain of losing his wife, and Saoirse, who was full of fantasy, stumbled upon the Bei Di left by her mother, and nearly drowned in the sea, which eventually led to her grandmother forcibly taking the two. children from the island. The brothers and sisters couldn't adapt to life in the city. When they were walking on the streets, they accidentally encountered three strange elves. They hope to return to their hometown with the singing of "Seal Girl" Saoirse, and the magical adventure begins.
The picture of the whole film is exquisite, the storyline is full of fairy tale colors, and the beautiful Irish folk songs seem to bring people back to the beautiful world of mythology. However, these beautiful pictures cannot hide the sadness of the whole film.
The old witch Macha in the movie, who specializes in extracting other people's sorrows and who can point spirits into stone statues, is actually the projection of her grandmother, and the crying king MacLir is actually her father. Facing the death of his mother, the father chose to hide his feelings and avoid giving an explanation to the children. Although she loves her children very much, she also ignores her children and their feelings in life; grandma hopes that her father will forget the grief and continue to live, and find ways to let him leave the place where he lived and start over, and grandma's first step It is to start with the children, forcing the two children to leave their father, leave their hometown, and follow themselves back to the big city, without considering the children's feelings; the elder brother is rebellious and blames the younger sister for killing his mother, and he usually bullies his little sister. , I would rather play with my pet dog and confide my sincerity to it than be with my sister; my sister chose autism in this environment. She is almost six years old and has no problem with her vocal organs, but she still doesn’t know how to speak. any word.
The most direct picture in my heart is the glass bottles in the witch Macha's house. In fact, it is not the human soul that is imprisoned, but some negative emotions such as "anger", "sadness", "jealousy", "inferiority" and so on that constantly plague us. We usually hate these negative emotions and hope that we do not Troubled by them, we hope that negative emotions stay away from us. So, there is a lot of chicken soup for the soul. People want to drown their emotions in bowls through these chicken soups for the soul, but when we really leave these emotions, we find that we are incomplete, and even can only be a dumb and cumbersome body like a stone. In fact, these negative emotions are also a very important part of us. They are the warnings of the mind to us, and they need to be faced and adjusted rather than covered up. Escape and confrontation in the whole film have become the main main line of the development of the story. At the end of the film, by no longer suppressing sadness, expressing it and expressing their truest feelings, by singing fairy tales, both father and children get To redeem, to face the reality, but also to give our audience the courage to face themselves.
Of course, I don't want to blindly "criticize" to escape and "advocate" to face it in this article, otherwise it will not be qualitatively different from those essays like chicken soup for the soul. In fact, escaping is a very complex issue. It is not just escaping from negative emotions, but escaping also has a certain function. The famous psychologist Fromm has analyzed the escape mechanism in his book "Escape from Freedom", he believes that escape is derived from the insecurity of isolated individuals. As soon as the originating bond that gives the individual security is severed, as soon as the individual is confronted with an external world that is completely separate and self-contained from himself, he is faced with two choices, as he must overcome an unbearable state of powerlessness and loneliness. One of the paths is to move along "positive freedom"; he can spontaneously connect with the world in love and labor, and can connect with the world in the true expression of his emotions, feelings and thoughts; , a person who is connected to oneself without giving up the independence and integrity of one's self. Another path is to withdraw, to give up freedom, to try to overcome loneliness by bridging the gap between the individual self and society. This second way will never reunite him with the world again, never reach the state he was in before he appeared as an "individual", the fact is that once separated, there is no return. It is an escape from an unbearable situation, and if this situation continues, life will be impossible. So, like the avoidance of any kind of fear, the avoidance has the character of compulsion. It is also somewhat characterized by a complete abandonment of individuality and self-integrity. So it is not a solution that does not bring happiness and positive freedom.
This article argues that escape is a completely internalized and personal concept, originating from the individual's sense of loneliness, which is certainly not as terrifying as the "unbearable loneliness" described by the master Fromm. For example, if you have stayed for a few years in a place that is completely open and inclusive, and there are many people with integrity and excellence, this environment will affect you subtly, and it will produce a qualitative change in you, and you I also feel that this change is very good, and I gladly accept it. But the good times don't last long. For various reasons, you have to leave this environment and come to another, completely different environment. So what changes will happen to you? The author has faced a similar situation. At that time, there will be discomfort at the beginning, but in the busy work, he will try to ignore his discomfort. Over time, the idea of trying to change the environment arises, but deep frustration ensues. Fortunately, the communication is so developed now, and they will often maintain close contact with a few people in the original place. They will also help you analyze some of the problems you are facing, and will give you support and comfort. But although you and the people around you get along very well, there is a big gap between them.
Of course, we all know that there is a gap between soul and soul, which cannot be bridged, but you will find that the gap between you and the people around you is so far and deep, and you will not try to narrow it that much. A little thought, because in your heart you are still afraid that you will be like them in the future, so you choose to escape. I avoid being bound here, so I don’t want to fight for some favorable conditions for myself; I avoid too much communication and disputes, so I usually like to be alone, and dodge when I get off work; I avoid those worldly occasions, so I work hard and earnestly. As soon as the leader comes to inspect, he hides far away, and hates flattering the leader. And it is because of escaping that we can maintain our independence and integrity. Maybe this is the meaning of escaping. Of course, there is also the second case of escape, as Fromm analyzed, that is, "withdrawing, giving up freedom, trying to overcome loneliness by bridging the gap between the individual self and society". This level of evasion will not solve any problems.
Finally, I would like to quote a passage from the Canadian writer Alice Monroe as the conclusion of this article. Although she said escape, it is the escape in my heart: "Escape, maybe the end of the old. Maybe the beginning of the new. Maybe it's just some trivial moments, like relaxing footsteps on the way to watch a play, like a longing for the window in the afternoon."
References
1. Fromm, "Escape from Freedom"
2. Alice Monroe, "Escape"
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