In addition to the lack of family warmth and the loss of hope for the world and others, the cause of depression is another extremely important reason, which is disappointment with the gap between ideals and reality, especially with oneself.
For a long time, we have been poisoned by the blind positive energy of popular culture, especially the heroism, romanticism, and idealism in American culture, making all boys think that as long as they work hard enough, they will succeed like Jobs sooner or later; Girls all think that as long as they are lucky enough, sooner or later they will find their Prince Charming and be happy forever without any worries. But when our boys find out that they don't actually have the qualities for worldly success, when our girls find that all men seem to be so-called scumbags, when we can't face this cruel reality, Depression is unavoidable.
There are actually many such characters. For example, Locke in the American TV series "Lost" (2004-2010) began to believe in himself after overcoming his disability on an isolated island, but he fell down again after encountering setbacks. The defense attorney in Michael Clayton (2007) goes mad when he realizes that he has devoted his life to destroying innocent small town villagers; in Melancholia (2011) there is nothing When the unknown brother-in-law knew that Depression Star was about to hit the earth, he couldn't resist and committed suicide by taking poison. Many Catholics in the United States have been superstitious in the church all their lives. When they know that their children have been sexually abused by priests, they don't know how to face themselves.
But the most famous positive character suffering from depression is Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995).
Buzz Lightyear was a devout religious believer when he was first bought from the store. He considers himself a great fighter, the savior of the universe. People of faith are attractive because they seem to know how to live and know their destiny very well. Faithful lifestyle is also very attractive, because this kind of life is very pure, you can eliminate many distractions and do not have to think about many things. And when faith is strong enough, miracles are indeed possible. With this belief, Buzz Lightyear "flyed" in front of everyone. But this kind of success is very unlikely, just like Buzz Lightyear actually "flyed" by a lot of coincidences. Although Cowboy Woody is jealous of Buzz Lightyear's popularity, Woody has always been very sober: he has never had any illusions about Buzz Lightyear, and always thought Buzz Lightyear was pretending, but he didn't expect him to be Really brainwashed. That's why Cowboy Woody is the leader of the other toys: the other toys just follow the guy who looks the best, but the guy who looks the best is usually either a lunatic or a liar. And because of our own emptiness and confusion, we would rather be deceived and misled than follow our hearts.
Buzz Lightyear relied on his beliefs and lived a very successful and pure life until he saw an advertisement for Buzz Lightyear's toys in a toy store. Buzz Lightyear's entire world collapses when he discovers that his belief is just a lie. Buzz Lightyear spends a full quarter of the film in a state of extreme depression, no longer concerned with his own life or death. This is unprecedented in animation. That's why Toy Story is one of the greatest cartoons in history: not only because it was the world's first computer-generated 3D animation, but because it taught children the power of faith, how to build the right faith, and How to find your place in society.
So how did Cowboy Woody get Buzz Lightyear out of his depression?
First of all, Woody makes Buzz Lightyear realize that he is not alone, in fact, others have the same pain as him. One of the problems with depression is being overly concerned with your own pain, not knowing that someone else's pain may be far greater than his own. Just like in "Little Miss Sunshine", when the gay who tried to commit suicide saw that his nephew did not speak and was more depressed than himself, he suddenly came to life. Sometimes, there is nothing more effective in alleviating your own pain than seeing the pain of others. So when Cowboy Woody told Buzz Lightyear that he had been abandoned by his master and that the real depression should be himself, Buzz Lightyear's depression was relieved. Another problem with depression is loneliness. When we find that we are so similar to another person, or when we are connected by fate, or when we are of the same mind, we no longer feel alone, and even feel invincible.
Then, Woody struck while the iron was hot and continued to let Buzz Lightyear know that he had actually occupied the master's heart and was favored by the master. When Buzz Lightyear saw the signature at his feet, he suddenly came to life. Although Buzz Lightyear lost the love of the universe for him, but with the help of Woody, he got the love of his master again. All people need love. The lack of love is the most fundamental cause of depression. In other words, Buzz Lightyear found the purpose of his life again: his original goal was to save the universe, but now his goal is to please his master. Although the level of life goals has dropped by not one or two points, it is better than no goal at all. This also tells us not to be fooled by popular culture, not to set too big goals for yourself, as long as you have a realistic goal, it is enough to make yourself happy. This reminds me of the mathematician Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001). The fundamental reason for his schizophrenia is because he has set himself too big a goal, his vanity is too strong, and he is poisoned by the American Cold War culture, hoping that his mathematical ability can defeat the Soviet Union and save the United States. In the end, he discovered that the love with his wife was what made him the happiest, not the Nobel Prize.
Therefore, we must be careful when choosing positive energy. If the wrong positive energy is chosen, the blow to a person can be devastating when the disillusionment is disillusioned. Positive energy choices are based on our clearer understanding of ourselves and the entire human race in history and the universe. We should neither underestimate ourselves nor overestimate ourselves. While we have the power to change the world, we are at best robots created by nature. (This is a deep question, and we'll dig deeper when we discuss Westworld in the future.)
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