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Post by chocollama on Mar 30, 2020 0:48:15 GMT -5
Fuck man, this one got me good. I'll respond to the discussion points in the morning. I just watched this and The Florida Project back to back and I'm worn out
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Post by stuartoxlade on Mar 30, 2020 4:31:51 GMT -5
Spoiler discussion questions. I hope we can talk about this film. 1) Like Brian, did you judge the inmates before or during? Why or why not? 2) Have you ever participated in any form of counseling or therapy? 3) Did the openness of the convicts surprise you? Conversely, were you convinced of their honesty? 4) What do think was the reason for allowing the public to be a part of the sessions? 5) Would you sign up for this program as an ordinary outsider? Why or why not? Not a spoiler: this was goddamn great. Review coming Monday. Please watch by the deadline. Yeah agreed Andrew, that really was goddamn great. 1) I think i'm naturally judgemental so there was an element of that, but I think if i was face to face with inmates then I'd be more scared than judgy, so I'd put that to one side and try to understand what put these guys in there in the first place. Everyone makes mistakes right? 2) Nope, but after seeing this, maybe I should 3) Yeah it was eye-opening. That one guy who felt like he was being kept away from his son didn't feel as legit as others and he was holding back quite a bit. I did like that guy who spoke to him though, he's really good at getting people to open up 4) I guess to show that inmates are people too despite their history? 5) I don't think I'd be brave enough but watching this show was really cathartic. Made me realise I have more issues than I probably realised
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Post by poembie on Mar 30, 2020 8:29:09 GMT -5
Very nice recommendation! Here's my response to the discussion points: 1) I didn't judge the inmates, but I did judge the outsiders. In the beginning I thought, "Why would they participate in sth like this, other than for some selfish reasons? A notch on their belt, sth to brag about to friends." "Their problems are nothing compared to what these inmates have gone through." Etc. At the end of the movie, I remembered though, it's not a competition, everybody hurts and has their own way of dealing with it. It's not something that can and should be measured. For the record, I still don't like Brian. Haha
2) Yes. The movie reminded me of how confrontational it is. It's been almost 9 years since my last session, and I've been feeling my old problems slowly creeping back to me. It's important to keep practicing the things you learn in therapy, and not lock it away somewhere deep inside. I'm experiencing firsthand now that it's a work in progress, and that it will always stay that way probably. Maybe I should go back, but the cost and cultural barrier (live in China now) is keeping me from doing so atm.
3) Hell yea, some of these guys would make great therapists. I believed everyone was being honest. I did see some people holding a lot of stuff in, some people need some time to really open up.
4) I think it's to show them that, whether you're an inmate or from the outside, when you strip away all of the outer layers, what we are, need and desire, is not so different after all.
5) I don't know man. Having experienced different kinds of therapy myself, this really was some confrontational shizzle. I don't know if I'd be mentally stable anymore after 4 days.
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 30, 2020 17:06:49 GMT -5
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 30, 2020 17:15:43 GMT -5
And my responses to my own questions -- which I guess we can remove from "spoiler" now -- below:
1) I certainly try not to judge anyone for lots of reasons, as you never know what kind of baggage they're carrying -- case in point, what's revealed in this film -- but, boy, it's hard, you know. And I say this as someone who has also heard guys like this open up when every bit of their time down has taught them not to. The filmmakers were right to not reveal the charges of the incarcerated unless then volunteered that information. 2) I certainly have, many times, but it's been a while. I should go back again. Group therapy is hard and it doesn't always work; you really need to have the right mix and even one bad egg can ruin it. 3) Anyone with the guts to participate in this program probably knew what they were getting into, so once that was clear, no I wasn't surprised at all. Having been in this situation I'll admit I recall those times when guys actually try to out-do one another with their sob stories, true or not, and that's awful but it does happen. But I didn't doubt anything on screen here. 4) I've thought about this a lot and I still don't know. I would hope it's so they can witness the transformative power of intensive group therapy, but I'm not sure. Perhaps it's a bridge between the guys inside and the guys on the streets so they can see how little they diverge in their emotions. 5) I would be thrilled to do this and I would sign up for it in a heartbeat if I could.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Mar 31, 2020 9:35:18 GMT -5
Yeah man, Brian was a total dick.
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 31, 2020 17:06:25 GMT -5
Yeah man, Brian was a total dick. Ha, while obviously true, it's also clear that he had some serious demons that were only mined a little bit, without getting to the crux of them. I mean, you can't do that in 4 days, but I came to admire his honesty in the face of terror and judgement.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Apr 1, 2020 3:52:06 GMT -5
Yeah man, Brian was a total dick. Ha, while obviously true, it's also clear that he had some serious demons that were only mined a little bit, without getting to the crux of them. I mean, you can't do that in 4 days, but I came to admire his honesty in the face of terror and judgement. Yeah I totally get that. It's more the berating of others in the therapy session which is why I'm calling him out. No need for that when everyone is going through it.
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