We can learn from movies (if we pay attention.)
It is better to struggle through life than to exist in apathy. That is a lesson I learned watching two movies. One was Batman begins staring Christian Bale. The second one was Cyberbully, a serious look at online bullying and the effects it has on people today.
The line that really sticks out for me in Batman Begins is from Bruce Wayne. When he is returning to Gotham after his training with the League of Shadows, he tells Alfred, “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of Apathy.” This is a statement I thought true for a very long time. To an extent, it is, but unfortunately, sometimes not even dramatic examples can make people take notice.
This idea ties into the second movie I brought up. In the movie Cyberbully, a girl is bullied on line to the point where she attempts to commit suicide. She lives, and her mother takes action to try to stop the bullying. She goes to the bullies parents first, then the school principle, then the police, and eventually her state government. She is turned down at every stop. When we think of cyber bullying victims like Amanda Todd and Katie Web, we realize that this is not as far from the truth as we would like.
What does this have to do with Apathy? To be honest, when I watched Cyberbully, I got emotionally involved to the point where I was getting upset. I thought about the suicides and school shootings that resulted from bullying of all types and realized that those two most dramatic examples there could possibly be were not shaking our society out of apathy, or at least not fast enough.
As I started thinking about this, I became more and more upset. Enraged is a better word. Then I realized why I was taking this personally: I was not allowing my dramatic examples to shake me out of apathy. I had a job I hated, and I was accepting it because I was too afraid to change the situation even though I could at any point. I was afraid of facing the fact that I would have to find another job.
Then I remembered a cold hard truth, how can I expect people to shake themselves out of apathy, if I do not do it myself?
That was why I quit my job today.
Yes, the prospect of needing to find a new job is scary. I will now be able to focus on my writing, which means I will be able to get more done. I guess the only thing I want to convey to my readers is this: Do not settle for a bad situation because it is easier than making a change. If you are in a bad place, just walk away.
The line that really sticks out for me in Batman Begins is from Bruce Wayne. When he is returning to Gotham after his training with the League of Shadows, he tells Alfred, “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of Apathy.” This is a statement I thought true for a very long time. To an extent, it is, but unfortunately, sometimes not even dramatic examples can make people take notice.
This idea ties into the second movie I brought up. In the movie Cyberbully, a girl is bullied on line to the point where she attempts to commit suicide. She lives, and her mother takes action to try to stop the bullying. She goes to the bullies parents first, then the school principle, then the police, and eventually her state government. She is turned down at every stop. When we think of cyber bullying victims like Amanda Todd and Katie Web, we realize that this is not as far from the truth as we would like.
What does this have to do with Apathy? To be honest, when I watched Cyberbully, I got emotionally involved to the point where I was getting upset. I thought about the suicides and school shootings that resulted from bullying of all types and realized that those two most dramatic examples there could possibly be were not shaking our society out of apathy, or at least not fast enough.
As I started thinking about this, I became more and more upset. Enraged is a better word. Then I realized why I was taking this personally: I was not allowing my dramatic examples to shake me out of apathy. I had a job I hated, and I was accepting it because I was too afraid to change the situation even though I could at any point. I was afraid of facing the fact that I would have to find another job.
Then I remembered a cold hard truth, how can I expect people to shake themselves out of apathy, if I do not do it myself?
That was why I quit my job today.
Yes, the prospect of needing to find a new job is scary. I will now be able to focus on my writing, which means I will be able to get more done. I guess the only thing I want to convey to my readers is this: Do not settle for a bad situation because it is easier than making a change. If you are in a bad place, just walk away.
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