In Your Own Room?

Last week, we decided to watch a movie on T.V. and were lucky to find the movie adaptation of Emma Donoghue's book The Room. We were happy to hear soon after that actress Brie Larson won an Oscar for her performance.

The story is about a young woman, and her five-year-old son Jack, prisoners for years in an 11'x11' backyard shed with  only an empty skylight. Old Nick, the rapist has lost his job and Jack's mother is afraid he will kill them as he can no longer afford the house and property. But Jack has been taught that the only reality is 'the room' and its contents. Ma has been protecting him from the harsh truths of their existence. The rest of the world was the imaginary one on T.V.  Without any social contacts, his 'friends' became the lamp, toilet, bed, sink, and the wardrobe where he slept when Old Nick made his nightly visit! Now her son is in danger and she wants to teach him about the outside world before she executes a plan to set him free. But Jack strongly resisted!

We all live 'alone' but together with others in the world. Many people build their nest and form their beliefs and, like Jack, stay fixated in that spot the rest of their lives. That is their choice and they have the right to do so. But as Jack slowly discovers once 'freed', there can be so much more to experience and enjoy. I often wonder if, like Jack, we experience what we expect to experience? Do our beliefs, knowledge and understanding of the world alter what we see and hear and not the other way around? In other words do we see and hear only what we want to see and hear? That's what Ma taught Jack under the skylight and that is why it was so difficult for him to adjust to his new reality.

It is gratifying to remain safe and secure in an obsessive world but it could also mean the door is shut to personal growth and discovery. I notice that when two people are upset and engaged in an argument they often do not listen to each other. How many times have I heard, "He/she does not understand". People have certain expectations and they let them override their observations. We all have our experiences, beliefs, and values and when we speak we are not just another Apple android! History has known for years that language is inherently vague and that people talk 'past' each other. Think of the recent 'he said, she said' court cases our poor judges have had to resolve! Locked in their world (room) of beliefs and opinions they are unable to 'hear' what the other is saying.

At times, it is also easy to fall back on willful blindness to protect ourselves from becoming involved. Granted we can't  absorb everything, but what we choose to leave out sometimes could be crucial. Just think of the rise of Hitler and the results of his regime because people did not speak up in time! I am truly concerned about the recent state of politics in the U.S. What is happening is an excellent example of closed minds and the subsequent deadlock it creates. There are things we should know and could have known, but we choose not to see. 'Why to bother!' or, " I really should have said something!' Examples abound.

Jack, in The Room, had a difficult time adjusting to his new reality. Perhaps it is the constant adjustments demanded of us today that keeps us from challenging our own beliefs and thoughts. Jack made it. So can I!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week

Did You Know?

At the original Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin was asked what sort of government did the United States have. He replied, " A Republic, madam if you can keep it." Wow!!!