Me, Myself & Irene - Psychosis v Psychpath : Charlie v Hank

[wonderbunny]

I have a fondness for this movie as a great way for Hollywood to realize the difference between the two. Charlie was given medication for a disorder, and Psychopath Hank emerged. There was a line when Irene called him 'Schizo' which is a misnomer, Schizo does not mean split personality. Sometimes, medication can create a new personality. Mr. Carrey received a lot of heat for that comment from NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness) I congratulate him or taking on the topic with humor. I for one, wish there was more education on the topic. His portrayal of Hank/Charlie was a great way to open the dialogue. Sensitive Charlie had a evil twin, did that make Charlie a bad guy?; No. It was Irene who was confused.

[fluffy]

But who could blame her???....................

fluffy

[Filomena]

I had no problem with the split personalities.

It was some of the derogatory comments, and "Motherf#((#(#" this and "Mother$*$($(" that which bothered me a tad.

Plus when Hank looked like he was going to kill the little girl by dunking her head in the waterfountain, I thought, "okay, couldn't you think of something less violent?""

I'm a little weird like that. If I see something on screen that I think a bunch of kids might copy, it bothers me.

You know what other scene in Jim's movie I thought was irresponsible?

Remember in Eternal Sunshine when they were pretending to smother each other? What's up with that? It wasn't funny. It provided no real value to the plot of the movie, and I can just see a bunch of teenagers saying to each other, "Hey, let's pretend to smother each other like Joel and Clementine!" And then they try it and something goes horribly wrong.

But that's just me and my weird little issues with Hollywood.

Don't get me wrong. I loved both movies.

My favourite line from one of Jim's movies comes from Me, Myself and Irene.

"Just because I rock, doesn't mean I'm made out of stone."

[mav]

I like this line from Forrest Gump. I imitate it often "Mama says 'stupid is as stupid does'"

I would extend it to nastiness. One can ignore some verbal threats and nastiness, but if the action is nasty, like say relentless questioning, physical abuse, it becomes a no-no and requires help (not punishment)

But the problem I think is that this help is not available most of the time.
Also, a person may not want to even acknowledge that anything is wrong with him/her, and not want to seek any outside help at all. Either way, a)understanding and b)reaching out - is the key. Easier said than done. This unfortunately doesn't happen most of the time and so results in chaos and destructiveness.

-

[quirky]

For this topic I need to lay down and relax before I can comment. Maybe on the little chaise in my couselor's office.

[fluffy]

Remember in Eternal Sunshine when they were pretending to smother each other? What's up with that?

well, i interpreted that to mean they were totally comfortable with each other..........enough to be completely playful and childlike....which can only happen when people are totally at ease with each other......It showed complete trust......which is key to a meaningful and deep relationship..........
I thought Kaufman/Gondry were quite smart in using that scene....they managed to covey trust and compatibility with the minimum of dialogue.........
It made the idea, of wiping out the memory of the other person, more emotive, since we witnessed their closeness.............

but i guess i could be wrong too..........

fluffy

[quirky]

I utterly agree with you.

[fluffy]

There's a lot of psychology in the movie....a lot of metaphor and symbolism too............i guess that's why i love it..........

Although, it's interesting that Gondry kinda added the elephant scene, 'off the cuff' ,when he heard the elephants were being walked through 'the tunnel'............
Elephants are symbolic of Memory and Love...........makes you think...it was as though fate played a hand somewhere.....

fluffy

[mav]

I think what Filomena was trying to say is kids/teenagers imitating things shown on the screen. This can definitely be harmful. I used to do it and have injuries to prove it But I think this is a question for the media, a huge machinery, and not the actors who are only acting out a script.

BTW, Me, Myself & Irene is one of my favorite movies, purely for the acting talent of Mr Carrey
-

[Canadian Jayne]

with JimM and Fil
children do imitate what they see,
I did an experiment with my kids re violence
I found my kids were getting really violent with each other, they were
watching WWF, some kids cannot understand that this is Not normal behavior, I don't think anyone under 18 should watch it and even some adults take on the violent imitate thing.
Anyway I took away the chance to watch the show and they stopped the violent imitative behavior.
When I saw the pillow thing, I too was uncomfortable and thought
Argghhh what if kids imitate this...
I remember as a kid competing and holding our breath on the way to
swimming and see how long we could hold our breath to get ready for swimming. As a mom, if I walked in on kids doing this, I probably would have gone beserk, my own kids have practiced holding their breath but
again it was to prepare for swimming and adults were always around counting. It wasn't a test but an exercise.

[fluffy]

Basically i don't think you can even call the scene with the pillow violent...they are so obviously pretending and having fun.........but i agree wholeheartedly that kids are exposed to too much violence which is de-sensitizing them to moral responsibility........so i guess it's up to parents to censor film and games until they feel their child is ready .....

fluffy

[cotton]

That is why it is wise to view the movie before your children do. Then you can control what they see.

[Filomena]

Actually, it's not my children I was worried about. We saw it together, and I don't think they thought twice about it.

It's the teenagers who might be watching it, and maybe after a few drinks, emulate it, because like someone said "it's a sign of trust."

But if smothering is a symbol of trust, then strangulation must be a sweet gesture of love.

What if you're not in the right frame of mind? How do you know when to stop smothering? Even Clementine looked like she was worried when Joel pretended to be dead. Well, as long as they're having fun!

Sorry I sound like such a stick in the mud. I love movies that are full of symbolism, and I loved ESSM. But I just want a teeny weeny itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini kind of responsibility in film-making.

We're not all sane and rationale, sitting on the couch, eating popcorn and commenting on the beautiful use of imagery in the latest Kaufman film. Hell, some of us might look at what we see on the screen and then look at the person laying next to us in bed, then look back at what we see on the screen, then look back at the person laying next to us in the bed, and hmmmmmmmm....

Well, I gotta go. Gonna fluff up the pillows, flex the ole biceps and get ready for tonight.

[quirky]

You might have some fun!

Can you smother someone with a pillow? I would think they could breathe right through it.

Also, a person who is actually smothering would fight more than Joel did.

It was clearly just childish loveplay between two adults.

And as someone who is sensitive to what she sees on TV, that's saying something....but if we were TOO sensitive to what was on TV...we would all sit around looking at paint drying on white walls because something might "effect" us.

Not that THAT might not become a possibility for me sometime in the future.

[fluffy]

But if smothering is a symbol of trust, then strangulation must be a sweet gesture of love.

i believe for some it is.................

but each to their own...............lol

fluffy