How guilt can destroy in the film 'Noah' (2014)

I have just viewed the 2014 film Noah, directed by Darren Aronofsky, at a Gold Class cinema, partly because it seemed like the best movie available but also because anything with Russell Crowe, I thought, is going to be good. I still love watching Gladiator, and I think I always will (Maximus Decimus Meridius and all the speeches in the film by Crowe, wow!).  Anyway, not being a religious person, or with what are deemed 'spiritual beliefs,' I still felt that the film would possibly have some transcendental messages, those universal insights that reveal deep truths or realities about the human condition, and ... I was right.

The beginning of the film was to be as expected, relaying the situation that Noah was in, with the added fantastical elements, such as large, rock-like creatures that had been sent to Earth, by God, to help humans redeem themselves, but they fail. The story is much more in-depth than that, of course, as there are competing forces that prevent these 'Watchers' to help humankind, who are consumed by the forces of evil. Nevertheless, Noah, who belongs to the beings not from Cain's line, experiences premonitions from God, who is about to wipe human beings from Earth, due to their sinful and corrupt ways.  I felt that the Watchers, who are 'fallen angels who look like six-armed stone golems,' were a little overkill and almost discredited the story, and I can imagine if I were a Christian I would have been embarrassed by the spectacle, or at least would have cringed a little. My teenage son, who was with me, was laughing at the absurdity.

About two hours in the film, after Noah has arrived on a patch of land with his ark, his family and all of Earth's creatures, Noah is consumed by the guilt of having denied two of his son's (and almost denying all three, but one's love interest manages to be able to conceive and bare children) of having a wife and family. The viewer sees Noah become progressively withdrawn from his family, create and drink large amounts of wine, to try (as it seemed to me, or as I interpreted it) and drown his suffering. His guilt, as is very apparent to the viewer, causes him to withdraw from his family and to gradually destroy himself. It is only after he speaks to the 'wife,' or partner as they do not have a marriage ceremony, of one of his son's, about all that he has achieved and that he is the 'chosen' one. She reminds him of what there is to live for.

What I really liked about this portrayal is how it illustrates how someone, even a biblical man like Noah, who is looked up to for his courage and determination, can become so fraught with guilt and the accompanying emotions, such as sadness and regret, that he gradually begins to destroy himself, kind of like a 'slow suicide.' I think that is why many people do drink large amounts of alcohol, not because they just love drinking alcohol or the feeling that it gives them, but because it drowns, or at least pacifies, albeit momentarily, feelings of angst, that threaten to destroy them. I think that for some, the threat of being labelled a 'drunk,' is better than living with such feelings of angst. I have seen this and have heard about it, and I think Noah was illustrating this deeply human phenomena.

However, what the movie also reveals is how essential it is to be surrounded by people who care about you, and are able to provide other ways to see the world. The character Ila, played by Emma Watson, cares for Noah, as he had saved her life as a child, grown her up and shown her kindness throughout her childhood.  I feel that if it wasn't for people like Ila, who can see what an individual is going through, and take action, then people like Noah would allow themselves to die. Maybe some will overtime overcome their grief, just through the natural progression of emotional suffering, however, for some the suffering does not dissipate to be liveable with, and eventually leads to their undoing.

For these reasons, I will always remember Noah and am so glad that my son agreed to watch the film despite it being his sixteenth birthday. Luckily 2014s  Spiderman and Godzilla were still not out yet.

'Beyond Fear' by Dorothy Rowe

As one of my first posts on Dorothy Rowe's writings, I will begin with Beyond Fear, a book that brought me to her profound wisdom and insight, and started my journey out of the manacles of fear.

I found Beyond Fear in a local bookstore in 2004, when I was in my mid-twenties.  I had just began having "panic attacks," as they were labelled, and I was in a constant state of dread, despite how well I hid the feeling to the rest of the world.  The feelings were new to me and I had very little knowledge of human emotions, and what caused such feelings.

I had read quite a few other books before Beyond Fear but they all took the approach that fear, which they labelled as "anxiety," is a medical condition, or worse, hereditary and there is pretty much nothing that you can do about it, except manage it.  Some books even went as far to, as what I perceived to be a doomsday approach, to assert that sufferers of anxiety were doomed to depression, or even worse, to eventually take their life.  Needless to say, I found many books, before encountering Beyond Fear, to not be therapeutic and only encourge fear, rather than enable the reader to find their courage.

Upon reading the blurb at the back of Beyond Fear I was immediately captivated by Rowe's down-to-earth style and caring approach. Her writing did not sound patronising or removed from the human experience, which is how I found the other books I had encountered.  Dorothy spoke in a casual voice that illustrated exactly what I was thinking and feeling.  This was the pivotal difference for me.  She explained that my meaning structure, and how I interpreted what was happening to me, was what was causing my fears.  If I understood how I constructed these conceptual frameworks, then I had the ability to change them.

Reading Beyond Fear satisfied my need for someone to explain what was happening and how I had the tools within me to change it.  The idea that I was mostly responsible for causing my distress, and with effort and over time, I could gain the knowledge and skills to change my interpretation of my circumstances, was empowering, and I feel contributed to where I am today.

Why postmodernism?

I chose postmodernism as the pre-arching paradigm that encapsulates my thoughts on the human condition. After much thought and research on what ideas I most related with, I found that postmodern thought was the most applicable.

Postmodernism is an "umbrella" term used to describe not only a conceptual system after the modern era, but a mode of thought that questions whether there are any universal truths, particularly in the social sciences, in which psychology reigns supreme.

I identify the modern era as being a time period when people were largely thought to be controlled by external or internal forces, the former being their childhood or environment, the latter being their biological makeup.  I think that when looking through the lense of a postmodernist perspective knowledge is seen as constructed and contingent on the cultural meaning that is applied to words.  This means that descriptions of phenonema, such as describing someone as "mad" or "bad" is culturally specific and may be interpreted differently in a different context.  This paradigm is powerful for me as it is subversive, meaning it challenges dominant paradigms, but it also promotes freedom from constraint.

I also find it fascinating how language can be construed so differently, depending on the individual's background and the meaning attributed to the words in the culture the individual is embedded in.

Social construction of reality

One of the most profound insights that I have developed when reading Dorothy Rowe’s book Beyond Fear is the idea that we construct our realities and these constructions are developed (and continue to be reconstructed) when we are children.

This insight has been profound for me because when I realised that how I saw the world was constructed, or as I understood the word, created, and therefore could be “uncreated,” or re-constructed, I felt empowered to change my life.  Rather than being fixed, or a product of my genes or circumstances, I could actively reshape how I saw the world, thus empowering me as an autonomous individual.  As I reflect now about this revelation, I now understand that I needed to develop this insight, any other construction of reality was perceived as too confining and determinist.  What I didn’t realise then but do now is that my extraverted nature and desire to be free from social constraints was another reason that the social construction of reality appealed to me.

As my knowledge of post-structuralism and Personal Construct Theory developed I believed that if others understood how their realities have been constructed, and how their constructions are based on their interpretation of their social, historical, cultural, political and economic circumstances, and how they interpreted what happened to them, that they would be just as awed and interested as I was. How wrong I was.

It was not that individuals did not want to understand or were not interested, it was just that they had their own constructions of the world and a “post-structuralist” way (as I began to interpret it), of seeing the world was not appealing or conflicted with their pre-existing conceptual paradigm.  Some individuals believe that their reality is preordained or influenced by some outside force, such as deity or even astrology.  As I engaged on many philosophical debates with family and friends, I gradually learned that for some of us earthly beings, there is not the overarching need to be autonomous. Some people want to think that fate plays a role in which direction they take, and influence how they think and feel.

I am not arguing that individuals who believe in outside forces, such as deities or astrology, are not autonomous.  They do act independently and understand that they play a pivotal role in which direction they take or how they feel.  The difference is that some people believe that they cannot change their interpretations.  This is the pivotal difference.  If you believe you can change the way you see the world, it means that you have the ability to change your life, not anything else, whether it is fate, the stars, or a deity.

Thus, after many years of operating within this framework I believe that the social and personal construction of reality is the accurate paradigm for me.  However, the emphasis is for me, as I know that it will never be the way everyone, or even many people, see the world, nevertheless I am grateful for the opportunity.

Where is Dorothy Rowe?

For the past two years I have been trying to find out what has happened to Dorothy Rowe. She has not made any entries on her website - the last being around mid-2011.

Rowe was born in 1930, which means that she is 84 years old.  I know she was coping with a chest condition that caused her immense trouble in the mornings, where she has said that she has to spend a considerable amount of time coughing to clear her chest.  I can imagine this chest condition may have caused a vulnerability to further issues with her chest and may have even lead to more serious issues.  However, I am only speculating on what I think may have happened.

If there is anyone that knows anything about how Dorothy Rowe is doing please comment below or contact me directly using the Google+ link.

Welcome to a blog inspired by the wisdom and insight of Dorothy Rowe

Hello there!

If you have stumbled across this blog on Dorothy Rowe then I am guessing that you think she as wonderful as I do or you have an interest in Rowe's psychological insights or her theories on human behaviour, such as her work that is grounded in Personal Construct Psychology and other construct-based frameworks.

On this blog I will be posting regularly on all things Dorothy Rowe, from her viewpoints of what causes human suffering to how we should live.  However, I will also write about issues and events that provide the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding on the human condition.  What is important for me to emphasise is that although Rowe's ideas inform my interpretation, my posts do not represent her viewpoint, and this blog is in no way affiliated with her.

I attribute where I am today to Dorothy Rowe's wisdom and insight, and this blog provides me the opportunity to share what I have learnt with others in the world.

Please join me on this journey by sharing your ideas and commenting on posts.