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 The viewer sees Noah become progressively withdrawn from his family, create and drink large amounts of wine, to try (as it seemed to me, or as I interpreted it) and drown his suffering.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.