The movie “Awakenings” directed by Penny Marshall reveals the victims of an encephalitis epidemic from 1917-1928. The patients at Bainbridge Hospital in Bronx, New York 1969 are all living with a rare disease that puts them into a comatose or frozen state and completely unresponsive due from swelling of the brain. Dr. Malcolm Sayer is a driven man that attempts to awaken all of his patients, using observation, interviews, experiments and topical research he tries to find a cure. Leonard Lowe and Lucy Fishman are two of many patients that have this rare disease. Through the work of Dr.Sayer and his assistant Eleanor Costello there were able to “Awaken” all of their patients and able to bring joy back to many of the patients families, one of …show more content…
them being Leonards mom; Mrs.Lowe. One of four ways that Dr.Sayer gathered information was through observation. Dr.sayer observed all of his patients frequently to gain information to find a suitable common epidemic between them all. The first person Dr.Sayer observed was Lucy Fishman, he had taken her glasses off her face and dropped them and she immediately grabbed them, showing that these patients were aware of the outside world around them. Leonard was given an ouija board for the hopes that he would spell his name, but instead he starts spelling something else. Dr. Sayer quickly writes it down, Leonard had spelt “Rilke's Panther” which is a poem talking about a panther trapped in his cage, the poem starts off with, “An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone.”, Leonard was trying to tell Dr. Sayer that he is trapped inside his own body and he can't escape. Which is another example that patients with encephalitis are aware of their surroundings. The next observation that Dr.Sayer made when Lucy Fishman would start walking towards the water fountain he thought , that stop out of nowhere, he one day was looking outside when he saw a little girl playing hopscotch, she was following a pattern and then realized that maybe Lucy needed to follow a pattern too. Dr.Sayer then conducted an experiment later. All the patients would be playing cards but no one would play anything so Eleonor would play the first card and they all would play immediately after which is significant because maybe there was some muscular reaction that caused them to play. Frank also plays a big part in Dr.Sayers observations. Frank had been watching T.V and it had been turning but when Dr.Sayer turned the spinning down Frank lost interest because he obviously is not unconscious about what he wants. Frank also had another important observation because when Eleonore held Frank he would walk but when she let go he would begin to fall because he needed human contact to continue. The final observation Dr.Sayer had was videotaping Leonard and using a polaroid camera to capture all of Leonard's growth through the process of not being able to move to becoming normal again. Dr.Sayer would watch the video over and observe Leonard’s actions. In this movie Dr.Sayer interviews many people. The interviews were face-to face meetings so that he could gain information on the patients or disease. Dr.Sayer first interviews Mrs.Lowe, asking her many questions about when Leonard first got sick, his symptoms, and asks permission to put Leonard on a drug called L-Dopa that could potentially help him. Dr.Peter Ingham is the next to be interviewed by Dr.Sayer. Dr.Peter Ingham had been the doctor first to deal with patients that had encephalitis and had videoed them . Dr.Ingham observed that many people died during the acute stages of the illness, those that survived , who awoke, seemed fine as if nothing had happened. Than years went by and people began to bring in children,elderly, and young adults.They could no longer walk, dress themselves, speak and made families go mad. Dr.Sayer wanted to gain as much information as he could so he could further the research. Later on Dr.Sayer attends a Parkinson’s disease Conference because he believes that Parkinson's disease and Encephalitis may be connected in some way. The conference is promoting the drug L-DOpa to give to all patients to see if it would help. Dr.sayer also interviews Leonard and Lucy after they have been awakened, asking them if they knew what was going on, what it was like to be in a frozen like state, and what year it was as Lucy Fishman struggled to wrap her head around it “I can't imagine being older than 22. I've no experience at it. I know it's not 1926.” Experiments played a big part in trying to find a cure for encephalitis. A scientific procedure to help Dr.Sayer make a discovery or even test a hypothesis. The first experiment of Dr.Sayer’s was conducted with all of the encephalitis patients. Dr.Sayer would drop balls in front of them and they would catch it before it hit the floor, this shows that these patients are capable of reacting to the objects around them. The next experiment was when Dr.Sayer hooked Leonard up to a electroencephalogram or know as EEG to see the electrical activities of the brain. He than placed a strobe light to see if Leonard had any initial reaction to it but the EEG showed no signs, but once Dr.Sayer said Leonards name there was reaction in Leonard's brain demonstrating that he did know his name and when people talked to him. Next, Lucy would start walking towards the water fountain then stop un expectable, Dr.Sayer then realized that she would stop because the pattern of the black tiles did not continue. The next day Dr.Sayer and Eleanor Costello painted black tiles along the floor and introduced Lucy to the new concept, Lucy tha continued walking all the way but instead of going to the water fountain she went to the window to look outside. One day Eleanor started to play music to see if the patients would enjoy it, she played rock and the music would move those people who liked rock, or the blues. Different music was moving different people with encephalitis which shows that even though they all have encephalitis they each are a unique individual despite the disease. The last experiment that Dr.Sayer conducted was with the drug L-DOPA. Dr.Sayer decides to conduct this experiment on Leonard with permission from Mrs.Lowe. He first starts with what to put the drug in, he tries orange juice but the juice is too acidic so he decides on milk. Dr.Sayer then tries different dosages he starts with 200 mg but no effect then 500 mg but still no change so he tries 1000mg, he awakens to Leonard up and walking.Through all these experiments dr.sayer was able to gain information to help make a discovery abou patients with encephalitis. Topical research was Dr,Sayer’s last method of finding a cure for encephalitis. Topical research was when Dr.Sayer gained information from other sources around him like newspapers, films, library, conferences and files. Dr.Sayer first would go through all the patients files and medical records to try and find something in common with all of the patients to find the source or root of encephalitis. Next Dr.Sayer went to the library to use a microfiche to read all the newspapers from when encephalitis had first started so get some history on the disease. Dr.Ingham came in big help to Dr.Sayer as they were both dedicated to the same thing. Dr.Sayer had went over to Dr.Ingham’s house to watch some of the video that he had gotten of when the disease was first beginning to be a problem which helped to contribute to Dr.Sayer’s quest for a cure. Finally. Dr.Sayer attended a Parkinson’s disease Conference to try and become more educated about the situation and possibly the similarities that could tie between Encephalitis and Parkinson’s disease. Observation, interviews,experiments and topical research were key to the work of Dr.Sayer and his many accomplishments and let downs.
Through these Dr.Sayer was able to learn more about Encephalitis and continue to work to find a more permanent cure. Dr,Sayer gave the satisfaction to his patients of their “awakening” and getting to experience what life was like again! Not only do the patients “awaken” but it also is an awakening to Dr.Sayer and everyone influenced by Leonard nd the Encephalitis patients. Leonard says “Read the newspaper. What does it say? All bad. It's all bad. People have forgotten what life is all about. They've forgotten what it is to be alive. They need to be reminded. They need to be reminded of what they have and what they can lose. What I feel is the joy of life, the gift of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life!” Leonard is trying to get everyone to realize that life is so precious and we need to enjoy it while we can because you never know what life can bring your way. The human spirit is more powerful than any drug - and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, and family. These are the things that matter. This is what we'd forgotten - the simplest things. Dr.Sayer continued to try and find a cure for his patients none of his accomplishments were as good as the first, and never found a
cure.
At this point, the movie picks up at the Bronx in 1969. Dr. Malcolm Sayers arrives at Bainbridge Hospital for an interview. Dr. Sayers is a researcher who has little experience with human patients. The idea of being a doctor in a
The Awakening is an emotionally unsatisfying story. It is the story of a women, Edna, who tries unsuccessfull...
This story represents the lives of women back in the early 19th century. They were so closed in by societal norm and rules that many of them did not have the freedom to be who they wanted to be, or even live they life they wanted to live. The story “The Awakening” is a clear example of this scenario. Edna Pontellier did not have the courage to strength to face society so she felt like she had to die to find her freedom.
The film Precious focuses on Clarice “Precious” Jones, a girl whose life is far from ordinary. At sixteen years old, Precious finds herself pregnant with her second child, both of which belong to her father. Although he’s no longer in the picture, Precious experiences daily abuse from her mother, who thinks nothing of her. Regardless of her past, Precious is eager to give her children a better life than she had. After meeting Ms. Rein, her alternative school teacher, Precious finally gets the love and support that she’s been hoping for her whole life. Precious’ life may have had a different path had she received proper treatment earlier in life. Even though Precious is in the adolescent stage of her life, she can still benefit from treatment;
The movie Precious is a movie about a sixteen year old girl nicknamed Precious. The movie shows her difficult life as she lives with her mother. Precious is a teen mother expecting her second child, who is also her father’s child due to him raping her. She is verbally and physically abused constantly by her mother and lives in a very unhealthy environment overall. She takes care of herself and her mother and is told what to do everyday. In the movie she begins to turn her life around when a teacher has faith in her and she begins to get an education, and learns she is not what her mother thinks she is.
Quickly returning back to the present time period (1969) we follow the story of the shy, yet gifted Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) who ventured into Bronx's Bainbridge Hospital expecting to receive a job as laboratory neurologist following his career path of being sequestered in laboratories. So, it was not much of a surprise when he was shocked and reluctant to accept his position as a doctor who has going to handle living
The 1890’s were an era of rapid social change in regards to women’s rights. In 1893, Colorado was the first state granting women the right to vote with Utah and Idaho following soon after in 1896. This soon set momentum towards of ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. It was in 1899 the Kate Chopin published The Awakening, a novel telling the tale of a suppressed mother, Edna Pontellier, and her desire for something more in her life. Literary scholars consider Chopin’s The Awakening as a subtle yet effective portrayal of women of the late 19th century and consider it as an important piece of the feminism movement. Throughout the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, women had felt controlled by men and the demands society put upon them. Men had held a discriminatory view of women throughout this era, for they merely saw women as property. Women were expected to bear a man’s child, care for the child, and watch over the household while the man was away. The Awakening was an eye-opening novel in that it challenged the social structure of the time in which men dominated society. This novel showed the discriminatory view of women and treatment of women. The novel also does a great job in showing the dissatisfaction in the women’s lives, particularily through the actions of Edna Pontellier. Due to society’s expectations, women were not allowed to pursue their psychological or sexual drives, for it was scorned by society. Edna pursues these drives as she eventually cannot tolerate her way of living. In The Awakening, Chopin’s use of three characters, Edna Pontellier, Adele Ratignolle, and Mademoiselle Reisz, exemplifies the accepted roles of women in the late 19th century.
The movie Psycho, is one of the most influential movie in Cinema history to date. The director Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to test many of the conventions of movie making that was common at that time. Alfred Hitchcock movie broke many cultural taboos and challenged the censors. Alfred Hitchcock showed a whole bunch of at the time absurd scene, for example: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) dying naked while taking a shower, Norman Bates with split personality disorder, and the first ever flushing toilet shown in a movie. Because from the late 1920's to the late 1950's, movies were made usually go around the story, and usually with a lot dialogue. This movie gives the audience an experience that was much more emotional and intuitive. The viewers were caught up in a roller coaster of shock, surprise and suspense based on image, editing and sound.
Sayer continues with his interesting experiments with the patients and comes to the realizations that the patients can be reach through hearing familiar music, experience human touch, etc. Sayer also learns that one of the patients, Leonard Lowe, is a able to communicate through the use of a ouija board. At one point in the movie, Dr. Sayer attends a conference which discusses a drug by the name of L-Dopa and its impact of patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Through this conference, Sayer crafts a hypothesis in which he believes the drug can be utilize to aid of the “frozen” patients. After getting permission from the hospital and Leonard Lowe’s mother, Leonard becomes the first patient to undergo the drug treatment. After Leonard experiences an awakening, Dr. Sayer is motivated to get funding in order to start the drug therapy of the other patients. Soon enough, the rest of the “frozen” patients experience awakenings themselves as well. The patient begin to adjust to their lives and Leonard get involved with another patient daughter name Paula. Soon Leonard, meets with the board of the hospital as he hates being unable to have the freedom to travel anywhere
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
Murder should never be justified nor should it be displaced—this very demand to eliminate the justification interrogates the sincerity of society. Badlands (1973) is an American crime film directed and written by Terrence Malick. The film follows the story of a vulnerable teen Holly who lives in a small non-descript town in South Dakota and her garbage-collecting boyfriend Kit. The two go on a killing spree in the badlands of South Dakota. The film is based loosely around the 1950s Starkweather-Fugate murders, which inspired this film. Holly’s father struggled to keep the two lovers apart. Holly’s father in fact, was Kit’s initial victim, which initiated the psycho toward the killing spree itself. Initially when the film was first released,
The many facets of how the human mind operates and controls human behavior culminates into what we know as psychology. Psychology isn’t a limited science as it applies to almost anything that a human thinks, does, or feels about any particular subject. Many principles of psychology are present in something as simple as a movie even though it is not consciously applied. In the film “Patch Adams” many principles of psychology are present from start to finish including intrinsic motivation, experimental design, and passionate love. Throughout the course of this essay all of these subjects will be examined in depth including the circumstances surrounding the use of each principle and whether or not it was accurately or poorly portrayed in this film.
The expectations of a modern day gender role aren’t as sufficient as they used to be in the 1800’s. They’ve changed drastically as centuries went on, communities began to expect less. In the book, “The Awakening,” the expectations that were to be upheld by a woman in the 1800’s caused Edna to be unhappy with her life, and it was one of the causes to her making the decisions she made.
In The Awakening, written in 1886 by Kate Chopin details a story about Edna, a woman who wants freedom despite society’s norms. The story takes place in New Orleans, LA in the year of 1889, where the feminist movement was just beginning to form throughout the U.S. Edna was married with two children. Throughout her struggle with the realization of her duties as a wife and mother, she dared to fathom living an oppressed life without freedom. Edna wanted freedom through sexuality. Edna’s neglect to her husband and children showed her true colors. Edna resented traditional values and roles that was expected of her as a woman during her time with the disregard she showed to her husband, the relationship between
The movie begins in 1920 with a young Leonard Lowe showing outwards signs of disease still yet unknown. The movie then jumps to 1969, where Dr. Malcolm Sayer works at a Chronic Hospital in New York City. During his time at the hospital, he begins to have a theory that people suffering from post-encephalitis syndrome can be cured, so he begins his experiments to prove his theory. After his tests, he believes that a drug named L-DOPA will help his patients. The doctor give L-DOPA to his patients, which causes them to wake up, but in the end the medicine wears off and the patients revert to their previous state.