Psychoanalysis

Watched 'Hamlet' today with Shanti n Em, and 'Saw' by myself ('cause nobody was particularly keen on watching a movie reputed to be pretty gory). Hamlet was rather entertaining, since it's one of my fav plays. The actor who played the lead role wasn't very convincing though, but fortunately everyone else was pretty good. 'Saw' was a rather interesting, if twisted, movie. Heck, even the name of the production company was Twisted Movies. Or something like that. There were a few cringe-worthy moments, and although the acting wasn't going to help anyone win an Oscar, I quite enjoyed the plot. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's not too squeamish about blood and gore.

These 2 have something in common. They both deal with the human psyche. I can't remember when exactly I started being interested in psychology. But I've always wondered about the 'why' behind people's actions. It's a fascinating event being able to ponder and decipher the motives and forces that drives a person to do perform something that is out of the ordinary.

Having watched Saw, Shanti asked me earlier 'Why do you like morbid stuff?'. Hmm... I don't think I like morbidity per se, but the act behind it, the capacity of a human mind to do what is cognitively unnatural... that's rather intriguing. One of my fav movie characters of all time is Hannibal Lecter. Here's an amazingly astute individual, the intellectual equal of any Mensa member, a high flying member of society with the unfortunate habit of having a penchant for human flesh. Why is he like that? Was he born with this defect? Is it a defect in the first place, or a just a return to a rather primitive form of instinct i.e. does it come naturally to him? Was it society? Was he a boy who had an overbearing father who seeks to compensate by this form of power over his fellow man?

Even my fav character from The Sandman is Delirium, who used to be called Delight. That brings a whole load of thoughts as well... does being immersed in your emotions a form of delirium? But everybody does it, so does that make it normal? Or are we all just abnormal? Unique like everyone else? Yeah, I ask too many irrelevant questions, but it just goes to show that I'm quite keen on this particular topic. Hence the time I spend just watching people and observing their daily activities. Sometimes, I even say or write things just to read a person's reaction. What makes a person tick?

I guess this interest stems from a fascination of the unknown. Personally, I have never physically hurt another human being that has resulted in him being hospitalised. As far as I can remember, I have not been an advocate of violence and I've always preferred diplomacy. In the event of wanting to take revenge on someone, I'd prefer to mind-fuck him instead. Call me a wimp if you must but I prefer the more refined approach. I sometimes make the mistake of thinking that people in general think like me. And then news of a murder gets to me. Or of a 5 year old girl who gets raped. Why does this happen? More importantly, what kind of sick maniacs do these things? I can't even imagine myself breaking someone's nose and yet there are individuals out there who would kill you 'cause you have a darker shade of skin colour. What drives these people? Would it be possible to amend things if you get to the root of the problem?

Psychoanalysis is a rather rudimentary and experimental field though. What's obvious today will be tomorrow's fallacy.

A few days ago I mentioned something about mankind, and if we're worth saving. In 'Saw', the point that is being put across by the antagonist is simple. Value your life. After all, you've only got this one chance to not fuck up (unless you're a believer in reincarnation, of course. Even then, you wouldn't want to be reborn as a dung beetle right?). The movie has been compared to Se7en, and although it doesn't quite reach that level, it's pretty good. Definitely better than other silly horror movies out there (Valentine comes to mind. Can't remember why I watched it in the first place...). The killer's smart and 'normal', just like Kevin Spacey in Se7en, and heck, he's thought about everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. I guess another reason I enjoyed the movie was 'cause I walked into the cinema not knowing anything at all about the movie, except that it's supposed to be kinda sick.

Off to bed now, with a few more thoughts that shall keep me awake for a few minutes. But before I sign off, I take my (imaginary) hat off to Elly for her wonderful Laksa and to Ellina for her tasty tiramisu. Today has been yet another day of gastronimic delight.