Without a doubt The 5 Obstructions is the longest blogathon I’ve ever joined, it’s not exactly the easiest but I did learn much from it (check my previous entries). Unlike the previous obstructions, this one actually gives the bloggers a freedom to write anything but review, anything that we haven’t done or have featured before.
I take this as a chance to write a post that I have had in mind for some time. That is writing my thoughts about a movie. Not a review, but some thinking. My mumbling and concerns about the topic. I’m not talking about how great the cinematography, the performances or anything. But exactly my response about the topic delivered in the movie. Some movies interests you that way, gives you some thinking because it involves something true or happening. For example, I wrote The Bling Ring (2013) a review, but honestly I was very interested to the topic. This is what I had in mind :
Social Numbness in movies
I never actually give Warm Bodies (2013) a full review, but reading Chris’ short review about it makes me remember how the opening of the movie (some zombies walking around in the airport walking slowly without expression and hardly talk or interacting to one another) often happens in reality, in big cities mainly. The lead character, a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) said in the movie that he wants to be human because they can feel things. Sadly, some people today are no different than zombies, in terms of ignore each other and seem to have no feelings.
People busy with their gadgets and cellphones, updating their current locations and food they are eating, but rarely ever have a real interaction with the people besides them. I often see children are busy with games in their i-pads. Some parents said they need the gadgets to keep their children quiet or calm. But the kids get edgy when they took the gadgets away from them. Saying hello to a person on the street sounds so bizarre, and when someone needs help on the street we often think twice.
Technologies supposed to be a support and help us humans easier to live, and they are easier to use everyday, personalized to what we need and even match our personalities. But sadly today it has made us pretty busy with ourselves. Today’s connecting to people actually connecting in the web and social media. Sometimes it’s more about social existence rather than connecting.
I read an Indonesian article (for some confidential reason I can’t put the link) about how technology today makes us human less of a human. It’s said that it’s because we always used our smartphone from waking up, doing our activities until going to sleep. They made a survey that today we are too much depending on technology but neglect our real social activity.
Which brings us to the movie Disconnect (2013) that I recently saw. The movie brought an interesting sad truth of today’s lack connection to one another. There’s one loner kid with a father who is too busy with his work that he opens up to a stranger in facebook, a teenager enjoys working for a sex web chat and a wife desperately needs a connection to his husband, she turns to a guy on the web who is having a similar situation with her. What is it about us that makes us think it’s easier to open up to a total stranger? Are we really dying for a connection, or is it just a shortcut to problems we are having? Some people prefer to update their status about their problems, but they don’t realize that they just shared their private problems to the world (don’t set the privacy settings).
A little related to that, the movie The Bling Ring (2013) actually gives an interesting topic about teens wanting to be famous for no reason. The urge to look popular and cool is that high until they went to steal branded items in celebrity homes. Sadly, this is based on a true story. The teens have idols such Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, the young celebrities media often exposed. The kids took pictures wearing the branded clothes and posing in lounges then post the pictures to social media. They do these things for an audience, to get some sorts of cool image.
Well I am no psychology expert, but I’ve read an article possibly 10 years ago about how people in the city sometimes easily feel lonely and sad. I can’t find the article since it’s a long time ago, but I remembered the article said that because of the fast paced life people in the city often forget other things than wordly needs, and forget their spiritual needs. I think once in a while we people in the city need to go to nature and shut off our smartphones for a day. Once I even found a game (for group of friends) posted in social media to put our cellphones in some place and see who can stand not touching for it the longest!
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Thanks for hearing my mumbling 
