The Pain of Human Subjectivity: Desire and Mourning in Celestina

In Dr. Ealy's presentation, he spoke of the element of desire within a famous play entitled Celestina. It was interesting to hear of the dynamic that desire played within this work, but also the broader understanding of desire as a whole. He discussed how desire is a human trait which cannot be fulfilled. As humans we create a desire for something and it is merely an image of this want that motivates us, yet it can never be fulfilled because it is simply the image of this desire that we seek. It's a very interesting concept because I have never thought of desire in this way. Predominantly I have seen desire as a successful influence for motivating people and as a society we often associate being motivated as a positive thing. Many people work hard towards their goals, but are not satisfied. Why is this? Do we think this desire is going to fill that void, or will it create the outcome that we assume will follow? According to Dr. Ealy it will not. A desire for something is merely a facade or false belief in that thing. When we want something we usually have a set disposition that we think we will get once we acquire that thing, but oftentimes it is not the case.

Rape is Funny

I found this topic pretty interesting, especially since it's a topic that few people talk about. I have certainly heard my share of prison rape jokes, and I find even myself understanding the concept of "well they got themselves in there in the first place." Looking at it from another angle, however, I see that although a prison person has gotten themselves in that situation, there are different levels of crime. But regardless of the crime, rape shouldn't be the unintended reprocussion of that crime. But then again, if people are getting raped within prison, not saying its acceptable, that also shows the types of people who are in there (and thank god they aren't on the streets!). But a good point was brought up, if we can't control rape in an isolated atmosphere with officers holding guns, then what type of hope can we have that we can prevent it in the outside world where boundaries can easily be broken? It's a scary thought.

Although I think that rape should not be joked about, I can see where it stems from. In this day and age there are a lot of things that are more widely accepted as well as talked about. Fifty years ago we weren't even allowed to see a man and a woman sharing the same bed on t.v. and now we have shows and movies with various sex scenes and controversial acts. This makes me wonder if all this stimuli has created our society to become somewhat numb to these larger issues, especially of rape. Although most of us (or I at least hope) know that rape is a very harmful thing, we constantly hear or see movies about it and so maybe we have come to the point where the shock value diminishes. I know earlier this year we spoke about war and war photos and questioned how much numbness is created by viewing such things frequently through the news, video games, movies, etc.

Requiem for a Dream

After watching this movie, I wasn't as appalled as I thought I was going to be. Although watching the lives of four addicts take an ugly turn for the worst, I felt somewhat numb to it. It was, mind you, my first time watching the movie. For some odd reason I find these types of movies more interesting than disturbing, as it is a life so unfamiliar to me. It's interesting to examine how similar emotions in different people are played out in very different ways. I myself, have felt lonely before, yet I have never been drawn to drugs as an escape from reality. I am sure I divulge into other mediums, but I find it rather fascinating and confusing why different people take different routes and what exposures must they have for such events to occur. I liked how the movie didn't just look at drug addiction in the form of heroin and cocaine but also the addiction to diet pills. It's a very compelling contrast to see both forms used throughout the movie to show how being addicted to anything can have a deadly effect on one's emotional and physical health. The movie reminded me very much of Nic Sheff in the book Tweak where he tells us that he had done anything and everything in order to get his fix. He stole from his friends and family, and he even sold his body for money. Similar things take place in this movie, where the television is stolen from Sarah's home so Harry could get some mother. This is again reinforced when Marion goes to the party at the end of the movie and is seen doing disturbing sexual things in order to get drugs. It still amazes me how much drugs have an effect on someones reasoning and logic as their priorities shift from the normal to the very unpleasant realities of addiction.