posted August 25, 2004 07:04 PM         

I love you Pixelpixie!

posted August 27, 2004 04:14 PM         

i do take issue with the film's portrayal of what is known as 'gaslighting'. they made it seem perfectly ok to invade someone's home for the purpose of 'punishment'.

the term gaslighting comes from a film by that name (gaslight) with Ingrid Bergman. she is a young and trusting wife whose husband subtly rearranges her surroundings and pilfers her possessions, among other things, in an attempt to make her think she is going crazy. he then tells her she is losing her memory and that she is ill. she believes him and succumbs to his psychological manipulations.

this is not ok, especially when someone invades your home and goes through all your private things...steals your possessions only to return them later....to make you feel unbalanced and that the ground is faltering beneath you. it is a nasty psychological trick to play, especially if the person has no clue about what's going on. your home is your sanctuary, and no one has the right to invade it and try to destroy you.

this a tactic of mind control and is utilized in many instances by people trying to control another, to make that person lose his sense of himself. no matter how one judges another, this is unconscionable and despicable!

the film makes it appear that these actions are justified, but this is never so!

how would you like to have your keys stolen and someone invading your life for the purpose of destroying you?

this part of the film i found very disturbing.

posted August 27, 2004 08:48 PM         

There are movies that make fat people look like pariahs.

There are movies that make blondes look stupid.

There are movies that portray African Americans in a most heinous light.

Et cetera.

In Amelie, the message was that what goes around, comes around. A little karma to the rescue. A good thing to do to another in real life? Of course not. But most of us who are viewers are conscionable enough that we can separate reality from movie fantasy. Those who would do such a thing, are already disturbed on that level.

I saw Tom Cruise in Collateral recently, and it didn't make me want to be a sociopathic killer. I saw the Village, and it didn't make me want to live in the forest or be afraid of the color red. I saw Shrek 2 and it didn't make me want to be a green princess. Oh. Wait. Maybe I did want to be a green princess.

posted August 27, 2004 09:41 PM         

and those who do such things are disturbed. i've had this done to me. a most heinous, foul and vile thing to do to anyone for any reason. and perhaps it was my karma, i don't know. i don't subscribe to the idea of karma as punishment.

i certainly feel that i didn't deserve that kind of treatment. just to see it portrayed that way was disturbing.

posted August 28, 2004 11:50 AM         

I used karma as a term of convenience, to illustrate a point. And, it's not punishment, if you asked for it or agreed to it on a higher level. Which of course sounds good on an academic level, but it doesn't alter the pain we feel on this more mundane level.

posted August 28, 2004 04:08 PM         

and as old Milton would say,

quote:

---

"A mind not to be chang’d by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

---

posted January 13, 2005 03:46 PM         

Talaith, I´m so sorry about what happened to you... I agree that doing that as a manipulation technique is cruel... I´m a bit embarrassed about it , but I must admit that was one of the things I liked the most in the film... That man was awful... Sometimes, I have wished a little angel did small nasty things to those people who are so cruel to others... Just as a small reminder of how it feels like to be on the bullied shoes for a change...

posted January 14, 2005 05:17 AM         

i'd suggest the film 'gaslighting' to you, with ingrid bergman. it's an interesting study of this tactic as well.

posted March 13, 2005 06:45 PM         

I think one of the reasons I was so captivated by the film was that I can relate to Amelie in a lot of ways. It was like a wonderful portrayal of what I've felt and experienced within me. (She is like an aspect of me. Tee-hee!)

I loved the originality, wit and art of this film. I don't think that the cheeky things she got up to should be taken seriously; only the film as a whole.

I can't wait to see 'A very Long Engagement' starring Audrey Tautou.

I think that Vanessa Paradis is a good french actress too.

posted March 19, 2005 10:49 AM         

"What goes around comes around" is a great (karmic) lesson, but I could have sworn the theme in Amelie was to make your dreams a reality - not to be afraid to live them by the light of day.