{"id":1348,"date":"2013-04-18T13:43:29","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T20:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1348"},"modified":"2013-11-08T20:55:44","modified_gmt":"2013-11-09T04:55:44","slug":"an-age-old-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/film-2\/an-age-old-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"An Age-Old Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"earth\"<\/a>With the recent Boston Marathon tragedy<\/span><\/a><\/span> and the extensive media coverage that followed, it would be easy to believe we live in an unsafe world. But the opposite is true. This beautiful world of ours is largely a safe place. Unfortunately, the relatively small percentage of people, who are not happy with the way things are, take it into their own hands and use violence to get their message across. Many innocents are harmed in the process. Fortunately, there are more good souls out there than not. The city of Boston and its visitors proved that by acting quickly and generously to help those in need. That\u2019s the heart of the story.<\/p>\n

What happened in Boston is an age-old battle between good and evil, between love and hate. It\u2019s been going on since the dawn of man. What we saw in Boston was unbridled anger. Hatred.\u00a0 At what, we still don’t know. But it’s hatred nonetheless. Sigmund Freud<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> the eminent psychoanalyst defined hate<\/em> as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness.<\/p>\n

Recently, I saw a remarkable film, I AM<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0 that \"I<\/a>demonstrated how each one of us can make this world a better place. It spoke of the power of love. It also spoke of anger, and its power to divide.\u00a0 It was directed and written by Tom Shadyac<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/strong> known for his blockbuster comedies starring Jim Carrey–Pet Detective; Liar, Liar; and Bruce Almighty. After a horrible cycling accident that shook him and his world, Tom Shadyac re-evaluated his purpose in life. This film speaks to that process, and his search for deeper meaning.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d been living the high life and coming to the conclusion that no matter how much bigger and more extravagant his homes became, he wasn\u2019t any happier. It took an accident that nearly cost him his life to step back and see what changes he needed to make.<\/p>\n

In his film I AM, he asks the big questions: What is wrong with our world? What can be done about it? Through conversations with his father–CEO of St. Jude’s Hospital in L.A., the one that treats children with cancer–and\u00a0 other luminaries, like David Suzuki, Desmond Tutu, and Noam Chomsky, he discovers some answers.<\/p>\n

Tom Shadyac’s film also illustrates what we can learn from nature. How cooperative animals and plants are, how they only take what they need to survive. Drawing from science and wisdom passed down through the ages, the film shows how we are guided by our hearts more than our minds. We are interconnected through our energy, good or bad.<\/p>\n

He also mentions the Butterfly effect<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>. I\u2019d heard before how the flutter of butterflies’ wings in one hemisphere can affect weather in another hemisphere. The\u00a0 truth of that is still being debated, but what isn’t is the fact that even the smallest energy has power. Ask anyone who is in a room with an angry person whether they feel the tension or not. Anger travels. So does love.<\/p>\n

Every act, no matter how small, has a ripple effect. He gives an example of helping one homeless person. Though we can’t eradicate poverty,\u00a0 one act of kindness can make a difference. I’ m sure the people in Boston would agree.<\/p>\n

Love or Hate, which one would you choose?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the recent Boston Marathon tragedy and the extensive media coverage that followed, it would be easy to believe we live in an unsafe world. But the opposite is true.… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[82,88],"tags":[482,486,489,487,78,34,483,485,488,484,33],"class_list":["post-1348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-2","category-life","tag-boston-marathon","tag-butterfly-effect","tag-david-suzuki","tag-desomnd-tutu","tag-diana-stevan","tag-film","tag-i-am","tag-jim-carrey","tag-noam-chomsky","tag-tom-shadyac","tag-writer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-lK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1360,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/life\/the-seed-of-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":1348,"position":0},"title":"The Seed of Hope","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"27 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Years ago, when I worked as a social worker at the Child Guidance Clinic of Winnipeg, I had the privilege of meeting many young children, teens, and their families. They were referred to me by school personnel for some behavior problems they were having. There was one young teen that\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of Camelias by Diana Stevan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/P1070770-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":453,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/mightier-than-the-sword\/","url_meta":{"origin":1348,"position":1},"title":"Mightier Than The Sword","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"24 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was away, I watched the Stanley Cup, and even though I was cheering for the Vancouver Canucks, the better team, Boston Bruins, won. The players on both sides played well, but the aftermath was tragic. When I saw photos and video clips of men going mad, destroying public\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/photo2-255x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":979,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/uncategorized\/illustrious-poetry-in-new-yorks-kgb-bar\/","url_meta":{"origin":1348,"position":2},"title":"Illustrious Poetry in New York’s KGB Bar","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"16 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Taras Shevchenko was a political poet, during the Tsarist regime in Russia in the latter half of the 19th century. He illuminated through his poetry the plight of \u00a0the Ukrainian serfs. He is still celebrated throughout the world for his passion. His poem, Zapovit (meaning Testament) is as famous as\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/P11106411-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2398,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/film-2\/eduardo-in-kodak-film-challenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1348,"position":3},"title":"Michael Stevantoni’s Eduardo in Kodak Film Challenge","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"22 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Michael needs your vote for his film Eduardo in the Kodak Film Challenge. Our grandson, Michael Stevantoni, who's been making films since he was six, is now in second year university, at Dodge College, Chapman University, Orange CA. There,\u00a0he directed a short film, about five minutes long, called Eduardo. \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"On the set of Eduardo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5231-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":859,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/writing\/asghar-farhadis-film-a-separtion-universal-film-and-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":1348,"position":4},"title":"Asghar Farhadi’s Film, A Separation – A Universal Film and Story","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"29 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw Asghar Farhadi's film,\u00a0A Separation, the week before it won best foreign film at the Oscars.\u00a0 Shot in a very intimate fashion\u2014no panoramic shots of city or country\u2014this film tells a story that could be told anywhere. 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