Because our pride disallows it...

There are times when we question ourselves, "How different would things have been if I didn't do it that way?". We ask ourselves whether things would have been better if we didn't make that life changing decision or if we had chosen some other option. We doubt ourselves and then inevitably end up regretting.

But not always. Sometimes we trick ourselves into believing that indeed, we did not make the wrong choice. That indeed, we were right, and not anyone else who advised against it. That indeed, despite all contrasting evidence, that somehow, our lives are better because of that decision. We lie to ourselves.

We created this need for falsehood because we have obligated ourselves to others. Because if we admitted that we had made a mistake, we would be admitting not just to ourselves, but to everyone else. Then we realize that it was never a personal decision, it was one made by everyone. It was not solely our decision but rather one that had more approval than disapproval. We realize it wasn't the number of "Yes"es that we got but rather how much each "Yes" was worth. Now we want to regret, but our pride disallows it. Because we weren't here just for ourselves, We were also here for everyone else. We were here to prove the "Yes"es and disprove the "No"s.

We call these obligations "responsibilities" so we can attach positive connotations to it. We dupe ourselves into believing that we aren't living for others, but rather, that we are living for ourselves. That we actually want to fulfil these obligations. And because we want these obligations, they aren't obligations, they are responsibilities.

Unprecedented Cruelty

There are some in life who are simply a complete disgrace to humanity. To possess such a lack of empathy and compassion is simply mind baffling. I had initially believed that I was not a very good person. My moral grounds are somewhat shifted, to say the least, and the only few virtues I have are consistency and integrity. While I knew some people were just cruel, I guess I never expected to experience it first hand.

To toy with someone's emotions so much and then laugh it off in the end. This is simply the essence of cruelty. Pure deceit and deception masked with such deliberate elaboration. A game to the deceiver, but a matter of life-and-death to the victim. Lies piled upon lies with no remorse or guilt. A complete and distinct lack of compassion of any sort.

Yes. There exists such a person. Someone who fabricates everything. Someone who lies about her location, her descent, her talents, her emotions, her very nature, and even her name. Someone who had betrayed my utmost trust.

My word of advice? Be wary and thread very carefully. For humanity can be very, very evil.

Video Games and the Modern World

No doubt the title of this post will scare off most people who aren't interested in video games. The irony is that this post actually hopes to address that very issue. There are many reasons why people are disinterested in video games. But the main and forthmost reason is that majority of the people don't recognize the intellectual merit in modern video games. Long gone are the days of Pong, where player interaction is limited to just two keys (up and down) and simple visual coordination on where the ball is expected to land. Modern video games have evolved to the point where they are incredibly complex and comparing it's development to a movie with tremendous technical difficulty would be an accurate measurement. Skeptical? Read on.

As stated before, the days of Pong are deceased. The evolution of a generic round ball flying around a flickering screen has come a long way indeed. Video games now don't just involve intense visual and sound effects but also stories and characters that require a lot of intellectual thought. Now what is so special about this? Like movies, some video games attempt to make a message, or invoke true intellectual discussion on certain philosophies. Take the video game called "The Witcher" for example. You assume the role of a monster hunter. Sounds typical enough, yet far from it. "The Witcher" places you as a neutral individual in a very fascinating world, one oppressed by religious fanatics and power hungry political parties. The choices you make throughout your journey have a very vivid effect on the world. What is even more fascinating is that "The Witcher" offer mostly morally ambiguous choices. There is no true "right" or "wrong" choice, and the outcome of your choices become much more apparent as you progress throughout the game as an attempt to emulate reality (and a successful attempt it is). A lot of these outcomes have positive and negative effects, very much like how it is in the real world. The game itself doesn't force you to take sides, but allows you to, each with it's own repercussions. "The Witcher" is just one of the brilliant games that are under appreciated due to the social stigma that video games are "merely for entertainment". Due to the nature of the game and the themes that it explores, it is branded as a game intended for adults (M-18+) which further proves it's seriousness. Modern video games have moved way past that and should be considered art forms. My summary may not do enough justice to the thought put into the game, but the general idea is that video games no longer exist simply to entertain, but also serve to educate and inspire.

Short reflection on the "The Little Duckling"

I had chosen to retell Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling". The main reason would be that I felt Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" was extremely unrealistic. In fact, the plot and theme in the story are in direct contrast with what I personally believe.

The plot in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" mainly consisted of different creatures giving the young ugly duckling a hard time while it grew up. This was unreal to me. Even though bullying does occur frequently, it is unlikely that one's own family would display such resentment towards their own kin simply because they were ugly. Almost every other creature the ugly duckling encountered had displayed disapproval simply because it was ugly. This is often not true in real life. Most people do not openly display their disapproval simply because of someone else's appearance, even if they might feel that way internally.

I feel the theme of Hans Christian Andersen's version of the "The Ugly Duckling" was about overcoming one's own flaws through endurance. The story featured a young ugly duckling who grew up into a beautiful swan after much suffering. Personally, I think this rarely ever happens in real life. If a person is truly born ugly, then chances are that person would grow up into an ugly person. Simply enduring the pain of growing up will change nothing. If a person dislikes their own appearance, they should do something about it. The ugly duckling did nothing about its own flaws other than to wallow in self-pity but became a swan in the end. I disagree with the theme because of the fact that the ugly duckling did not work for its own happiness. This simply does not happen in real life.

These two reasons are why I had chosen to retell the Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling". I have significantly altered the story to reflect how I feel and what I think would have really happened. I will explain in detail each aspect of my story and why I had made those choices.

The theme of my story reflects my feelings towards lying. I had decided to use vanity as a medium because I think it is the most common thing people would lie about. In my version of "The Ugly Duckling", the duckling did not have a happy ending due to her obsession with gaining approval on her appearance. Her obsession was a result of the lies that were fed to her. The duckling was actually in self-denial, she knew she was not good looking but because of the repetition of lies that were fed to her, she had wanted to believe them and started to doubt herself. Hence, she felt the need to constantly gain approval on her own appearance. What I wanted to tell people through my story was that lying could have unforeseen consequences so it would be better to think about it carefully first. Sometimes telling the harsh truth is better than lying. I also wanted to show that even well-intentioned minor lies can still cause unwanted situations. Had the duckling not been lied to, she would have understood her flaws and not have died in the end.

I had changed the entire plot of the story in order to better reflect what I feel would really happen. Instead of the general disapproval from the duckling's peers, I had reversed the situation and made such that everyone had lied to the duckling instead. The duck, being constantly lied to, started to believe the lies and then dangerous repercussions soon follow. This is what I believe would really happen. People do tend to lie in order to comfort their loved ones after all. I think the real problem is when people are fed too many lies, albeit with good intentions. In order to remain consistent in my story and with reality, I had removed the entire part where the duckling had travelled to other places of the world. There was no reason for the duckling to leave if it was loved and approved of by its social circle. The meeting with the swans was crucial too, as the swans represented an outside party. I wanted to make it clear that it is not just family members who lie to their loved ones, but also strangers. The meeting with the swans also served to fuel the duckling's delusions of grandiose which ultimately led to the duckling's demise.

The reason why I have adopted a first person point of view is because I wanted people to experience how it might feel like to be lied to. I wanted people to experience the uncertainty when being lied to. The little duckling had no idea if she was being lied to or not. She did not know if she was actually ugly or beautiful. I had intentionally left out any specific labels about the duckling’s appearance and left her actual appearance open to interpretation. This is why I had changed the title of the story to “The Little Duckling” instead of the “The Ugly Duckling”. The feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity were the feelings that I had wanted to capture. I also wanted to show how you feel about yourself can change through the things people tell you. This reason is also why I think lies should not be so spoken without much consideration.

One of the reasons why I had chosen Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" was because of the use of animals. The reason why I wanted to use animals is because they transcend culture and time. I believe this problem is prevalent in almost every culture. I also believe that this problem have persisted through many eras. After all, it is common knowledge that people would often lie to each other in an attempt to comfort one another. I had chosen a duck as my main character among other animals because ducks are very ordinary. They are not particularly known for anything and are relatively low in the food chain. To me, ducks had represented being below average. I had also intentionally represented the duck as a young female. This is because I personally think that lying about appearance is more common in females than in males, especially when they are younger. I had chosen to use swans because of their appearance. Swans have always represented grace and beauty. The swans had represented the goal that the duckling wanted to reach. They were intended to objects of envy. In many environments, there is always an ideal person who people adore and wanted to imitate. Think of the good-looking, popular and smart student in school or the friendly employee of the year in a working environment. The swans had represented this group in the story. This led the little duckling to believe everything the swans have told it, even defying her mother. The point I wanted to make is that people often make poor judgments when they are receiving information from something they have idealized and thus, it is especially important that you are honest when you are in an influential position.

My choice of setting had represented a limited social circle. The fact that their home was a small pond had represented a confined space. I made this clear by explaining that the shore could be seen on all ends. I believe this applies in real life, as very often one does not get much opportunity to meet new people, especially if one is young. Most children go to the same places every day so whatever information they may receive from those places are the only information they know. The location of the swans was no coincidence too. They had represented neighboring friends who children normally go to play with. The last scene with the bridge had represented an unfamiliar and dangerous location. The little duckling had chosen to experiment with it and ended up dying.

I have used several motifs throughout the story. The swans were one of them. As I had mentioned before, the swans had symbolized a goal and an idealized object. I was careful not to mention any flaws about them in order to show how distorted the little duckling's perspective is. The little human children had represented unfamiliarity and a distorted fantasy. The duckling did not know anything about the little human children other than what little information the swan had provided her. I had ensured that the entire phrase "little human children" was written out each time they were mentioned because I wanted to show that the little duckling would not know about of other variations of humans there might be. The intention was to show that she knew little of the children. She had also pursued the goal of gaining food from the children despite what little she knew and hence it had represented a distorted fantasy.

I have explained why I have decided to retell my story in such a manner. I think it fully captures my beliefs about lying and other aspects of life. In essence, I think people should know that is important to work with what they have rather than be under the delusion of possessing something that they do not actually have.

The Little Duckling

I finally broke out of the walls that had sheltered me for months. I peered curiously at the wide open world. What an intimidating amount of space! I thought. I tried to snuggle back into my cozy shell but alas, the pieces of the shell could not be joined back together again. There was also a fully grown duck which was standing next to my shell, staring joyfully at me. I felt a strange sense of warmth towards the duck even though I had never seen her before.

"Mommy?" I guessed.

"Yes, my dear child. And now it is time for you to learn how to swim with your siblings," said the older duck.

Before I could protest, I was already being urged towards the pond by one of Mother's wings. I plopped into the water, not knowing what to expect. Much to my surprise, nothing bad happened and before I knew it, I was already swimming alongside my other siblings.

The water felt cool and it was very clear. I could see the little fishes swimming under me and it was quite intriguing. I looked around me and I could see the shore. Though the pond was big compared to my previous home, I felt safe and reassured when I saw the shores close by.

"Sister?" asked one of the ducklings. There were 3 small ducklings swimming in the pond.

"Aren't you quite the strange one? You look nothing like us," asked another with genuine interest. I looked down at the reflection of the water. True enough, I looked nothing like the other ducks. I had also felt a tinge of unpleasantness towards my own appearance.

"Now, now, this is your youngest sister. You older ones must take care of her and dote on her as you would your greatest treasures," Mother interrupted. My siblings agreed readily and that was the end of the discussion of my appearance.

When night has fallen and we had played till we were all tired, I started to wonder about my appearance again. I went to the pond to look at myself when my mother and siblings had all fallen asleep. I am quite ugly, I thought. My beak is too big and my eyes are too small. This must be what my brother meant when he had said I looked nothing like them. As I went back to try and sleep, I could not help wondering why I did not turn out pretty like the rest of my siblings. I decided I would ask Mother when morning comes.

The following day, I proceeded as planned. I was careful to make sure my other siblings were elsewhere so that I would not be embarrassed.

"Mom? Why am I so ugly?" I asked sadly.

"Oh, my dear child. Who had implanted such bad thoughts in your mind? You are not ugly. You are different." Mother said in a reassuring manner.

"Why am I different? I don't want to be different. I don't like my big beak and my small eyes," I whined. I could tell this question had baffled Mother, for her eyes shifted and she paused momentarily before replying.

"Well, you are different because you are a beautiful little duckling. Your big beak and small eyes are unique features of your beauty. Now, go and play with your siblings and do not worry about such pointless things." Mother said hastily before pushing me into the pond.

I was unsatisfied with Mother's answer. I felt like she was lying. But why would she lie to me? Surely my own mother would not lie to me. Why then would she be nervous? I was frustrated at my own questions. I decided to confirm Mother's answers by my siblings.

I leapt into the pond and swam alongside my kin. I knew that I would create an awkward situation if I had just suddenly asked such a strange question. Furthermore, I had preferred to ask them separately. If their answer was that I am ugly, then I would surely be embarrassed among all my kin. We played for a little while until my brother, the second youngest, went off to the side to clean himself.

"Oh brother, do you think I am ugly? Mother said I was beautiful but I really don't think so," I asked fearfully. Surely my own brother would not lie to me as well. I was afraid of his answer, but I would very much like to know the truth.

"Hmm..." said my brother as he studied my face. "You worry too much. You are indeed as pretty as Mother has said. Come, let us go play." then my brother went to join our other siblings.

I looked back down at my reflection. All I could see was a beak too large and eyes that are too small. Do I truly worry too much? I wondered. Both my brother and mother have told me that I look beautiful yet I still feel differently. No, Brother has to be right. I worry too much, I told myself.

For the next several days, I tried to forget how I was feeling and believe I was truly beautiful. However, each time I had looked upon my reflection on the water, I felt I had looked the complete opposite. Finally, I could hold it in no longer. I decided that I should ask my sister. She is pretty and we are both female, she will be able to understand me and tell me the truth. She is also the second oldest and her words possessed more wisdom. Using the same strategy, I waited for my sister to be alone before approaching her.

"Silly girl! Of course you are beautiful. Trust me, I know how you feel. We all feel insecure about our appearance sometimes. Just know that you are the prettiest amongst us. Come, let us go play." My sister said before petting me lightly and then leaving to join our siblings.

I had definitely felt reassured. How silly I was to think I am ugly. I looked down at my reflection once more. Oh, how pretty I look! But what of the large beak and small eyes? They look horrendous! Perhaps I should ask my oldest brother, for he bears the most wisdom next to Mother. Again with the same strategy, I approached my oldest brother.

"Oh brother, I know I am beautiful but why do I have such an ugly beak and such small eyes?" I asked woefully.

"My dear sister, that beak of yours is not ugly but beautiful. How easy it is for you to eat! Those eyes of yours are beautiful but perhaps too small. No wonder you view things differently. Worry not, my sister, for you are beautiful. Come, let us go play." said my brother before going to join our siblings.

That had made perfect sense to me. No wonder I had always finished my meal before my siblings. My large beak must have helped with that. I must have appeared ugly to myself due to these delicate eyes. I guess not all is perfect. Indeed, beauty must come with a price.

One day, we were told by Mother that we were to visit some of Mother's friends. I was very excited to meet them. All this time, we had only ever interacted among our own family. Occasionally, we would see some other ducks at the far side of the pond but Mother had always warned us not to go near them. Mother had told us they were dangerous. We had never ventured beyond the pond. The pond was the only world we knew. Mother had often told us stories of other ponds and other curious creatures. It was all very fascinating. However, Mother had also often warned us of the dangers that lie beyond our pond. She had told us of a strange 4-legged creature with black stripes on its body. The creature would eat any stray disobedient ducklings.

Soon after, we were finally on our trip to meet Mother's friends. Mother had called them the 'Swans Family'. Mother would often tell stories of their grace and beauty. I was very excited to meet them not just because we were finally going to meet different creatures, but also because they were beautiful like me. I had hoped that perhaps the Swans might be able to relate better to me compared to my average looking siblings.

The journey was not a terrible one, as it was only a neighboring pond. We walked across some trees and forestry but I did not manage to spot anything peculiar. Though the journey did not take long, Mother had kept us very close to her and had often turned around to see if we were following her. When we finally arrived, the Swans were surprised but had received us very warmly.

Unlike our family, there were four Swan members, two children and two adults. One of the adults was a male. This was puzzling to me. Mother had told us that every family had only one adult and that the adult would be female. Yet here there are two adults, who I assume to be Mothers. The younger Swan members also consisted of one female and one male. Though this was all particularly interesting, what really caught my eye was their appearance.

Mother was right about their beauty. I had never seen anything that was quite so graceful as they are. Their long slender necks curved elegantly and their magnificent wings boasted virility. I was impressed and awed by the beauty they possessed. The Swans family would definitely be able to understand me better. Of course my duck family would call me beautiful. They were only ducks after all. They did not possess any true beauty. But, if the Swans family were to admit me as beautiful, then I would have truly conquered the virtue of beauty.

"My Swan friend, we both share qualities of the same kind. Maybe you can tell me if I was pretty?" I asked, masking my anxiousness with fake cheerfulness. The swan I had asked was the younger female. I had wanted to ask the older Swans but Mother had told us that it was rude to interrupt when adults were speaking.

"Sure, my little duckling friend. Indeed, you are very pretty. You would impress the little human children as we have," replied the Swan.

How happy was I to hear such a thing! Yet I know that I cannot live with these pretty birds because I know Mother would surely miss me. I had been contented to hear that I was pretty from my family members but hearing it from these magnificent creatures were of a different story. I knew that I was at the pinnacle of beauty because the prettiest creatures had approved of me. I was curious, however, as to what the Swan had meant by "human children".

"What are 'little human children'?" I asked curiously.

"They are two legged creatures who throw delicious food at you if you are pretty. You would surely be able to get delicious food if they had seen you." replied the Swan cheerfully.

I asked more questions about the 'little human children' to learn how to gain their approval. The more I learned about them, the more interested I became in gaining their approval. Indeed, I cared little for the food they supposedly threw. I was only interested if they would actually throw food as that would mean they approve of my beauty.

When the time to return back to our pond came, I bid farewell and left regretfully. That night, I could not sleep. I could only think of 'little human children' and how impressed they would be when they saw me.

The next day, I told Mother about the 'little human children' and how I wanted to impress them. I said I would bring back lots of delicious food for us. I expected Mother to be impressed and happy but she sang a different tune.

"What a silly child! Do not have such silly fantasies! The human children you speak of are dangerous and vile. They will throw stones at you!" chided Mother.

I was furious, "Of course they would throw rocks at you! You are ugly, unlike me! The little human children only throws delicious food at beautiful creatures!" I replied angrily before running off into the forest. The Swan had told me of the river under the bridge where 'little human children' constantly frequented. Though I have only ever been in the forest once, I was eager to prove myself. I could hear Mother calling me from behind. She had tried to chase me but my youth outmatched her speed. I had followed the directions the Swan had provided to me and finally I had arrived at the river.

True enough, there were the strangest creatures standing on the bridge, looking down at the river as if they were some kind of deity ready to judge the creatures who appeared before them. I examined the birds who were already there. The creatures were of the same breed of the Swans. Their beauty and elegance must have impressed the human children, as peculiar items started falling from their hands into the water. The birds swarmed to the food, devouring them quickly and quite unlike their usual self, quite ungracefully.

That must be quite a treat! I thought. I quickly joined them and imitated their actions in hopes of impressing the human children.

"There! Look at how ugly that bird is! Let's throw stones at it!" said the human children as they pointed somewhere in my direction.
Surely they cannot mean me, I thought, for I am as beautiful as these Swans. I looked around, trying to identify the ugly bird. Suddenly, I felt sharp and hard objects raining down on me. I uttered cries of pain as the objects pierced my beautiful feathers. I tried to escape, but my movement is impaired from injuries all over my body. Eventually, I was unable to move. As the light faded from my eyes, I cursed at that ugly bird. How unlucky I was to be next to him, for the human children must have missed and hit me. If only that ugly bird did not exist...

The World And Us

The World is unfair. A truthful phrase that has exhausted it's impact due to overusage. How naive and ignorant is the one who says otherwise. Some are born into suffering without ever being able to escape from it. Undeserving people have lived luxuriously and in such extravagrant manners to which most could have only dreamed of. Luck has given extraordinary talents to random individuals while less fortunate ones have been given deficiencies and abnormalities. Sad, but true.

The Principles of Life

If there was any rules to live life by, there would only be one rule: there are no rules. Absolute principles are seemingly innocuous but its' uncompromising nature sets the ground for many fundamentalists and extremists. It is pitifully presumptuous and infantile to think that there is a solution to every problem. There are no guarantees. Honesty is not always the best policy. There may be wills, but no ways. How many have lost their lives, destroyed other lives, wasted their time and wasted others time for no other than abiding to their principles. It is within oneself and the situation one must gauge before coming to the conclusion of solubility.

"I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times." -Everett Dirksen

The Average Human

The average person is an idiot. He is ignorant and mostly useless. He is susceptible to supersition, gullible to propaganda and limited in terms of creativity and intelligence. Do not be surprised if he tells you clouds are the grounds of heaven. Do not be surprised if he does not know H2O is water. Do not be surprised if he tells you with such ferocious certainty that the afterlife exists. Such is the average person. The bulk of Homo Sapiens are unfortunately carried by these people, hence the term "average". The nature of the average human is the very reason why acceptance is important. Change is unlikely as it is our nature. As long as humans exists, so will our nature and thus so will selfishness, greed, ignorance and all other sins and vices.

"Even in the socially and economically and legally most utopian conditions, there will remain this irreducible self-obtuseness, self-evasiveness, self-irreality, in which men forever act as their own premier and unrecognized worst enemies, the obscure causes of their own self-suffering." -Kenneth Smith

An Honest Acceptance of Reality

When the man or woman has experienced enough mistreatment, enough discrimination, enough inequality, enough unfairness, it can be said that he or she will have understood the World's nature. The said person would then have to face a choice, to challenge, to deny or to accept. To challenge is to change. To deny is to fantasize. To accept is to know. Now, challenging the World's nature is quite different from challenging a particular situation. Do not get confused, for it could very well mean life and death. As I have mentioned before, we can change many things, but we cannot change our nature. To deny reality is to wish for a better one, in other words, to dream. This course of action has a tendency to insanity. The most reasonable discourse is an honest acceptance. To accept does not necessarily mean to submit. It means to know. Once the harsh nature of the World has been accepted, life would be less dissappointing, ideas and decisions would be more practical and realistic, credulity would be lessened.

"Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge. " -Napoleon Hill

Personal Problems And Advice

The problem with most personal problems is that its' so self-indulgent in itself that the solution usually gets overshadowed by emotions like pride and selfishness. What's worse is that majority of the people asking for advice already know the solution to these problems. The solution is often pretty simple: go talk to the other party in a calm, mature and rational manner. However, pride disallows it and brands the solution as a type of submission, greed dismisses the solution due to potential compromises, etc.

Furthermore, people who seek advice regarding personal issues usually aren't really seeking advice. They are seeking comfort. They want to hear "Sounds bad." or "Take it easy." or "Sounds like you are in a tight spot." in order to justify their distress. They won't settle for an easy and useful solution because that would make their problems look petty. These people only seek attention and it would be a real pity if anyone wasted their time on them.

"The human mind prefers to be spoonfed with the thoughts of others, but deprived of such nourishment it will, reluctantly, begin to think for itself- and such thinking, remember, is original thinking and may have valuable results." -Agatha Christie

In the case of genuine inquiring, most people just don't realize that personal problems in general cannot be solved by other people. There are just too many factors in a PR problem (What is the attitude of that person towards you, how do you normally communicate with that person, etc.) that the advisor wouldn't know and I dare say it's nigh impossible to describe the scenario vividly to the advisor. Just imagine trying to solve a problem sum without most of the given values! A person might be offer some useful advice but the ultimate and best solution still lies within your own assessment.

"When you approach a problem, strip yourself of preconceived opinions and prejudice, assemble and learn the facts of the situation, make the decision which seems to you to be the most honest, and then stick to it." -Chester Bowles

-To be Continued...

Let The Right One In (2008)

"Let The Right One In" aka "Låt den rätte komma in" is quite simply, a breathtaking tale. This complex tale of innocence and romance would not be quite the type of movie you would be expecting, I guarantee you. There are strong elements of horror and violence and depending on how you interpret it, it could be an even more horrific experience. "Let The Right One In" was a very unique experience for me. It was surreal yet real, beautiful yet terrifying. By the time I was at the end, I was surrounded by extremely strong feelings that brought tears to my eyes. At that time, I was perplexed as to why I almost cried for the ending was not a sad or happy one. It took me some time to realize it was because of the overwhelming sensation the film invoked. This film boasts such incredible depth and originality that it is impossible not to recommend. While I am not trying to sound as if I am on a superior pedestal, this film does take a certain level of understanding to appreciate. I do hope if someone dislikes this film, it would not be because that person did not "get it".