“Girl, Interrupted” as an illustration of Nietzschean philosophical components

The movie “Girl, Interrupted” starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie is about the psychological confusions and troubles of a young woman in the whirlwind of the rapidly changing society of the 60s. The movie touches on important themes such as sanity versus insanity and a growing sense of feminism.

The movie is directed by James Mangold who has had quite a good share of films over the past two decades, notably the psychological thriller “Identity” and the Johnny Cash biography “Walk the Line”. However, this movie has been criticized because its protagonist Susanna Kaysen, diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, lacks will power and direction and seems more like a spectator than an actual character in the movie. This criticism is somewhat valid since the person both on and off-screen that robs her claim for attention is the “sociopath” Lisa Rowe, played brilliantly by a young and deliciously evil Angelina Jolie.

That’s also where the movie’s strength lies which is slightly undermined by what seems to me an anticlimactic and implausible ending. Lisa is the ultimate rebel. She is a “lifer” as she says but her strengths are her cleverness and her brutal honesty. She controls and manipulates all the other girls in the ward, including some of the nurses, and she manages to escape from the asylum from time to time, however always ending up back there.

To me she is the prototype not only of a strong woman in an oppressed and coy society, but also as a Nietzschean symbol of strength and will power. First of all, she does not abide by the rules set by others, whether it is society or the mental institute. That’s all “slave morality” to her and she, as a “noble” a la Nietzsche creates her own rules and morality. There is a scene where she screams that all the others are merely powerless victims and that she is the only one who is really free.

For example, she uses her physical beauty and sexual magnetism to obtain what she wants. She gives advice to the other patients including sexual advice to some of the nurses. And she gives everyone their daily dose of truth, regardless of whether they can handle it or not.

It is true that she comes off as cold-hearted and unemotional, especially when she “pushes the buttons” of an ex-patient Daisy who then commits suicide. At the sight of Daisy’s hanging corpse Lisa simply remarks “What an idiot” and that she had it coming anyhow; she was only waiting for an excuse and all Lisa did was to give her that excuse by facing her with the unwanted truth. Then she simply grabs into the pocket of a dead and dangling Daisy and takes her money.

I think Nietzsche would have indeed liked her. She is not hindered by compassion or pity; she is above the “common rabble”. She is, as she states herself, the only really free person, free of hypocrisy or social contrivance and that’s why she is kept imprisoned because society cannot handle her. Electro-shocks and threats do not stop her from being who she is or the way she thinks. The fools and victims are all the others who label her as a sociopath because deep inside they are all afraid of her, both as a dangerous sexually liberated woman and as an even more dangerous embodiment of a controversial philosophy.

Bloggers Unite for Refugees: On the Kindness of Strangers

Refugees are people in need. It takes a lot of courage to leave behind your home and family to enter an unknown world of many challenges. Refugees leave their countries because back home they are denied basic human rights. They leave it because of famine and the devastation of war.

Often when they arrive at the other country they do not have much money, nor access to food and lack knowledge of the language spoken in their host country. Yet none of this stops them because it is darkness and despair that has led them out of their home country to look for better opportunities for themselves and their children.

During such times, help is what matters most. It is a transition of confusion and adapting to new surroundings. It is a moment when kindness of strangers is what matters most and it is very much appreciated.

I believe we should open our arms and hearts to these people without homes. They are not responsible for times of war, for the blindness and wickedness of governments around the world. They simply should have a right to live their own life, enjoy liberties that we take for granted on a daily basis. And they will cherish forever the memory of all those people who have helped them in times of need and distress.

History and Cult of Cats in Egypt

Cats were highly appreciated in Ancient Egypt, at the beginning mostly for economic reasons; they protected the harvest from rats especially during seasons of drought. Over time they became sacred animals and gained cult status among the ancient Egyptians. For example, Bast, or alternatively known as Bastet or Basht, was the goddess of beauty, protection and pleasure and was depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a cat. She was also the protector of the “Head of State Commander-in-chief” Pharaoh.

Cats were said to be endowed with supernatural powers. It might be their graceful movements, the way they sit patiently, immobile at the threshold of the door or on top of a window sill. Or perhaps their magnetic eyes that seem to look into the hidden depths of your soul. Egyptians were afraid of their scrutiny and believed that they could control and manipulate human behavior with their piercing hypnotic eyes.

When one of their cats happened to die, it was a time of serious mourning. Egyptians would shave their eyebrows as a symbol of their pain and affliction and head to a solemn funeral where the cat would often be embalmed.

As to the laws, they were quite strict when it came to cats. In fact, not even Pharaoh himself could hurt any cats! To kill a cat was the most hideous act an Egyptian could think of. If anybody killed a cat, even by accident that person was immediately condemned to death. In case of fire, the first one to be saved was the cat and humans only thereafter.

There is, in fact, an interesting anecdote of a Persian king who took advantage of the Egyptian sentiment. This king decided to take an Egyptian city by filling it with cats. Egyptian soldiers felt paralyzed; they could not fight in fear of accidentally hurting a cat and so the Persian army simply occupied the city without any resistance.

Cats still are magnetic creatures. I can watch them for hours and be fascinated with how they do as they please regardless of what the owners may think of them. In fact, they are their own masters and most of them still expect you to serve them like in the old days of Egypt.