Awakening

This film has certain impacts on people. The movie talks about suffering, therefore it has a sense of realism and despair, but the impact is not about thinking negatively. Incredibly, after perceiving the feeling of coldness and lost from this movie, audience will have the urge to be present-minded, to appreciate what is around, and to not take things for granted. For instance, some would complain that climbing the stairs is tiring, but more often than not, people neglect the joy of the having the ownership of freedom and movement. Unlike some unfortunate individuals, most of us could move and have freedom to decide to which direction to go to.

Perspectives: 
From the filmmaker's perspective, as much as this movie want to portray the cruel side in life, the production crew did not sugar coat the story plot. However, it does not mean that showing audience the cruelty of life will have impacts on audience negatively.

From the audience's perspective, the only thing that changed is worldview and perspective. The audience has not change, we have been sitting on the same seat and wearing the same shirt all this while. Yet, audience's perspective of life has changed. The impact on audience is the experience of suffering of patients, and this has done well and very powerfully in Lenoard's case, especially when the deterioration comes back again. This life affirming film has causes psychological reaction that makes the audience feel life. When someone who is known to us passed away, often we will feel lost and many other emotional responses will come to surface. Surprisingly, other than all the other negative emotions, having gratitude is one of the greatest impact grief has on a person. The feeling of "I am alive" reminds us that we have been all this while alive but did not pay attention on this fact until something happened to remind us about this. Only till then, we will realize that we have been all this while alive but are unappreciative until the realization on mortality. To realize that life is fragile and life should not be taken for granted, and to realize that we have been alive but have not been grasping.

From the main character's perspective, Robin William's character as a doctor conveys a very passionate and helpful personality which thought us to learn to appreciate the simple things in life. His character is a portray of the audience, which means that the character's experience is congruent with the audience's character. He represent the eye of the audience; the audience get to watch the drama unfold through Dr. Sayer's eye.

This movie has spread awareness that people with mental issue are still people and they deserve dignity and respect. They are not like 'The Garden' as mentioned in the movie, only needing to be fed and watered, which is a saying that people in the garden has no quality of life. Unlike the other characters in the movie, Dr. Sayer is different as he is able to empathize and respect the patients, and wants to change the life of these patients.

Realizations:
1. The scene where Leonard mentioned that those of them who are sleeping are the one who has been awake all this while (healthy and not catatonic individuals) because they only focused on negative circumstances in life. On the flip side, those who have been asleep are the ones who are awake because they appreciate the simple things in life. The newspaper is an example on the people's focus on bad things in life. He mentioned that the whole world has got it wrong and they are being distracted from the bad things in life. This message struck me because indeed we are not appreciating the simple joy of being able to feel, to move, to talk and so on. We were so blinded by the downsides of life that we no longer know how to be appreciative. I believe this is also the main message from the script-writer and director. The message tell us the need to explore the simple things in life, to be more present-minded, and to be active participants in our life instead of being in a auto-pilot mode most of the time. Undeniably, I have changed my viewpoint from surviving the day to cherishing the day, because as life has a problem, it has a gift too. I am more aware on the need of being present, purposeful, and living in the moment. I am here in this moment, not overly thinking about the future. This is because if we were to anticipate the future, we will be forever living in the future. In the movie, Lucy mentioned, "I know it is not 1936, I just needed it to be".

2. Time and moments are previous, regardless its length. The little awakening moment for Leonard means a lot to him. Small moment has potential to have huge impact as it might have ripple effects on others. Not only the awakening has allow hospital caretakers to understand the catatonic patients, their awakening also enlightened us that we have to be mindful in life.