Mad About Movies - Spring 2014.1: THE NATURAL

[DavidC]

THE NATURAL follows an archtypal storyline of redemption. The protagonist has lost himself to himself through a single bad decision, and after a mysterious period of wandering and suffering, returned to his original field of inspiration to recover his true identity. He returns wiser, a wary man who cannot be distracted from the purity of his quest by the temptations and confusions that waylay the ordinary characters that surround him.

This storyline resonates through the history of western literature and drama because it strikes a chord in all of us. The sensation of living inside a diminished self and the urge to re-expand that self to the grandure remembered of an earlier identity haunts each of us individually as it has the human race throughout time.

How does it haunt you?

That is the personal question I would like to pose to the class for this week's discussion.

One exchange between Iris and Roy late in the story:

Iris Gaines: You know, I believe we have two lives.
Roy Hobbs: How... what do you mean?
Iris Gaines: The life we learn with and the life we live with after

I'm not sure that it's literally true we all have two lives; there may be many more, variations on them of loss and recovery played throughout our lives. But putting it simply in the way Iris does makes it easy to think about and to pose to ourselves.

So this weeks question is what part of your life was life you learned with? And what did you learn? And how do you life with your life after?

Tell about a change in your life. Something occurred and you learned something, probably the hard way, as they say, tell us your story.

[Basma]

My life in LA is a big change for me. Living in LA is totally different than Saudi Arabia. I become more responsible. Back home they used to do everything for me. Although, we have house maids and drivers. But in LA I have learned a lot of things. For instance, driving, dealing with bills, cooking, and cleaning. Also, it affected my personality which turned me to be more strong in a good way. I think it's a good experience to live in other country. I am so lucky that I had the chance to live in U.S. At the end, every part of my life is important and did a change to my personality especially living in LA.

[ReemAlruwaili]

Hello,
I had a huge change in my personality as a result of a sequence of events that happened before coming to the US which I rather not mention. however, as bad as it looked and it affected me, I learned to believe in and trust myself first in order to believe in and trust others. I grew to become patient and wise. After I came to the US, these changes helped me cope with various experiences in here.

hope this answered the question.
Have a good one

[Mason2014]

Hi I am Mason. It's my first time to watch this movie.
I think this movie implies that no matter what happen or where we are,
if we really desire about something, we finally will reach that original palce.
Last year must be the toughest year in my whole life.
I never felt that upset, disappointed, and lost.
Please forgive me that I still do not have the courage to tell this story calmly and clearly.
Let me just say that I suffer the loss of love and my goal of life.
I was wandering for a long time...
Fortunely, I am getting better now.
After a serious meditation and more experience, I have become stronger and wiser.

[Hideaki Hara]

Hi, Mr Chrisman and everyone! I am Hideaki.
3 years ago, when I was 29 years old, my life changed dramatically. I became a TV presenter. Even though I didn't want to be! After I graduated my university, I became a journalist of a local newspaper. I really liked my job. Suddenly, I was lent out to a related broad casting company as a TV presenter. I thought "Why me? I hate to be!" However, I had to be.
I never forget my first show. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking. I couldn't think what should I say. I couldn't look at the face of guest. I could speak only what I wrote in my Rhodia memo pad. I thought it was the worst TV show ever. At night, at my mansion, I checked the VTR alone. It wasn't so bad. I thought I could continue working, if i improve my skills.
From next day, I started to make efforts to be perfect. I tried to speak more elegantly, behaved as if I was confident, made jokes to make a program interesting ...Then, I started to receive warm comments from viewers.For example, when I was at Starbucks, staffs talked to me "Looking forward to seeing your show tonight." That kind of event never happened when I was a writer, because readers do not know my face.
I like my NIKE T shirts. It says "Impossible is nothing." A man like me, a geek could be a TV presenter. A middle age fresh man could be a star player. Everyone in this class are so young and attractive. You can be whoever you want to be, I believe.

[JoshJosh1122]

HI Everyone

The biggest change for me is to study and live in LA. When I decided to come to American, I had graduated from school for two years, so I almost forget English that I learn. I had to restart learning English.In addition, I didn't like to study English when I was a student, so my English skill was very poor. Coming to American is a big challenge for me, I didn't have any relatives or friends who can help me when I arrived in Los Angeles, so I have leaned how to overcome difficulty that I confront in my daily life. The ability to solve problem will be very useful for me, even I will not use English in my future life.

[Mahmoud1995]

Hey guys,
I know a story of a child who had an unclear ambition, which he wanted to devote somewhere ever since he was a child, he kept searching and searching for a noble goal. Until one day, he perceived the world in a different way, a scientific way to be sppecific. The way he changed was because he wanted to be successful as bad as he wanted to breath and he did he found a goal in his life. And similar to the story he is gonna give it his all. No matter what hurdles he faces he will achieve his goal, at least that is how he sees it.

[HashimSH95]

Before i moved to LA to study i lived with my family everyday of my life. I came home from school sat with them ate lunch, spend time with them and did what families mostly do together. Coming to LA has really changed me in that i have become more independent. With my family i did not have to worry about my house, my clothes, food, dishes, TV, internet, bills. Everything was all there and ready. Now i have to do all of it by myself. I am glad that i am experiencing this because i feel the change in me and i want to increase my experience. I think that experience is very important and by being here i feel that i have gained more experience.

[flaviavieira1]

I've been through 2 really difficult situations in my life. Both were surgeries I had to do, one 12 years ago the other 4. Both of them taught me a lot about myself and about people that surrounded me. I've learned that the possible is impossible and that if you really want something in your life you can do it, or have it. It may sound cliché but it's truth.

Flavia

[Alhamdan01]

Hello,
Graduating in three and half years with high GPA and honor made me feel I would be successful. However, I spent a year looking for a job. I have done more than forty interviews. I was broke and disappointed. Then, I learned that the bachelor degree is not everything; it is just the start. After that year, I got scholarship to learn English and pursue my master's degree, which is a great opportunity. Furthermore, My life has changed since I came to the US.