The Story Of An Hour
Hills like white elaphants Mr. William Foster (played by Michael Douglas), the main character in “Falling Down”, is not having a good day. He gets laid of from his job to begin his lovely day. He gets stuck in the middle of the biggest traffic jam on his way to his ex-wife’s house to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. Mr. Foster decides to leave his car in the middle of this traffic back up and find an alternate way there. On his way, he encounters many obstacles and is humiliated from stereotyping and prejudices of the people he encounters. He breaks down mentally, and becomes a “terrorist”, using weapons he has from his job to invoke violence. There are many social issues in the movie “Falling Down”, among them prejudice, stereotyping, unemployment, mental incompetence, violence, and the difference between social classes. For my paper, I chose the issue of violence in our society. This is a very big problem that no one in today’s society can avoid. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys stated, ”being on either end of a violent situation, whether you seem to have the upper hand or whether you don’t seem to, it doesn’t resolve anything. It escalates the problem. Hatred leads to more hatred. Violence leads to more violence.” Violence is the act of purposefully hurting another person or oneself. This can be physically or mentally, with lasting psychological effects, even after the physical evidence of violence has disappeared. There is no single or logical explanation for the rise in violence in today’s society. Many different factors cause a person to act out violently. The more factors that are present in a person’s life the more likely they are to commit an act of violence. What makes a person commit an act of violence, whether it is a punch, kick, stab or worse, the use of a firearm towards someone else, or ones self? The answer to this question in not an easy one to explain. People often commit violence because of one of the following: Expression. Some people use violence to release feelings of anger or frustration. They believe there are no answers to their problems, or that nobody understands them. Violence is turned to. It is used to express their out of control emotions. Manipulation. Violence is used as a way to control other people or situations, or to get what a person wants. Retaliation. Violence is used as a way to get back at, or get even with a person that has hurt them or someone they care about. Violence is a learned behavior. If there is violence in a person’s life, it is more likely that the person will commit an act of violence. Like all learned behaviors, this can be changed and the cycle of violence can be broken. This takes hard work. The first step is to recognize the warning signs of violent behavior and get help, for a friend, family member, or ones self. Factors that contribute to acts of violence can include: 1. peer pressure 2. need for attention or respect 3. low self-esteem or felling of low self-worth 4. childhood neglect or abuse 5. witnessing violence in the home, community 6. easy access to weapons. People who commit acts of violence have trouble controlling their feelings. They fell that people will fear them through violence of by threatening to commit violence. The opposite is true. People who behave violently lose respect, and are let to feel isolated, lonely, disliked, and still feel angry and frustrated. Some warning signs of the serious possibility of violence are: 1. loss of temper on a regular basis 2. frequent physical fighting 3. significant vandalism or damage to property 4. increase in alcohol or drugs 5. increase in risky behavior 6. plans to commit acts of violence 7. announcing plans or threats to commit violent acts against others or animals 8. sudden enjoyment in the hurts of animals 9. carrying a weapon. If the following signs are noticed over a period of time, the potential of violent behavior exists: 1. history of violent behavior or aggression 2. serious drug or alcohol use 3. access to or a fascination with weapons 4. threatening others 5. trouble controlling feelings or controlling emotions, especially anger 6. withdrawal of usual activities or friends 7. feelings of being rejected or alone 8. having a past history of a victim of violence 9. discipline problems or run-ins with authority 10. constant feelings of disrespect 11. the failure to acknowledge the feelings and rights of others. When the potential for violence is recognized, there are some things that a person can do to help. Being safe is the most important. There is a possibility of putting ones self in danger if time is spent alone with the person. It is important to remove the person from a situation that could set them off. It is important to protect ones self from the potential of becoming a victim of violence. If this is a possibility, then a person in authority should be contacted to help protect you. Resorting to violence or use of a weapon should never be an option. The key to preventing violence is to get the individual help. The most important thing is not to try to mediate by yourself. Anger is a strong emotion.