Loneliness is the Mother of all Ailments in the movie “I am a Legend”
By: Abira Jeoffrey
Stage 1: Denial
The main character in the movie “I am a legend” is Will Smith who goes through several phases of loneliness. The first phase of loneliness is denial which Will Smith had gone through this phase as he adopted strategies to overcome this phase of loneliness. In order for him to survive in this lonely world, he had to first accept that human beings are social animals and if they are alone for a long period of time, they will feel sick so he had to accept that he was lonely in this world.
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
One of the strategies was talking to his dog-like his kids as he missed them. Another strategy adopted by him was when Will Smith uses to talk to the human dummy. He thought of the human dummy as an actual person in order to form a social bond and keep his sanity intact. Will Smith knew that if he failed to adopt these strategies then it would result in depression, anxiety, and even early death.
Another case of loneliness can be seen he often listens to old news to achieve personal comfort in hearing human voices. Also, he was forced to take comfort in the memories of his wife and children who died during the zombie plague. The reliving of death highlighted the trauma symptoms he was experiencing. He often played loud music and getting drunk so that he could cope up with depression. This was a coping mechanism to get rid of the pain and the loneliness he was feeling at that time.
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
Stage 2: Anger
Another stage of loneliness is showing anger. This was evident when he shot the dummy as he wanted to hear a reply. He felt the pain of being rejected by society. He knew that he was alienated by society and didn’t ask himself, “What’s wrong with me?”. He realized early on that just like hunger, every human being as a social need. He knew he couldn’t have a phone call with someone and talk to them. That’s why he used the radio to send a voice note to find any survivors.
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
Stage 3: Depression
Will Smith's loneliness was elevated when his dog, Sam died. He tried to go to extreme lengths by going into a dark place to save his friend but failed to do so. His angry resulted in depression as he thought that this was the last interaction with any living being in this world. He knew that he had a higher chance of fulfilling his biological need by surviving together with his dog, Sam.
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
Will Smith as an individual wanted to be happy and free of suffering. The ancient Buddhist monks use to say that” happiness and suffering are all in the mind and they are not out there”. People like Will Smith who suffer from loneliness pain often have defensive behavior towards others and see hostility everywhere by interpreting others as having bad intentions towards you. This leads to him becoming more self-centered to protect himself which makes him unfriendly and socially awkward. For instance, he pointed a gun at the woman, Anna who was just trying to talk to him in a polite manner. Anna even pinpointed out that he seems to have forgotten how to interact with other human beings which is why he was quiet upon her arrival with her kid.
Photo: Abira Jeoffrey/ “I am a Legend”
Stage 5: Acceptance
Will Smith's loneliness had become chronic during this time and his brain went into self-preservation mode as he was acting weird by throwing the breakfast plate. This shows how aggressive he had become by being lonely for a long period of time. He even tried to socialize with the kid by saying the dialogue from Shrek word to word. Moreover, Wills ability to understand human behaviors had deteriorated with time as he was not able to interpret the reason why the creature exposed himself to light even though he wanted to take his body for scientific experimentation.
According to me, one often asks, “How many times have you been asked for directions in the area? Have you ever talked to the bakery or the shop owner or the hairdresser at Nabila’s? Do you shy away from asking personal questions to them?” As a developing nation, those who create public spaces in Karachi are highly criticized by political people who use media to control the public’s opinion or they are killed by people who felt lonely in their lives. For instance, Sabeen Mahmood who was the owner of T2F, a public space. These types of lonely people fail to understand that public spaces such as T2F can help them to overcome loneliness by expressing themselves freely.
A survey conducted by me found out that about one-third of my household of six family members either experienced loneliness or meet someone who felt loneliness at some point in time. For instance, while I was in the London Circus tube station, an old lady in her late 80’s held my hand and told me stories of her children. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she had a distant twinkle in her eyes as if she was revisiting her past. Even animals such as my cat, Jerry are not spared from loneliness. Whenever we go for dinners to restaurants, my cat screams and checks every room if some human being is up for a cuddle. Also, she waits near the main door to welcome us home when we return.
In the end, I would just like to quote Martin Luther,” You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
References
1) Yusuf, H. (2020, October 05). Lonely society. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1583317.2) Carlton, K. (2019, February 13). What is loneliness? Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/what-is-loneliness.
3) Kurzgesagt. “Loneliness” Youtube,17 Feb 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Xv_g3g-mA&feature=emb_logo.
5) Berman, A. (2018, December 20).Loneliness peaks during these 3 age ranges. Retrieved October 18, 2020,from https://www.treehugger.com/loneliness-can-be-as-deadly-as-obesity-study-finds-4863288.
6) “Watch I am Legend For Free Online”. (2019, May 10). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://ww4.0123movie.net/movie/i-am-legend-5519.html.
7) 19, S., & Author Bibliophile, A. (2019, December 19). The 5 Stages of Loneliness. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://thoughtcatalog.com/savannah-jackson/2019/12/the-5-stages-of-loneliness/.
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