A Critique to Awakenings 1990

       In respect of the late Robin Williams, this film shall forever hold as one of his masterpieces. This film i will delve into two aspects which is the psychological aspect of the film (which is how it impacted the audience) along with my personal reflection of the film.

       Movies usually portray a just-world beliefs, where Dr. Malcolm Sayer managed to use the drug L-Dopa to cure the catatonic patients of the disease that stole years or even decades off their lifetime. This story is not so different. The movie preyed on innocent psychology students that wanted nothing more than patients in the film to recover from the Encephalitis Lethagica symptoms. The film gave us just that as the movie climaxed when the drug worked and they became better. That somehow they should become better because of the loss they received.

       In my own personal reflection of the film, i think that this film does leave the audience to wonder and to think more into mental disorders but the side effect that it also paralyzed the audience in fear of what it might take to overcome this. The movie did not offer a concrete solution and the patients ended up reverting back to the way they are. My sister have epilepsy and mental retardation since a very young age and there is no active solution to overcome this as the outcome is particularly similar as with the movie. At the end, like Dr. Malcolm Sayer who tried everything, and it went downhill, nothing could be done for them anymore. It tried to push the sense of willpower that can change the outcome suppressing them. But to be honest, in this world, that is not enough. I think rather than encouraging the will and the human spirit. We should sympathize and acknowledge that the people mental disorders are not heroes. They are ordinary people which unrecoverable circumstances. They deserve love and compassion not a dramatic movie which wants them to be better.