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Sunday, April 26, 2015

Upward vs Downward Counterfactual thinking

Name: Tan tee may                 Student ID: 0323549
Counterfactual thinking is the action of comparing a current or past event to an alternative event. There are two types of counterfactuals, upward and downward. Upward counterfactual thinking compares us with people that are superior. On the other hand, downward counterfactual thinking compares us to individuals that are inferior. Both counterfactuals have its benefits and disadvantages but I personally believe that upward counterfactual thinking is more damaging to an individual’s mental health.
Downward counterfactuals improve an individual’s mood and ego, because he feels more fortunate in comparison. Upward counterfactuals do not provide such comfort, but the individuals receive knowledge and motivation to work harder in order to enhance their performance in the future. On a more negative note, these counterfactuals may also provoke regret and increase negative feelings one may have towards themselves. This negativity may decrease the individual’s self-esteem and confidence. Subsequently, they will start to look at everything pessimistically, even leading themselves to believe that their past achievements were not good enough. This perception is very damaging to their mental health and can result in self-harming or severe depression.
When one practices too much upward counterfactual thinking, the individual may become lethargic, unmotivated for future action. Although this is a mental way to protect oneself from regret, the inaction could result in many consequential missed opportunities, creating a cycle of ‘doing nothing.’ (Tykocinski and Pittman, 1998). Often this situation occurs only when the individual practices too much downward counterfactual, causing the individual to be comfortable with his surroundings and not making the effort to improve himself. As aforementioned, this conditioning can also result from too much upward comparison. However, upward comparison has a significantly more damaging outcome, as the individual believes that he is a failure.
Generally, we feel bad when we fail to live up to our goals. Comparing our failures to other’s achievements further increases feelings of inadequacy compared to the person we practice our upward counterfactuals on. Therefore, the conclusion is that I believe upward counterfactual thinking is more harmful to our self-concept.

 REFERENCES:

    Mandel, D. a. (2007). The Psychology of Counterfactual thinking.
Miller, M. a. (2006). Depression, Control, and Counterfactual thinking. Social and Clinical Psychology , 227.

   

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Flipped Movie Review

Here is the ultimate love story for every girl that has been crushed by her crush. Of course, the same goes for the male gender in general too, but there is a reason why the book-turned-movie chooses to highlight the boy as the antagonist.
Just kidding.
Bryce Lowski has just moved into the neighbourhood and is unexpectedly greeted by his excited neighbour Juli Baker. She explains about how her heart 'flipped' when she first saw him and dreamily declares that  she has found her true love. She also believes that Bryce harbors some feelings for her, but is shy and embarrassed to show it. And so, therefore, from that moment, begins Juli Baker's quest to catch her first kiss with Bryce.
Six years later, her feelings are still the same, apart from having toned down her obvious signs of affection. Bryce does all he can to elude her and shift her attention elsewhere. 
A very sweet and heartwarming movie. It didn't leave me crying in the end, but still ignited a feeling of nostalgia i thought I'd lost. Flipped managed to make me remember all over again. It will bring back feelings of reminiscence as you flashback to your first love and how was it like the first time.

The Probability of Miracles Review

So today i read The Probability of Miracles, and i think it was an amazing book. I love Cam's cynic, sarcastic humour, and her never-failing love that she constantly grounds her family members with. 

Just like TFIOS, this book starts out with the main protagonist having cancer and resigned herself to the thought that she'll be gone in a few more months, if not weeks. the difference is that Cam manages to find a small, tiny portion of miracle for herself whilst TFIOS remains a tragedy through and through. I'm not saying The Probability of Miracles sucked because it went down the line of fantasy, but it differs from TFIOS because oit offers hope and inspiration to a character that has walked down the hard path for too long. Having lived a life restricted by physical exertion, i understand the appeal Maine held for her, yet i also knew how sick and tired she was for having forced to undergo these constant check-ups and medical examinations. As if she was getting any better. Life should just be kind and let her die easily without getting her hopes up anymore, which was sure to result in a lot of future pain for her mother and sister.
This book strips the story of all biased thoughts on whether the guy is handsome or the girl skinny enough because true love doesn't judge. Its one of the things i love most actually. Cam doesn't go through one of those insecure periods where she judges herself and asks, Why me?' Instead she accepts Asher's love wholeheartedly and gives all of hers in return. They don't question each other, they just jump straight into the beauty of having found true and solid love.
It does insert a little realism from time to time. Cam was actually overweight before she was the victim of a terminal disease, before it led her to meeting Asher and having the greatest summer of her short life. A short life well lived regardless, if you ask me.
So she meets Asher, gorgeous hunk and star football player, and he falls sweetly for her. Cam tries to brush him away several times, equivalent to Hazel's attempts to keep everyone safe from her that she may not be a grenade, but he still persists in his feelings. Even in the most romantic of moments, there's a catch that reminds Cam of her place, how caught and trapped she is. One incredibly touching moment is when she receives news of Lily's death, making her situation hellishly real again. What's worse is that she didn't even get to say goodbye to Lily. Yes, there were letters sent, promises kept, but Cam didn't do her part on farewells. It was Lily that sent the final letter. If it was me in her situation, the grief would be painfully etched into my heart, forever reminding of the mistake i cannot undo.

Cam is too caught up in her cancer to actually enjoy the present moment around her, until Asher comes up and shows her how to live. Before that she was angry and bitter at the world, unleashing her dissatisfaction at her mother and sister, a torrent of words none could comprehend. Boy, was she hard to live with.
But while i understand her rage, i feel that she has less reason to be angry because, number one- she had the privilege of living near Disney and earning free trips. Number two, she had a kind and understanding mother who never blew her off despite her tart rudeness. Number three, she had Asher, and he changed her life far more than any girl can ever hope to dream. And number four, she actually completed her bucket list. 
Yes, her life was dominated by cancer, but the blessings around her were compensation enough to let her live a full life. I'm glad she made peace with Asher in the end, but i still feel she was undeserving of a friend like Lily. Lily was desperate for love, yes, but her days were ending and striking one down with the cruel terms of reality is no different than taking someone's legs away and forcing them to walk. In the end, Cam found true love and Lily did not. It was a blow to her face, to show her what a rotten friend she'd been. She even admitted that, in reality, it was better to be kind than right, and regretted that she could not have done so with her best friend.
Overall, it is an amazing book. It gave me hope and a romantic affliction for fantasy. Whilst i may not be afflicted with cancer, nor impulsively have a chance to dive in the promised town of miracles, i do have the ability to create myself a future.
I also loved the fact that this book described the summer activites and happiness that Cam had in Maine while not being too cheesy and cliched as a Nicholas Sparks novel. Sorry to all his fans out there. 
Asher is perfect is terms of his physique, but what makes us fangirls love him is his strong and honest love towards Cam. If he was metaphorical in a sense like Augustus Waters, TFIOS fans would've sensed an immediate rip-off, thus making him less lovable. So the author changed him to share a similar taste which Cam had in movies, and im glad she did. And did i mention i ADORE the cover? Its absolutely amazing. Fits in perfectly with my other John Green purchases, the colors and design overlapping each other like vibrant colors of the rainbow. 
Definitely recommended. JOHN GREEN FANS ESPECIALLY SHOULD NOT MISS THIS.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Spectacular Now Movie Review



I lost count.
I love this movie.
 Do i have to say it again? I. Love. It.
The thing about The Spectacular Now is that it tells a story. It tells the life story of a boy that can't seem to understand why people bother so much preparing for the future when they can choose to be happy right now. After he's blown off by his ex-girlfriend, he meets a typical girl-next-door Aimee Finicky, who seems so normal that he finally takes a step back from his hard-partying life to spend some time with her. He befriends her with the intention of 'helping her out' which mainly means introducing her to sexual education, because she's never had a boyfriend. Instead he finds himself falling for her with her unselfish ways and simple speech and it doesn't take long before the two are a couple.
And the damn screen cuts to black.
This is one of my favorite scenes because both characters are being so unselfish and show it in their own way. After seeing his father act so recklessly, Sutter doesn't want to hurt Aimee the same way and so he tries to prevent it by pushing her away. Of course, he's only hurting her. He does it because he believes he is a replica of his father. Everything he does, the drinking, partying, pick-up lines, charming conversations, reminds him of his father. Because he initially 'picked' Aimee up with the intention of 'educating' her, he believes he doesn't deserve her now that he's sincere.
Right after that, its graduation. I just love the way this movie positions its scenes, you know, they can spend a whole week showing you the growth of Sutter's and Aimee's relationship and jump into prom right after that. And after prom its graduation, but it doesn't feel hurried because you've already spent enough time with the characters earlier on. We've gotten used to their presence, and the filmmakers realize that, so they fast forward time to a few months forward without the need to place a caption on screen. It's understood. And it doesn't feel out of place.
Amazing movie.

How many times has this movie made me cry?
How many times has it made me question about my life, my future, my self?
How many times has it made me realize I had those answers all along?


 I can't believe I put off watching it this long. It's not everyday that a movie touches me the same way Les Mis did, make me recall my high school days the way Perks did, and think about my first love the way Flipped did.

It leads you on a path taken before, nights after prom, breakups, recent hookups, the thrill of romance, family hardships, and basically everything life is when you're in high school. Certain scenes you relate so much it hurts; you can't help but feel this movie is a passionate retelling of your life and what you did or wish you did before. It encourages you to live in the 'moment', as Sutter often puts it, 'I choose to live in the Now, because its happening.'

I know this part sounds hopelessly common to you, but the film manages to pace it so well that the story unfolds in its own way, has time to develop, and by the end of the movie you feel like you know Sutter as an old friend. Even the sex scene doesn't feel rushed, it isn't slapped in your face with the thrill of bedroom drapes and seductive women pouting their heavily made-up faces at you. And suddenly he plugs her and its over, back to ordinary school life, and you just have to accept the fact that it happened normally just as it wouldn't in real life.

Anyway, back to the story. The two get close, and while Sutter's friend Ricky questions his sudden change of taste in women, Sutter insists that there's more to Aimee. Besides, the worst-case scenario is that he gives her boyfriend experience and walks away unscathed. How bad can that be?
After several tutoring sessions together, Sutter asks Aimee out on a date where he spontaneously tells her she's beautiful and despite her weak protests, kisses her. This leads to him asking her out for prom, taking her to home-dinner dates, and ultimately, bringing her to visit his estranged father. The visit slaps Sutter in the face that his father isn't the man he thought him to be, and understands why his mother kept him a forbidden topic. He takes it out on Aimee the way home, claiming she doesn't really love him and that she's only declaring so because she's drunk. A car swerves dangerously close and Sutter barely manages to avoid it. Aimee unbuckles her seat belt and quickly checks him for injuries, asking if he's okay. Sutter's furious because he almost killed her and instead of being mad, she's doing the exact opposite. He screams that she needs to get away from him, that he's a bad influence, whilst she tearfully apologizes and tries to calm him down. He yells at her to get out from his car which she does, sobbing and crying and looking so painfully helpless, before a car drives past and tears her down.


Aimee on the other hand is so blinded and full of love for Sutter that she doesn't understand what he's doing. But even worse is that she's not mad at him for it, no matter the reason. The fact that he exists and is beside her is enough, because he's all that matters to her. She's so selfless that when he shows up at her house to say sorry, she doesn't even want to hear it. She shushes him and says, 'Lets pretend like it never happened.'

Then, looking into his remorseful brown eyes, she says, 'I know. Don't say it. It's okay.'

It's a relief to be given some normal daily happenings of an American teenager instead of the usual tragic background story and overdramatized script. I especially loved the conversation scene between Sutter and Aimee where he asks her, 'So whats your thing?' and she replies, 'I don't know. I like to think there's more than just one thing to a person.'

The degree of awkwardness in this movie is just about right, the intimacy brought to a personal level and the makeup completely washed away. You can see Sutter's scars, Aimee's freckles, and they aren't glossed up in hip clothing and celebrating within the trendy crowd. The emotional depth is wider on a personal connection when all artificial trickery is stripped away and left with imperfections that remind us of our own life. All of which has been lost in the glam of Hollywood moviemaking. But the best part of this movie is that it has a happy ending. When Aimee leaves for Philadelphia, she waits for Sutter to come see her off, even holding back the bus to do so. But he doesn't come, doesn't answer her calls. When we see him drinking in the bar and asking a stranger if he did the right thing, we assume he's done a silent breakup. But wait!
We're shown Sutter staring at his college application once again, going over about his hardships, dealing with them, and realizing that while its fine to live in the spectacular now, there's always going to be another one tomorrow. He ends with a note to start making them count, and just as you think that's the end of it, a new scene opens with him walking up the stairs of a building just as Aimee walks out. She sees him, and a smile plays over her face just as the screen goes black again, but I think we can all guess what happens next.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Kick-Ass 2 Movie Review


SYNOPSIS

The sequel to Kick-Ass, Kick Ass 2, is finally out and in it, our few protagonist heroes continue their quest to eliminate all evil and make a name for themselves upholding justice. The story opens with Dave narrating about how pointless and boring he finds life, now that his kicking ass days are over. One day in a burst of impulse, he asks Mindy to take him under his wing for some bad-ass kicking. Mindy agrees, delightedly, as she's already skipping school everyday to jump in her Hit Girl outfit and wants some companionship. So the training begins. Dave getting shot, beat up to a bleeding pulp by some gangsters and sporting black and blue bruises everyday are just some of Hit Girl's training regime. Dave doesn't mind, as he describes as 'it makes him feel alive and that his life has a purpose.'
However, it all ends one day when Marcus, Mindy's caretaker, finally puts his foot down when he discovers what Mindy has really been doing skipping school all along. He forces her to promise never to wear the suit again, wanting her to lead life as a normal teenage girl. Mindy protests, but ultimately the guilt eats at her and she tells Dave that she never wants to see him again. Dave dons the outfit again one night and meets a bunch of other 'superheroes' in mask and suit led by Colonel. They perform random acts of kindness on the streets at night and bust a few crimes now and then.
Meanwhile, Chris (the rather childish, immature-aspiring-to-be-villian) has just killed his mother (unintentionally) and is trying to fill his father's shoes. He harbours a angry grudge towards Kick-Ass for blasting his father with a bazooka and wants nothing more than plain old revenge. With this, he dons a new mask and calls himself the 'Motherfucker.' With both parents gone, he tasks his driver, Javier with the task of finding him other supervillians that will follow him and his cause. He manages to find four willing as the majority of the hitters are told by his Uncle Ralph to lay low for the moment. The four are named Genghis Carnage, Black Death, Mother Russia and The Tumor. 
His Uncle Ralph demands to see him and Chris pays him a visit in jail. He tells Chris to lay low for a while because he is not his dad. He's working on bringing the family back up, but needs Chris' cooperation. When he sees Chris reluctance to cooperate, he has one of his henchman kill Javier. Chris if horrified but he hides it and smiles instead, telling his uncle that he needed that and knows exactly what to do next.
He and his team of supervillians break into Colonel's hideout and kill him. There is no last minute saving, no miracle of some sort that the Colonel survives. It is fast and brutal, as real life usually is. Then they head over to another superhero's house- Nightbitch. This time, they don't kill her, just beat her up pretty badly. 
Things go further downhill when the police announces their arresting anyone on spot who's seen wearing a costume. Dave's dad takes the blame and gets arrested o save his son. He's later killed by some thugs in jail, hired by the Motherfucker. Dave receives a picture of his dad beaten and bloody on his cellphone.
During his father's funeral, Dave is beaten and kidnapped by the Genghis Carnage but ultimately saved by Hit Girl, who decides she wants to be back in action. The duo head to the Motherfucker's lair while bringing other superheroes to fight against Chris' army. Hit Girl dispatches Black Death with a knife and tackles Mother Russia whilst Kick-Ass and Motherfucker engage in combat. Hit Girl seems to have some problems with Mother Russia until she's shot with adrenaline, which Mother Russia thought was poison. She finally manages to kill Mother Russia by slashing her body with shards of glass. Dave punches Chris and he falls through the roof, screaming that he'd rather die than accept Dave's help. Chris lands in a tub of water and he expresses relief to be alive, even apologizing to Dave before he's dragged underwater by a shark and blood blooms on the surface. Dave describes the feeling as 'indescribable.'
The super heroes unite and share one last moment of glory as they know its their last night. Mindy gives Dave a ride home and she tells him that she's leaving New York as she can't continue to put Marcus in a position where he'll have to arrest her one day as she's already killed six guys. Hit Girl then takes off on her motorbike, with Dave narrating in the background how he finally understands where his life is leading to.

REVIEW

Kick-Ass is divided into two worlds, good and evil. The movie manages to incorporate the 'superhero' concept into real life perfectly, not forgetting the elements of social media and how even superheroes and supervillians use it to gather views and popularity alike. What makes it even more attractive is the 'realness' of real life depicted. Heroes die, people give up, there are consequences to everything you do. Those words you said this morning may be your last. Kick-Ass 2 captures all of these elements perfectly, so perfect that i can almost see it happening in real life, in this world, itself. Kids dress themselves up in costumes. They do night patrols, know a few pretty moves, fight their way through with numbers and strength. But in the end, everything you do has consequences. And it may not be as pretty or as noble as the comic book represents.
After all, this is real life- when you die, people might remember you for a few weeks, months if you're lucky, years if you were a legend, and decades if you're godly. But what will you have done to be remembered for?

What i really like about this movie is that it shows you can't have anything by daydreaming. Dave went through beatings and blood and sweat and he nearly died to become a superhero. But his actions inspired a movement, a positive energy for people to turn to. People began to realize that you didn't need to have superpowers to be a superhero. A willing heart, strong spirit and determination is what you need to stand up for the weak. In the movie, both sides have losses- Dave lost his dad, and Chris witnessed his dad getting blown to pieces by a bazooka. The good side doesn't always win. And the bad, they have humanity, too. The audience needs to see that not everything is to be blamed on the evil side, although the majority of Chris' actions were mostly his own fault. 

Chris' character is so detestable, yet completely understandable. He's desperate to fill in his father shoes as a mafia boss and become one of those supervillian comics he admires so much. His desire of revenge on Kick-Ass is simply an excuse for him to execute something big that will prove his worth. He's acting out of childish anger, having had his parents taken away from him, and after that, Javier. He puts all fault on Kick-Ass because its much more convenient than blaming himself and believes by killing him, he'll have accomplished his revenge and earned his Uncle Ralph's approval.And thank god the director finally showed Dave getting some martial arts lessons from Mindy so at least now he knows how to fight. Pull a punch. Look less lame. 

In the end, even our superheroes have to retire- because all actions have consequences, and who knows if they can continue to tackle evil? Destroying is easier than cleaning up. But they are still superheroes. Heroes that make a difference by walking that teenager home, talking to that lost boy, and buying that homeless man a meal- one doesn't need to have powers to be a superhero.

If people need a push in the right direction to do a positive thing- or an overwhelming need to make the world a better place- this movie might just be the thing for them.


Tuesday, December 31, 2013

As Cool As I Am Movie Review

As cool as the title sounds, the entire movie is far from making that definition. The film centers around a sixteen year old girl, Lucy, whose father is rarely at home because of his job as a lumberjack and so lives with her socially open, sexually flaunting mother. Her parents got married at the early age of seventeen to raise Lucy when she unexpectedly bloomed in her mother's stomach. She starts having a friends with benefits relationship with her best friend, Kenny, as both of them start to question where their friendship may lead with a innocent kiss. 
The film begins innocently enough, with Lucy and Kenny literally hanging at a park upside down on the monkeybar. She offers to kiss the playground bully, Scott in return for him to not disturb Kenny anymore, which the flustered male agrees to. The two share a rather awkward peck before they break apart and Scott accuses Lucy of being a terrible kisser. In order to forget that disgusting episode, Lucy kisses Kenny to make up for it, claiming the memories are 'malleable' and liable to change. 

This is where i should have recognized the stop signs and un-stream the video right there and then. Instead i was forced to sit through two hours of distracted sex, a trifle of repeated mistakes with agonizing 'what ifs,' and the hook-and-dump boy race.
'As cool as I am' constantly changes its pace and mood, therefore confusing the viewer and making them unsure of how to respond back with the right emotions. The movie introduces a strong female lead in the beginning, so i assumed she would have a non-affinity for the sex department and focus on building emotional support for her family instead. It actually manages to pull through  with this concept for a while, until a particular scene where her father argues with Kenny's mother that his daughter may be having a sexual relationship with Kenny.
Not wanting her to end up pregnant and throwing away her life like he did, Dad emphasizes again and again how much he only wants the best for her and that means not having underage sex. Lucy even goes as far as making a promise to Kenny that they both wont ever have sex again, not until they're old enough and have their parents' consent. Just when you think this film is finally making sense, finally digging itself a successfull concept- it buries itself deeper into the hole.
In a burst of impulse Lucy climbs in Kenny's window and demand that they have sex again. Kenny asks of her promise and she gives the same flimsy excuse- that memories are malleable and prone to change.
Once again, we're thrown off the hook and are unable to find someplace to hold on to because all common sense and logic has been abandoned. Whatever happened to the firm decision before? She accuses her mother of having an affair with other men but does not realize how her actions might end her up in that situation as well. She is aware of her parents history yet does not give a second thought to which she might end up like them.
 What is even more frustrating is her substitution of boyfriends which she freely sleeps with them then ends up regretting it. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Which is stupid, because you think she might have the brains by now to think twice before getting in bed with a stranger which ultimately led to her parents situation.
Another subplot that the film fails to develop is Lucy's relationship with her father. It is hinted at the beginning that she misses her father constantly and looks forward to his visits. It is the potential growth for a bond that most teenagers would be able to relate to; the steady figure of their father that they can rely on. However, not only does he fail to give that impression, but he dissappears slowly from the picture that you begin to question if he was of any significance at all.
In fact, I'm starting to question if this film has any significance to real life at all. Its a great movie for a young girl's struggle and search in life, but fails to nail down a central point. It goes back and forth between a romantic comedy and dysfunctional family which i cant pin head or tail.
In the end, this isn't a film any viewer would walk away saying, 'I enjoyed that.' Teens with a single parent might relate, but how many percentage of teenagers do we have that their fathers work as lumberjacks and comes back four or five times a year, with a mother that sexually flaunts her feminity every chance she gets?
Not many. Yeah.

Friday, November 15, 2013

DARK OF THE MOON

Dark of the Moon
Sky's a drifting gloom
Wandering, as it searches
For it's once-groom

Fool! Her father boomed,
Look at him, a mere peasant,
Can you not see with more reason?
Forgo tradition!
The young beauty bursts,
Never in my life have I been so cursed.
This is the first,
But its for him that I thirst!

Her parent wails,
The epitome of ultimate anguish.
I am finished, she declares,
I tire of these dulling curfews!
Out of the door and a tissue she blew,
Mother nature wrestles with her swelling rage.

Rain pelts and snow hails,
Turbulent storms of an angry gale.
Her father fasts and chants,
Oh, how i pray!
Her heart's astray..
For one that is deceiving
And has tricked her pure heart into believing!

Buried in sorrow,
Blinded and hollow,
She died beneath the crescent.
As her coffin descends,
Everyone was present.

But her lover did not follow
It left her, mourning and alone,
Shattered through heart and bone.

In the blackest of nights,
One can claim to see a shadow
Of late, prowling in the meadow
And it stands under the half-formed moon,
Sheathed with a soft crooning tune,
She was known as the Dark of the Moon.