Showing posts with label ptsd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ptsd. Show all posts

4/11/2012

The Power of Forgiveness (2007) Review

The Power of Forgiveness (2007)
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What does it mean to forgive someone? How do you go about forgiving? Does it mean that we forgo justice? Is forgiving simply a spiritual experience between an individual and God or does it play out on many different levels? These and other questions are addressed in this look at forgiveness by filmmaker Martin Doblmeier (Bonhoeffer). It looks at real life examples of forgiveness such as the Amish in the wake of the killing of five Amish schoolgirls that ripped their community. It shows the speech Elie Weisel made to the German Bundestadt challenging them to ask forgiveness of the Jewish people and then two months later, the speech made to the Israeli Knesset by the President of Germany asking forgiveness on behalf of Germany. It looks at forgiveness on many different levels including the physical level and how forgiveness (or lack of it) affects us physically and shows examples of forgiveness being taught in elementary schools as well as being offered in colleges. It shows three women who lost loved ones in 9/11 who travel to Lebanon to experience the Garden of Forgiveness established by the Lebanese and wonder why there is so much opposition to establishing a Garden of Forgiveness on the WTC site. While many might want to limit forgiveness to a theological discussion (and it certainly is a major if not THE major theological doctrine), this film shows the power of forgiveness beyond just the theological implications and how our world could be different if forgiveness were taken seriously and practiced by everyone. At the very least, this should be a wonderful conversation starter for those serious about studying forgiveness. Think of the political ramifications if candidates running for office would stand up and ask forgiveness of their opponents when they say something in error or intentionally malign them or if corporate leaders would ask forgiveness of shareholders for the mistakes they made in the name of corporate profits and greed. Perhaps, like most things, it works best if it starts from the individual and community level and works upward. That means it starts with you and me. [...]


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To forgive somone can be simple. But this simple act can have powerul consequences - and may lead to a personal and spiritual transformation. Recently, the study of forgiveness has come into its own. Researchers are examining the psychological and physical effects of forgiveness under an amazingly wide variety of conditions, ranging from petty insults to sexual assault to 9/11. Clinicians now help guide people to forgive transgressions and get on with their lives. From Ground Zero to Northern Ireland to the Amish countryside, THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS explores this important concept, and reveals how forgiveness can transform your life.

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11/18/2011

Flashpoint - The First Season (2008) Review

Flashpoint - The First Season (2008)
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"Let's keep the peace," is the catch-phrase uttered by team leaders as the Strategic Response Unit gears up for a hot call. It's hardly as adrenaline-inducing as "Let's roll," or "Lock and load," but I don't think it's supposed to be; in fact it sets the tone for the series. This cop drama is about saving lives and trying to bring sanity and compassion to out-of-control situations, not racking up a body count in the name of peace and justice.
Flashpoint is an undiscovered gem, hidden away behind a overused genre. If the phrases "SWAT team," "hostage negotiators," "Canadian television," and "police drama" don't exactly grab your interest, please do yourself the favor of at least reading this review and perhaps watching a couple of episodes. You might be glad you did.
The premise on its own is not terribly new: A fictional SWAT/hostage negotiation team takes on kidnappings, suicide attempts, bank robberies, and the like. What IS new is the approach. The writing of this show is steeped in the humanity, compassion, and psychological realism markedly absent from current TV.
The team members are deeply decent human beings who love their jobs and their team-mates, but Flashpoint does a superb job illustrating the real-life issues such as PTSD, stress, and guilt that come with such work.
Markedly absent is the fictional conceit that events don't have consequences. When team leader and sniper Ed Lane shoots a hostage-taker in the series premier, not only do they show his emotional reaction immediately after the shooting, they follow him through suspension, investigation, and debriefing by a psychologist. The consequences of the shooting continue to appear through the series; Ed experiences flashbacks, is sued, and in season two the hostage-taker's son even tries to kill him.
Flashpoint does not stop at portraying the team in a compassionate and realistic light; the subjects of their calls are rarely black-and-white "bad guys." Psychologically disturbed individuals are portrayed as layered individuals with reasons for their behavior. Sometimes these reasons are morally justifiable, sometimes not. Sometimes we sympathize with them, sometimes we want them dead sooner rather than later - but we are almost always given insight as to how and why they reached their "Flashpoint."
Anyone who has experienced traumatic events or PTSD in their own life or helped friends and family cope with traumas should watch this show. It is deeply validating and provides excellent models of how to cope and how not to, as well as being sensitively and realistically written.
Flashpoint is a cop show with real people and ethical, caring human beings in difficult situations. As one friend of mine put it, "It's the anti-24." If you're tired of television where the writers can't think of any better way to create drama than to set up a crisis and then torture their way out of it, try Flashpoint.
This is the (ironically, Canadian-produced) television show that jaded, wounded America needs right now.

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Flashpoint is a drama which depicts the emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (inspired by Toronto's Emergency Task Force).It's a unique unit that rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, climbs the sides of buildings and talks down suicidal teens.Members of a highly-skilled tactical team, they're also trained in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect's head to diffuse the situation to try and save lives.

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3/24/2011

Mercy: The Complete Series (2009) Review

Mercy: The Complete Series (2009)
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I didn't go into watching this show expecting much, but it's silly and fun and thoroughly replaced Grey's Anatomy in my life. And honestly it's one of only a couple shows from this past season that I actually want to spend my money on. It contains solidly the best work Michelle Trachtenberg and James Van Der Beek have ever done, and Taylor Schilling is refreshing in the lead role.
If you liked Grey's Anatomy at its best, seriously check out Mercy. Now if only we could get another network (USA, Lifetime) to pick it up so we could ever find out the resolution to the season ending cliffhangers. Sigh.

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From the co-executive producer of Friday Night Lights comes the intense and heartfelt drama Mercy. Nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan (Taylor Schilling, Dark Matter) has recently returned to her hospital job after a volatile tour in Iraq, and knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined.In order to navigate the domestic landmines of her personal and professional worlds, she\'ll need the camaraderie of her fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jaime Lee Kirchner, Rescue Me) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, Gossip Girl).This 5-disc set contains all 22 episodes presented uninterrupted in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and includes a stellar ensemble cast featuring James Tupper (Men in Trees), Diego Klattenhoff (Supernatural),Guillermo Diaz (Weeds), James Le Gros (Ally McBeal) and a guest appearance by James Van Der Beek (Dawson\'s Creek). Bold, realistic and instantly gripping, Mercy is unlike any depiction of the medical community you have seen before.

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