2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 20:57
Cynicism is a defensive coping strategy, the attitude towards ethical norms as interfering with solving practical problems; disregard for feelings of compassion, love and other moral and ethical aspects as not corresponding to personal interest.
The cynics are beautifully portrayed in the 1942 Hollywood noir drama. "Casablanca" with Humphrey Bogart (Rick) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa).
Quote from the film: "I have no convictions … I lean where the winds blow …".
The film is set in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. The main character Rick arrived here from Paris, occupied by Nazi Germany with a broken heart. In Paris, he had a short affair with Ilsa. Rick thought that Ilsa would go with him, but the beauty did not come to the station, giving him only a farewell note.
In Casablanca, Rick starts a new life. However, is this life? He is immersed in depression, suffers from alcohol addiction, shuts himself off from people, declares that he does something solely for his own benefit, does not adhere to any specific political beliefs, avoids relationships that threaten attachment.
The only thing that keeps you afloat is work. Rick opens a nightclub with a casino, but the club is a cover. Disguised as a cynical casino owner, Rick is apparently smuggling weapons for allies, as his past speaks of, "feeding" corrupt officials, bargaining for passes that give permission to leave the city for those who are persecuted by the new regime. He balances like a tightrope walker over an abyss, waging his shadow war with the enemy.
Cynicism helps him simultaneously maneuver in a dangerous world and acts as a shield for a vulnerable soul. In fact, Rick is captured by the idea of self-sacrifice - to sacrifice himself to high ideals, to become a fighter for justice. His tendency to put the happiness of others ahead of his own ultimately runs the risk of being imprisoned in a concentration camp.
A person with a depressive disorder is prone to a self-injurious lifestyle because they see no value in themselves other than serving others.
His cynicism is just a denial of feelings, splitting off his vulnerable part from himself. He is like the one who, staying on a sinking ship, helps to save others, demonstrating indifference to death and bravado.
Ilsa explains to Rick that she could not leave with him then, since was married and her husband Victor Laszlo, one of the leaders of the Resistance movement, was at that time in a concentration camp, from where he later fled. Ilsa arrived with her husband in Casablanca, and now they needed passes to leave for Lisbon.
Rick, offended by Ilsa, refuses to sell them passes. Then Ilsa tries to get documents from Rick, first with the help of threats, then sets in motion a charm, admits that all this time she has not stopped loving him and is ready to stay with him.
However, Rick sees some kind of catch in this. It seems to him that Ilsa just wants to sacrifice herself in order to save her husband from arrest, helping him to leave Morocco.
He organizes their departure, breaking the law, and even goes to murder. A sad future awaited him if it were not for the intervention of a corrupt police officer, whom he “lured” for a long time in his club.
Thus, Rick's self-sacrifice is a shadow part of his declared cynicism.
Self-sacrifice grows either on the basis of the belief "I am not worthy of unconditional love", or on the basis of guilt - both are auto-aggression, leading to depression and self-denial. Cynicism comes to the rescue as a way to demonstrate the absence of the need for love.
However, Ilsa's appearance unexpectedly broke through Rick's protective shell.
A person is weak before love. But Rick refuses this love for fear of getting hurt again. He lets Ilsa go with the words: "We will always have Paris," meaning that happy memories of the past are the only thing that cannot be taken away from him.
Rick's behavior is based on fear of attachment and focus on others, which is contrary to cynicism, although at first it makes you believe in it.
Recommended:
Psychosomatic Games Or Don't Hide Behind Your Own Body
Co-dependent relationships are fertile ground for psychosomatic symptoms. From the text of the article The symptom is the memorial at the contact's grave. From the text of the article A bit of theory Realizing all the variety of functions of psychosomatic symptoms, in this article I propose to focus on only one of them - communicative.
What Does Your Home Really Consist Of, Or What You Hide From Yourself
Imagine a picture. House. Private two-storey house. Outwardly, it is very representative, the decoration is good, euro windows, even a garden is laid out in the yard. We go inside. Euro renovation, furniture is expensive and comfortable.
How Long Does Gestalt Therapy Last And What Does Memory Have To Do With It?
Gestalt therapy refers to the medium-term types of psychotherapy, and on average lasts from 10 to 50 sessions, in some cases lasting up to 60-120 hours. Why can't it be faster? Stable and qualitative changes require stable and strong neural (synaptic) connections.
About Love. When Does It Start And When Does It Go Away?
Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist St. Petersburg Each couple goes through several stages of relationship development and is faced with their characteristics. By reading this article, you can analyze your relationship now and guess at what stage you and your spouse are now.
The Husband Does Not Want Sex With His Wife. Why? The Reasons Why The Husband Does Not Take The Initiative In Sex?
Husband doesn't want to have sex with his wife? To start the conversation, I will give you an example of a male position and a letter from my email: Alexander, 41 years old. My marital experience is 16 years, my wife Irina, two daughters are growing up.
