This Emotional Life - Essay Example

& Number: This Emotional Life (3-Film Series) 08 November (word count – 341) My initial reaction to the film series is that people basically control their emotions. It showed how we can control a situation by how we react to it and not situations to control us. There is much truth to the old adage that emotions can kill; likewise, emotions can make us all happy if we know how to channel our thoughts. It is like the “Peter Pan” movie of having happy thoughts, so to speak. Man is basically a social animal and therefore needs a lot of the interactions characteristic of normal life.

A person who shuts himself out of society is in for a rude shock as normal emotional and social development is basically stunted. A young Russian orphan fails to attain attachments as required in early childhood and becomes mistrustful. Although the film series is an eye opener of sorts, it fails to state in scientific terms a succinct principle that shows how emotions govern all our actions. Although admittedly it is a bit hard to pin down emotions into something a black-and-white scenario, the films somehow makes us aware how people can be affected by their emotions, positively or negatively.

Most of the negative emotions we have like our fears, anger, anxiety, resentments, envy or jealousy are necessary for survival of the human species; psychologists call it as a “fight or flight” type of response but it is only when negative emotions predominate that bad things happen to us. Being a social animal, victims of bullying often wonder why they are being picked on by their peers. Bully victims want to be accepted to a group of peers because that is what is considered as a normal preference and yet these people are rejected which cause them hurt in that some victims eventually resort to suicide.

The most important idea about socialization is that people feel a need to be accepted; this acceptance is not only an emotional longing but is also a prerequisite for survival. Having a positive attitude towards life can make a difference. Work CitedGilbert, Daniel. “This Emotional Life.” www.pbs.org Jan. 2010. Web. 08 Nov. 2011