My personal opinion on "It's kind of a funny story"

Despite the fact that most of my partners considered the movie boring or inaccurate, I actually enjoyed it pretty much. I got to admit that it was not as most realistic as possible, but that is just an aspect that most of this tye of movies have. Although, I understand that directors and productors tend to make their films in a pragmatic way so that the story telling could be more flexible, which makes it more entertaining.

I dare to say that I liked the acting of all the main characters, and specially of Keir Gilchrist, who brings Craig Gilner to life. I believe that he did a great job at showing how insecure and alone the protagonist was.

To finish, I think "It's kind of a funny story" tries to teach its viewers and important lesson. Not only does it touch certain issues about mental diseases, but also it expresses the value of life and the importance of appreciating it. 

Opinion about "It's kind of a funny story"

To being with, what sums up what I felt throughout the movie best was the feeling that since the main theme of the movie, which is mental illnesses, is such a broad subject, it could have been better portrayed in the film and actually become worth a while.
Within the first ten minutes of the movie, I was already taken aback by how the fact that the boy wanted to commit suicide was treated in an insensitive manner. Then, still to my surprise, the whole movie ended up being like that.
Not only has the movie managed to treat all mental illnesses as if they were some kind of joke, but also romanticize mental disorders in general to the point where it seems as if suicide is some kind of solution to any problem.
Moreover, I cannot help but feel that the little speech given by the main character, Craig, right at the end of the film was just a poor attempt by the director to cover up the fact that the whole plot was completely unrealistic in terms of the time he spent in the mental institution and so in order not to receive negative backlash for that same reason.
Overall, it's safe to say that I was not a fan of the movie and the glorification of these extremely important issues that are ever so present in our society. This parody of mental diseases, there is no other way to put it, can be easily triggering for anyone who has suffered or is suffering any type of disorder, especially youngsters who are the most vulnerable audience; funny enough, they are also the target audience for this movie. Furthermore, it is insulting and offensive for people who struggle with these illnesses on a daily basis.

My Thoughts on "It's Kind of a Funny Story"

Some movies are horrible, some are forgettable, others are average and the rest are good; "It's Kind of a Funny Story" ranks a little above average in this scale. I found this movie to be quite entertaining and it deals with themes of high importance, although these might not have been dealt with as seriously as they required to.

On the plus side, not only it is one of the few movies I see that deal with mental disorders and (at least tries) to create awareness of topics with such a big impact on all humans, moreover, the jokes it made highly appeal to me. The last item in favour of this film is that it was easy to watch, entertaining, something surprising considering the themes treated and its length, a little above most movies.

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" has some major drawbacks too, particularly with the tone it uses, for works of art that touch themes as important as mental health and disorders it is crucial to express things with a serious tone and knowing this is a sensitive topic. This movie dances on the grave of this rule. Don't get me wrong, I believe every topic can be dealt with in a funny way, but the humour used here just doesn't work taking into account the seriousness of the ilnesses portayed. Another thing this film does terribly wrong is the act of creating awareness of these disorders, this is done by making the characters aware too, but never does this happen. Another issue is the inaccurate portrayal of different disorders, this shouldn't be as big of a trouble but it is so annoying that throughout the entire film you are reminded that you are in a mental institution using the method of "hey, you are in a place filled with fucked up people, have these fucked up moments".

As a whole, the movie is not that great, but at least it is memorable and has some funny scenes here and there, albeit I would not recommend it if you are looking for something earth-shaking.

I dare say I personally did not enjoy the movie. Firstly, I agree with what some peers said about the topic not being adequately approached. Not only did they not show the ones I think are the most common signs of the main character´s illness, but also the other psychiatric diseases were not shown in a serious way. The topic that was chosen was not simple; there are many which are difficult to portrait ( such as illnesses or sexual harassment and rape ), and one has to be very careful in the way they approach them as the viewers are more prone to misunderstand the original focus or idea, and get a different perspective to the one you may have wanted to give to the movie.

Social wise, neither do I believe relationships are correctly represented. I know there may be exceptions, but I totally disagree with the stereotype of the kid being pressurized by his father to pursue a good future. Nowadays things have changed; teenagers fought to win the power to choose their own future. What´s more, the passion with which he explains that he wants to go to summer school to get a scholarship to a good university and therefore be as successful as to become the president, shows that he is the one who wants to go beyond the limits, and fight to become the best version of himself. Furthermore, I have the impression that changing one´s mind in one second is utterly unrealistic; I do not believe one can go from being stressed about getting into university to become the president to forgetting what he had always wanted in less than five days.

Lucía

Wednesday 28th class

Even though most of my classmates and I had a similar or the same viewpoint. I found interesting knowing that there were  many of my classmates who agreed on selling guns legally. Furthermore, i was pleasantly surprised when we started talking about the vibrations of the atoms of living beings, and how emotions or the feelings of animals before death can affect these vibrations and the nutrients humans get from the meat. In addition it was affable to discuss the well known and thought-provoking documentary "if slaughterhouses had glass walls".

AMERICAN BEAUTY 4 CAE BRAVES

With great confidence in your ability to appreciate (precisely) the beauty of AB, it is that I decided to share it with my braves in class. Not only did you look involved in its plot and funny moments but rather you seemed to enjoy it all along. As this is essentially an honest project, I do not expect you to make a thorough analysis of its most striking aspects, let alone an in-depth cover of its characters, though you are free to do so if you will. As you let the movie seep into your conscious mind, you might choose to follow whatever road that most interests you. In class, I suggested themes, though you may feel inclined to follow the process of research and then comment or viceversa on any issue, deciding to contrast what you read with what you felt or still feel about certain issues. Needless to say, I hope you are able to pick your brains and delve into your hearts to make your contributions. Those not present are most welcome to watch it on their own and become part of it. Big hug.

Wednesday 14 class

I benefited a lot from last class in terms of knowing many positive aspects of very controversial topics ,may I add, that i was not aware of before. Regardless of the negative aspects of the statement, Prostitution should be legalized, I am still a firm believer of legalizing this action as a job in order to prevent many persons, both female and male, from getting STDS and having proper working conditions.