The Bright Side Of Life
“The Good Side of Life” tells the story of Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper), a young man who has just left a mental health center.
Pat’s problems began when, months earlier, he assaulted his ex-wife’s lover. Once his sentence has been served, he returns to his parents’ home, who hope their son will rebuild his life with the help of optimism and a passion: the local football team.
Everything changes when Pat meets Tiffany, a girl in trouble who offers to help him get his wife back.
How to appease anger and adopt a positive attitude towards life
David O. Russell’s film “The Winner” addresses two feelings: anger and generosity.
When it comes to anger, there’s an irrefutable truth: We’ve all lost track at some point. We won’t go into details or tell stories that are sure to bring back uncomfortable memories. But it is undeniable that nerves have betrayed us on more than one occasion throughout our lives.
It is often a one-off anger, which does not have much repercussion in the near future. In others, on the contrary, bad feelings transform us completely, like violent monsters, full of anger.
When should we start worrying? When anger is part of the personality and doesn’t just show up at a bad time.
If a brushstroke is isolated, it’s impossible for it to be part of a painting, but if the brushstrokes are so constant as to constitute a face, or a landscape, then you should be concerned.
We can say that getting angry is good in some situations. It’s healthy. Showing rejection in the face of a situation, expressing discontent with something or someone, is a way of letting go.
It’s impossible to always be happy. It is essential to visit the opposite side, of anger, to reach the universal destination: happiness.
A reasonably sane person is satisfied with his life, even though it may be fraught with frustration and anger. In other words, happiness is the norm by which existence is guided, but this happiness is sometimes altered by its antithesis. Both feelings are needed.
The film’s protagonist decides to go further. When indignation overtakes him, Pat uses force, physical violence. Is it a sign? The answer is yes. Containment, in this case, is essential to maintain good mental health.
It is also necessary to consider that containment is necessary, as opposed to repression. It is necessary not to confuse one thing with another.
Repressing feelings for too long can have a catastrophic result. Storing anger only increases resentment, so it is necessary to sporadically release all the feelings and sensations that bother us.
According to experts, a person who shows his discomfort in a regular, but controlled way, is more trustworthy than someone who never changes in the face of anything and, one day, explodes (emotionally). It is this type of person that causes the most damage, as they express their pain in an abrupt, uncontrolled way, and the lack of control usually affects the society around them in a highly negative way.
One of the most valid options when fighting disproportionate displays of anger is sport. Constant physical activity helps to unload both the body and mind.
The film also conveys a message that, although it seems obvious, it is good not to forget: the family is important, not to say vital, in helping us to overcome any kind of problem.
In this film, the family is embodied by eccentric, comic characters, but their function is the same as any father of a family: to help his son to overcome an adverse situation, in this case, aggressiveness.
Original text in Spanish by Carlos Rodríguez López
