As Good as it Gets and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Running head: AS GOOD AS IT GETS AND OCD As Good as it Gets and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Melvin Udall lives a very unhappy, isolated life as a writer. He spends most days indoors with the exception of his daily trip to his local restaurant, where he methodically performs a multitude of rituals before actually eating. He walks on the sidewalk so as to avoid stepping on cracks and brushing against other people. He wears gloves and wipes off the handles of doors. He brings his own silverware and sanitizes his immediate area all upon sitting down.
He insists upon the same server every time—Carol—whom he treats poorly and you would never assume he actually prefers. The people in his apartment building detest him, as he is always abundantly rude to them. He has no tolerance for different sexual preferences, ethnicities, religions, or people in general. He also dislikes dogs. Melvin is diagnosed as having Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. His life is the complete product of his disorder, and everywhere he goes and everything he does is related to it in some way. Melvin is out of control, lonely, and unhappy.
In an instant, Melvin’s life changes. His neighbor Simon—the gay artist—is beaten horribly by some teenagers. In a strange turn of events, Simon’s art dealer, Frank, forces Melvin to look after Simon’s dog while he recovers in the hospital. Although entirely reluctant, Melvin begins to warm up to the dog, with the pooch even mimicking Melvin’s compulsive and ritualistic behavior. Soon Melvin encounters another challenge, because he arrives at his local restaurant, and Carol is not there to serve him. She is home with her AS GOOD AS IT GETS AND OCD young son, who is very sick.
He ends up getting thrown out of the restaurant, followed by applause from the regulars. Melvin finds out where Carol lives and actually goes to her home. She is disgusted, but also slightly touched. He offers to pay her doctor bills, and even to pay for a specialist if she comes to wait on him again. Gradually, Melvin begins to fall in love with Carol, as well as the little dog, Verdell. After coming to terms with his own failings, he starts to experience and demonstrate compassion. This change does not come easily, however, and Melvin resorts back to his old ways causing a number of problems.
With much hemming and hawing, Melvin finally states that because of his affection for Carol, he decided to take medication for his OCD. When Carol wants to know why that is a compliment, he says that being with her makes him want to be a better man. Diagnosis According to the DSM-IV-TR, people with OCD suffer from recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions are defined as “persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress”, which are difficult to dismiss, despite their disturbing nature.
These experiences are more intrusive than excessive worries about real-life problems, and they are unlikely to be related to these kinds of problems. Persons who suffer from OCD try to ignore, suppress or neutralize their obsessions with some other thought or action and recognize that they are a product of their own mind. AS GOOD AS IT GETS AND OCD Melvin Udall has repetitive thoughts about germs and diseases. Even though the portrayal of OCD seems realistic in most parts of this movie, it would be unlikely for clients to handle a dog when they have an obsession about cleanliness as severe as this character.
Melvin tries to neutralize his intrusive thoughts with compulsive actions. He is aware that his are obsessive thoughts are a product of his own mind since he reflects on them in a conversation with Carol. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors such as excessive or unreasonable cleaning, checking a stove or locks on doors, hand washing, requesting assurances, or mental acts, such as repeating certain words silently, counting, or praying excessively.
These behaviors either serve as coping mechanisms to reduce the discomfort with the anxiety or distress caused by the obsessive thoughts temporarily, or – unrelated to an obsession – they are performed according to rules that must be applied rigidly. In the majority of cases these actions are designed to prevent some dreaded event or situation. However, in other cases there is no obvious logical connection between the two. Throughout this whole “love story”, Melvin is plagued by his OCD, as are others by sheer association. His disorder is so extreme that his unhappiness compounds the problem.
His scathing remarks get him in trouble with Simon, Carol, Simon’s art dealer, his neighbors—basically everyone he comes in contact with. You can actually see the good, sweet man underneath Melvin Udall’s awful exterior. It is obvious how horribly he feels just after spitting his biting remarks and insults. He has become such an angry person, because he isolates, offends, and therefore is lonely. His tendency to lash out is AS GOOD AS IT GETS AND OCD partially due to his frustration over his condition, and partially a defense mechanism.
If Melvin lashes out at other people first, he will put himself on the offensive. If he is on the offensive, then he is not on the defensive and subject to being victimized because he is different. This most likely resulted from prior childhood incidences. Melvin shows progress after taking his medication, but it is abundantly clear that he will need the love, support, and companionship of Carol and Simon to encourage him to take his meds and maintain his progress.
Outline On Atheism
Atheism is the criticism and rejection of the core beliefs of all forms of theism. It challenges the notion that a supreme being, who is separate from and has power over everything in the universe, is responsible for creating and sustaining all aspects of existence.
Atheistic Principles:
- Philosophical atheists reject the assumption of the existence of disembodied spirits, or that incorporeal entities of any sort can exercise a causal agency
- Atheists generally manifest a marked empirical temper, and often take as their ideal the intellectual methods employed in the contemporaneous empirical sciences.
- Atheistic thinkers have generally accepted a utilitarian basis for judging moral issues, and they have exhibited a libertarian attitude toward human needs and impulses.
The advocated conceptions of the human good are aligned with the actual capacities of mortal men. Thus, the ultimate criteria for evaluating the validity of moral ideals or prescriptions is based on satisfying the complex needs of human beings.
Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) was brought up in a deeply religious family and enrolled at Heidelberg University to pursue theology. However, he eventually shifted his focus towards philosophy. In 1841, he released “Das Wesen Christentums,” wherein he contended that “God is a Projection of the Human Mind.” Feuerbach’s ideas were influenced by Georg W. F. Hegel, who criticized the Judeo-Christian faith for alienating humans from the world and prioritizing God instead. As a result, individuals become oblivious to their earthly existence and fail to acknowledge their own innate abilities.
Man is no longer motivated by the Christian notion of supernatural greatness; instead, they become witnesses and martyrs of the world beyond, rather than heroes of action in this world. Feuerbach, during his time, observed the prevalence of illusion, indecision, and immorality, describing the current state of affairs as “living in a perfume of an empty vase.” In an attempt to demystify religion and free man from its haunting delusions, he took a psychological and anthropological approach in his book The Essence of Christianity. Here, he argues that God is a myth that embodies the loftiest human aspirations.
Man experiences a sense of alienation as he navigates the contradictory aspects of his existence. Despite his weaknesses, he endeavors to achieve fulfillment and longs for an improved life. However, the reality of his mortality imposes limitations and threats. In order to safeguard the noble attributes he recognizes in himself, man tends to externalize, idolize, and elevate them to an absolute other that remains immutable. This external entity is commonly referred to as God.
Man perceives God as the embodiment of his own nature, attributing to him all the admirable traits and characteristics (such as wisdom, willpower, and fairness) that he perceives as exceptional attributes of a superior being. Simultaneously, man disowns these qualities as his own, leading to a devaluation and depletion of his own inherent essence. In essence, man sacrifices himself for the emergence of God.
Feuerbach viewed religion as a state of immaturity for humanity. In contrast, atheism represents an act of maturity, as it involves reclaiming faith in one’s own greatness and humanity. Essentially, God is just a manifestation of man’s essential qualities that have been attributed to Him. Humanism, then, is the recognition of man’s divine nature, acknowledging one’s own greatness and humanity. Feuerbach believed that what is considered atheism today will eventually become religion in the future. Furthermore, human consciousness is always aware of what it is not and what it can potentially become, thereby preventing a final, fixed, and complete identity to be attained.
Man determines his own existence and is fully accountable for the person he becomes. According to the philosophy of existentialism, man does not possess a predetermined essence but rather constructs it through his own actions. The core essence of man is defined by his freedom, as his consciousness continuously shapes his essence through choices.
Choice and action are integral. However, man is “condemned to be free” due to the fact that he did not opt for existence, yet possesses the liberty to make choices. As a pour soi, man achieves genuine freedom solely when involved in a world that opposes him, amidst his given situations (facticity). Nevertheless, the pour soi is not dictated or affected by these situations as their significances arise from his own consciousness, rendering them as “facticity for me”.
According to Sartre, if God exists, then essence would come before existence and consciousness would not be what it is. This is because God would have already determined its essence. However, Sartre argues that God’s existence contradicts the experience of consciousness, which is continuously creating itself. Being God means being both an en soi and a pour soi simultaneously, which Sartre deems impossible. Without God, there would be no moral values that guide human actions. Similarly, just as humans do not possess a fixed and predetermined nature, there are no objective values to govern their actions.
Dell’s Dilemma In Brazil
1. Political Risk Since its independence from Portugal in 1822, Brazil has never enjoyed any long term political or economic stability. When Dell was planning to enter the country, Brazil was divided into many states where each had their own policies and law. By entering Brazil, Dell has had to face political problems not just in regard to the whole country, but each state separately which also means any governance change. Unattractive benefits for being a member of Mercosul.
The benefits of Mercosul is that any company that produced at least 60% of given product in any of Mercosul’s counties are able to export products to any of the other Mercosul counties at zero tariffs. That means while Dell was dealing with the complex financial and political structure of Brazil, any company coming from countries with less costs and less difficulties arising from operating environments can control the market and all Dell’s efforts and investment would be pointless. In Brazil the relationships between politics and business were also very close.
The state governance could simply make immediate deals with companies. In this situation no company would be secure in the market. For example, when Dutra won the election he took actions against TNCs by cancelling the tax incentives agreement granted to Dell and Ford. Also in the computer industry, the market wasn’t flexible and there was no certain regulations for this particular market. As we see in Brazil there is no guarantee of other political problems not arising any time as Brazil has a very unstable political climate. 2. Economical Risk
At the moment of Dell wishing to enter the market, Brazil was dealing with a taxation war. Massive devaluation,currency instability and enormous debts with the significant volatility of the economy in Brazil contributed to this 3. Technological Risk As a consequence of political and economical instability in the country, In comparison to Europe and Northern America, Brazil hasn’t developed technolgically at the same rate. By entering Brazil, Dell would have to deal with the fact that they would need to invest large amounts in technology for the company to operate and produce their goods. . Cultural & Social Risk Even if Brazil is from Latin America and Dell is from Texas in the United States. Culturally the two places differences are vast. Entering into Brazil, Dell has to keep in mind the cultural differences between the people and the way that firms operate their businesses. 5. Competition Risk The unattractive side of Mercosul’s membership is that Dell would face unfair competition with international companies. Conclusion The fact is by entering Brazil, Dell has to do a lot.
Of course it is winning both ways, but the question is who wins more and will this winning actually be worth all the expenses and energy spent when there are so many other countries to invest. There are too many uncertainties and instabilities in the country. Dell would be risking a huge amount of money and sources with no guarantee. There also is a strong possibility of the government to keep having new elections whilst making changes in the laws and regulations. As an example we can show Rio Grande do Sul.
Of course there might be some other big companies such as Gerdau, Ipiraga and Coca-cola, who have entered and successfully continued their operations in this market. However, we cannot not consider these facts, though on the other hand it is a different field of industry in which these companies operate. As Dell’s initial investment hasn’t made anything yet, they also haven’t had any financial loss. The best option for Dell is to leave Brazil before any risky movements.