Studying for exams is mind-blowingly dull and often leads to even more stress by the time the test finally comes along. Taking frequent short breaks can certainly help, but cramming is an ineffective study tool anyways. While the tower of textbooks might be making you feel trapped in your own room, a film about being actually trapped in a room is coming to Fisher 135.
“Room” is a film from Brazil that is based on the novel by Emma Donoghue. A woman in the film, known as Ma, was kidnapped as a teenager and has given birth to a son named Jack. They share a room which is the only world Ma’s son has ever known. They achieve freedom eventually and the story follows their struggle adjusting to the world after imprisonment.
The novel was inspired by a real-life story that Donoghue had heard in the news that was incredibly tragic. An 18-year-old girl had been imprisoned by her own father and bore him seven children. One of the children who lived with her in the dungeon in their basement grew ill and was taken to the hospital.
This was how their plight was discovered and they were released from their basement prison. The father was arrested and placed in prison for life. Donoghue was inspired to write “Room” after trying to imagine the effect that being released suddenly from the dungeon would have had on the girl’s youngest son who had only been five at that time. She wrote the story from the five-year-old boy’s perspective.
This film is intense. It includes themes of domestic abuse, imprisonment, kidnapping and drugs. It is incredibly and delicately well done. The film sticks closely to the plot of the novel because Donoghue also wrote the screenplay. Writing about the plot does not do the film justice, and the trailer can be found on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6fZ-fwDws.
“Room” will play in Fisher 135 on Monday, Dec 10 at 8:30 p.m. and the tickets are free. The film is sponsored by the Association of Psychology Students and promises to be a thought-provoking and fascinating look into some of the darker parts of humanity and the resiliency of humans.
