11th February 2025

Reply To: Awakenings (Year 2)

ENGLISH FOR PSYCHOLOGY Forums Neuropsychology Awakenings (Year 2) Reply To: Awakenings (Year 2)

#3832
Anonymous
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“Awakenings” is a very touching movie! I have just finished watching it and I wanted to make a assessment “freshly”, but I can see that all of you already wrote about those scenes which are my favourites and the most touching for me. Probably it means that we have similar sense of sensibility 🙂
Dr Sayer is an examplar of doctor who devote himself to his work and to people. Despite all difficulties, no chances for cooperation with other doctors, being sneered by the colleagues he doesn’t give up and fight for his idea. He finds out how to treat post-encephalitic patients. He was the one who connected seemingly random patients with similar symptoms like catatonic stupor, reflex to catch a bal, small reactions for hearing their names or favourite music. He discovered beneficial effects of the drug L-Dopa thanks to connecting it with Parkinson’s disease. Each scene when dr Sayer discovers something new and valuable is moving and full of satisfaction. We can see that this moments make doctor aware that world needs him, they motivate him, let him feel fulfilled.
My favourite scene from the movie was when dr Sayer woke up and saw that Leonard is not in bed anymore. Moreover Leonard sitted in another hall and drew. He noticed that it was so quiet there and everybody was sleeping. He said that he is not sleeping. He was awaken. I loved that methafor!
Also scene when all of catatonic patiens awaked was very cheerful. They were touched by their own happinnes that they can talk, walk, smile, dance, sing, eat by themselves or even go to the toilet alone.
The end of the movie is sad unfortunetaly, because it turned out that the cure is not as effective as we expected it to be. I am very disappointed that Leonard cannot live normal life as he wanted to.
I think that doctor Sayer could learn something from Leonard and his other patients and we also can learn from them. We should appreciate those “little things” and nourish human spirit with work, play, friendship, family. Because as Leonard said “people have forgotten what life is all about. They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive.”
This movie is totally worth seeing in my opinion.