MovieChat Forums > A Million Little Things (2018) Discussion > the black guy

the black guy

posted 6 years ago by exatera (3955)
7 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand, are we supposed to feel for him? Talk about a first-world problem!

That whole bit didn't ring true to me at all.

[–] BlonDeWig (20) 6 years ago

He didn’t overdo it though, just showed some emotion when revealing what he almost did. I’ve forgotten why he said he almost killed himself though.

[–] exatera (3955) 6 years ago

Because sometimes he feels so hopeless that he can't deal with it.

The guy has a very high paying job and a wife who loves him, but the emotion all that evokes in him is utter despair. Why, because he can't do what he is truly passionate about?

Riiiight...

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8711) 6 years ago

Sometimes your soul cries out.

I don't think his depression lies totally in the fact that he isn't fulfilling his life goal of making a film. There's more going on there.

Let's probe a little deeper.

[–] exatera (3955) 6 years ago

Please, I had days when I was unemployed when I had something like 59 cents in my pocket, and was walking around the store to see if there was anything I could get for that other than ramen.

He doesn't know what it's like to feel lucky just to have a job.

I can’t sympathize with someone who takes so much for granted.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8711) 6 years ago

Depression is often a chemical issue in the brain.

Sounds like your chemicals were in good order.

[–] Imboring (11) 6 years ago

If you're lucky enough to never have dealt with any depression, then I can somewhat understand why this might be hard for you to understand.

Depression isn't always caused by an outside source. Things can be going well in your life, but you still are depressed. It is a chemical imbalance. You can be a millionaire and still be depressed.

OP, I don't fault you for thinking this way, many people who haven't experienced depression think the same way you do. For those with depression, it's not as easy as just sucking it up and being happy with what they have. If you haven't experienced it yourself, it's very difficult to actually understand fully.

[–] exatera (3955) 6 years ago

Well, in fairness, I don't get the sense that that's quite how they are presenting it on the show (that he is just clinically depressed). On the show (or at least that's my impression) they are trying to make it sound like he has legitimate reasons to want to kill himself, and so he just comes off as ungrateful and lacking perspective. I really cannot respect the character at all, all his problems are made up.

It was telling during that commercial shoot scene when he asked the actor "Can you believe we have to do this sh*t?" and the guy's response offered *some* perspective, but nah, of course it didn't take.

He is another character, btw, who completely disregards other people's boundaries - I cringed at how he kept badgering the psychologist until she took him on. It's like, of course it only matters what he is most comfortable with, who cares about other people's professional ethics and personal discomfort.