A Brief Overview of Woo’s Story
The tear-jerking story of Eddie Woo demonstrates the sheer power of empathy and how it can push people to specific careers. Woo intimates that his challenging background made him a better, more empathetic teacher by allowing him to identify with every learner’s unique problems and gifts (ABC 2017, n.p). Undeniably, Woo is the poster child for modern teachers who understand that their influence spans beyond the academic realm. In this analysis, I will delve into how Woo has used technology to offer a public account of his private feelings as a representative of Asian Australians. They have suffered due to the country’s socio-political arrangements.
A Brief Overview of Woo’s Story
Eddie Woo has been teaching mathematics at Cherrybrook Technology High School. In the documentary, Woo admits that he used to struggle with mathematics. Hence, his siblings were surprised when he decided to teach this subject (ABC 2017, n.p)—hoping to capitalize on Australia’s educational system and numerous economic opportunities. The short film reveals that Woo and his family experienced some form of discrimination due to their Asian ancestry. Woo affirms that the problem was prevalent in his elementary school, and other children bullied him due to his race (ABC 2017, n.p). His mother’s death marked a significant turning point for Woo, and he decided to soldier on with his dreams of becoming a teacher. Woo believed that through this profession, he could impact the lives of many young people struggling with personal challenges. Despite his parents’ initial objections in his choice of career, Woo has excelled in this area and has continued to touch the lives of thousands of students by sharing his lessons online.
Sympathy/Empathy
The documentary highlights how empathy serves a motivation for different actions that people take in their lives. Harris (2015, p. 27) explains that parents attempt to instill in their children a sense of empathy to make sure that they treat others kindly. The described concept requires people to desist from any position that could reveal their deliberate refusal to identify themselves with the specificity of others and, as a result, distancing from such subjects and failing to respond to their traumatic situations (Coplan & Goldie 2014, p. 276). Woo is empathetic and sympathizes with students having challenges when solving mathematical problems. Besides this, he is willing to immerse himself in the lives of his students, and this includes engaging with those that have isolated themselves due to the fear of rejection. The described aspects of his life make the viewer feel empathetic when he faces personal problems.
Generally, it is difficult to watch the documentary and not feel sympathetic towards this teacher. Woo narrates how he struggled at school due to racism and bullying. During this period, Australia was also facing racial challenges, and there were calls for the government to reduce the number of Asian migrants into the country (ABC 2017, n.p). Unfortunately, Woo suffered a major loss when his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and died after a few months. The loss was devastating and it left every member of the family deeply sad. Apart from this, Woo is unable to enjoy his time at home due to the health conditions that affect his three children. For instance, Woo’s last born son has eosinophilic oesophagitis and this has affected his ability to eat and grow (ABC 2017, n.p). The described personal issues make one sympathise with Woo and understand his passion for teaching.
Therapeutic Culture
The narrative reveals the significance of therapeutic culture and how the lack of such values can affect individuals. In the documentary, Woo recounts how Lisle Brown, a former agriculture teacher, and mentor, queried whether he was feeling alright (ABC 2017, n.p). He indicates that no adult had ever asked him a similar question. According to Kulanjiyil and Thomas (2010, p. 100), Southern Asian culture prevents individuals from expressing their emotions openly and seeking help when they have mental problems. Some Asian nations, for example, China consider bullying as a critical, collective action and there have been fewer attempts to deal with this problem (Li et al. 2019, p. 2). Regrettably, the lack of therapeutic culture affected Woo and prevented him from engaging with his parents about these personal troubles. Some Australians might not identify with this tutor since many fail to understand the cultural and social contexts in which individuals express their emotions (Duffy & Yell 2014, p. 47). All in all, the enquiry by his teacher demonstrates how Woo was not accustomed to expressing his feelings to adults, including his parents.
Emotion Management
The short documentary demonstrates the significance of managing emotions and channelling them to achieve public good. Kolb (2014, p. 183) stresses the need for individuals to learn how to manage their feelings to avoid a possible breakdown. Emotion management can enable people to control how they feel and help others when facing similar issues (Kluemper, DeGroot, & Choi 2013, p. 879). In the documentary, Woo helps his father to overcome grief after losing his wife. Woo and his siblings narrate how they were able to control their emotions despite being victims of racial harassment and bullying. At present, Woo is using his position as a teacher to engage with students and encourage them to share their experiences. He takes learners with various problems as his special project and remains devoted to assisting such individuals to excel in their academic and personal lives.
Conclusion
In summation, this is a moving documentary that illustrates the challenges that Asian Australians face in their daily lives. The conversations, as well as the images, invoked both negative and positive emotions. For example, I almost shed tears when Woo narrated how he was bullied and how he fears for the fate of his children. On the other hand, I was happy after realising that he has become a famous teacher and he is striving to help learners with different problems. Irrefutably, I felt a strong sense of empathy for Woo and what he has experienced in his life. The most inspiring aspect of Woo’s story is how his teachers inspired him to become a teacher and he pursued this career notwithstanding the opposition for his parents.
Part 2: Emotions in Movies
The Queen (2006) is a fascinating film that narrates the story of two strong women and a pragmatic prime minister. Queen Elizabeth takes her public role and duties with great gravity and is willing to go to any length to protect the monarchy. The motion shows the significant contradictions between the royal family’s focus on private grieving and the widespread public outpouring of grief. In this analysis, I will focus on how the film shows the socio-cultural norms of grief and explain why there was a public outcry following Princess Diana’s death.
The opening scenes of this film reveal a majestic queen who is preparing to meet Tony Blair, the newly elected prime minister. However, after a few months, Blair and Queen Elizabeth find themselves in a crisis that involved their personal as well as a political tragedy—the death of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed, had been involved a fatal car crash. The Queen was determined to keep the royal family aloof and hence, she was not willing to show any expression of sympathy. The press and the general public demanded that the Queen issue a statement about Diana. Unfortunately, her reluctance to show grief reveals that she does not align with the national mood. Fundamentally, this is an interesting scenario since the Queen has suffered a great personal catastrophe when compared to the members of the public. The film sheds light on the challenges that some leaders endure in their attempts to protect public institutions when facing personal issues.
Without a doubt, the movie discloses the variations in social/cultural traditions between the royal family and the general public. The motion picture shows the emotional conflicts that occur in at the Windsor Castle following Diana’s death and a monarch who appears to have an uncaring attitude towards the entire affair (Merck 2016, p. 364). Researchers indicate that during challenges, individuals become more aware of the differences between norms (Walter 2010, p. 5). In many instances, how people deal with bereavement depends on their culture and this is why bereavement practitioners have to be conversant with multiple cultures (Walter 2010, p. 5; Lofland 1985, p. 171). The Queen has a duty of protecting the image of the royal family and ensuring that the public respect the monarchy. Based on this social norm, the Queen might not express her grief publicly even when she had suffered a personal tragedy.
On the other hand, the general public does not have this limitation and was willing to express their grief openly. Significantly, the British have two critical norms in the area of grief: expressive and private grief (Biddle & Walter 1998, p. 1). The Royal Family was not willing to violate this culture and morn publicly. The British way of life is dominated by individuals’ quest to adhere to the rules of etiquette, which indicates what is permissible and what is not (Walter 1985, p. 29). However, death is a complex occurrence and most people are not willing to let go, especially when dealing with relatives and friends (Walter 1997, p. 263). In short, members of the public felt close to Diana and were willing to break social norms to express their grief publicly.
Specifically, there was an overwhelming public outcry due to the powerful identification between individuals and Princess Diana. Experts have suggested that grief can create communities and this can result in shared emotions among total strangers (Gibson 2007, p. 1). People can experience profound sadness after the death of celebrities since they trust, believe in, and admire their works (Gibson 2007, p. 1). A study has indicated that the public fascination with popular figures might intensify after their death (Radford & Bloch 2012, p. 138). Princess Diana was charming and loved by millions in Britain and elsewhere. Blair described her as the “People’s Princess” and this revealed the high regard that the leadership attributed to her personality and life (Childs 2007, p. 50). Diana was a global image of royalty and she was willing to relate with others in her quest to discard a toxic form of elitism. Hence, many people were empathetic to her cause and they felt that her death was a tragic personal experience.
To a great extent, I feel that the movie was effective in illuminating the different sets of norms for expressing grief. The film revealed the Queen at her usual norm of remaining aloof and unwilling to express emotions openly. At the same time, there was a huge contrast between the royal family and how other people reacted to the story. A tearful Blair mourned Diana and this set the tone for other individuals who expressed their grief publicly. The Queen mourned privately and turned down the initial request from Blair to make a public statement. The success of this motion picture, in portraying the Queen as emotionless, has become evident in the many letters that people have sent to her after watching this moving story (Merck 2016, p. 364). Hence, the film succeeded in showing the variations in the social norms of demonstrating grief between the Royal Family and the public.
In summary, the death of Diana provided a glimpse of the social norms regulating the expression of grief by members of the Royal Family. The Queen remained aloof and an emotional and only acted after increased public pressure. However, members of the public who were strangers to Diana felt a strong attachment to her and were willing to express their grief publicly. Undeniably, the film was highly successful in highlighting the cultural contradictions between the Queen and other members of her family and British society.