How I've changed throughout the semester

I do believe my writing has improved since the beginning of the semester. I’ve always been told that I do well at writing, but the more I write, the better I am. Practice definitely helps, and I like having different teachers for English classes to see different opinions on my writing and their different writing styles and techniques that I can learn. I also believe my researching skills have improved as well. I did a lot of research for this film; trying to find articles and books that related to the film as well as shame and script theory. The research was difficult at times and a lot of work, but my use of the library catalogs and using reliable sources has improved. 

My Experience in Eng102

This English class has been very different from any other English class I’ve taken. I have never written a paper on a film before, and I had never heard of the critical models before either. It was new to me to be focusing so strongly on just one thing: the final paper. In most of my other classes, there were much more papers or assignments, while this one just mainly focused on the film paper. I really enjoyed writing the paper though, even though now I can’t watch Thor without trying to analyze everything. But that’s okay, I think now I have a different view and respect for the film now that I caught things while analyzing that I didn’t see in my previous viewings of the movie. I also liked just focusing on one major project. We had other little projects along the way, but they were all tied to the film paper, and I think that was very helpful.

Loki and Thor's shame events

It is evident in the film that Loki wants to be king over Thor, and he believes the only reason he is not is because he was born a frost giant. It’s important to notice that Loki is present during Thor’s major shame event: when his father banishes him from Asgard and sends him to Earth. You can see the satisfaction on Loki’s face once Thor is banished. Then, Loki appears in the police station where Thor is being held on Earth, and tells Thor of their father’s “death” and basically blames Thor for everything that has gone wrong without saying so. At this point when Loki says these things to Thor, I believe this is when Thor starts to mature. He is accepting that his banishment is his fault, and blames himself for his father’s death. 

Why I chose Thor and Shame Theory

Originally, I had chosen Thor and Shame theory because of the one scene that stuck out in my head: when he is banished from Asgard. I thought it would be an easy paper since that scene is clearly a shame event. I decided to keep my film choice after I had re-watched Thor while having the shame theory knowledge I had gained through brief research. I was surprised at how many other shame events occur in the film, and how crucial they are to the characters in the film. I also was interested in doing shame theory because in our critical model packet, it says that shame events are so major because they control all other emotions, which I didn’t realize until I actually saw a shame event in the film and the reactions of the characters. 

Thor's character after experiencing shame

I thought that Thor’s experience with shame had definitely improved his character, which proved my thesis correct. He did display the script theory, and he did regain his pride back, but his pride was at a more reasonable, respectable level than before. By the end of the film, he wasn’t so arrogant, and his father told him that he had made him proud, and that he will be a great king one day. I think the shame in his banishment had eventually brought a sense of maturity to Thor’s character, which made his decisions on Earth more wise and helpful.

My feelings on shame theory

I am happy that I decided to do my paper based off of shame theory. I was interested in seeing how shame controls all of the other emotions humans have. I also enjoyed learning how a person’s character is not based off of the shame event itself, but mostly how they react to it. I wasn’t aware before that there are four scripts in shame theory that people use to cope with shame to gain back their pride: Avoidance, Withdrawal, Attack Other and Attack Self. I didn’t realize what an importance pride has in humans, and what depths we will go to in order to gain that pride back. 

Thor and the script theory

After watching Thor, I picked two of the scripts in the script theory that I thought he best displayed. I believe he definitely portrayed attack other. He wanted to attack the frost giants when they attack Asgard, and he blamed his father for his banishment rather than himself. I think he also displayed some avoidance. When he arrived on Earth, he acted as if he was still royalty, although no one on Earth knew who he was. He didn’t tell them of his banishment, and he referred to himself as “the son of the king” and “mighty.” I think Thor also had a great increase in emotional maturity throughout the film. 

What I Would Do Differently

If I would do something differently in my paper, it would be to further describe the importance of Loki witnessing each of Thor’s shame events. I briefly mentioned how Loki’s presence in Thor’s shame has a big impact, but I believe I could have gone more in detail. I also should have included more about my sources and shame theory, and less description of the film itself. I should have only used the film to back up my literature review instead of the opposite. I also could have included a stronger counter argument, and maybe stated other ways Thor resembles shame or maybe provide a thesis stating that he doesn’t experience shame. 

The End Result of My Analysis Paper

Honestly, I thought my final paper turned out well. I was a lot more interested in writing it when I began than I was about writing it in the beginning of the semester. I thought I tied my lit review in well with the analysis of the film Thor. Once I actually sat down and watched the film and really focused on the details, the research I had done before and the scenes and characters in the film started to come together, which was very exciting for me and I was eager to write my paper. I did put a lot of effort into this writing, and I believe it shows. 

Peer Review of my paper

I thought the peer review of the drafts of our paper were very helpful. It was nice to receive someone else’s perspective and get advice from them on how to make my paper better. They definitely picked up on some things in my paper that I didn’t notice or think to add. I also think getting someone else’s opinion on my paper was beneficial in the final writing process of my paper. I was able to see how someone else perceives my paper and if they could understand it. It was also helpful in seeing what I should add or change, or what I should take out.

Draft: Problems in Analyzing

While writing my draft, I encountered a few problems. I had some trouble in differentiating between giving a background story and analyzing. While I was trying to analyze my scenes, it sounded like I was more so describing them and giving a background story of the film rather than going into depth about the meaning of the scenes. I should have more detail for specific parts rather than trying to explain the entire scene word for word. Also, in my draft, I wasn’t sure where to put my literature review, and if I should include it while analyzing. Now I know it goes right after the introduction, but while writing my draft I mixed that up a little bit. 

Shame-focused Coping Article: An Important Source

An Important Source I have found in my research is “Shame-focused Coping: An Empirical Study of the Compass of Shame” by Jeff Elison of Southern Utah University and Steven Polus and Randy Lennon of the University of Northern Colorado. This article includes great descriptions of the script theory in shame theory, and this is really helpful in seeing the different ways in which one deals with shame. Also, I was able to figure out which scripts Thor displays throughout the film, and how his reactions to shame are the most important aspect of the shame event. His reactions definitely help shape his character in numerous ways throughout the film. 

Thor becomes a hero

My latest working thesis is Thor does not become a hero until his experiences with shame conquer his excessive pride. This is similar to my previous thesis, but more clear and put together. It still shows that Thor’s character has improved because he has experienced shame. However, I don’t think Thor was a successful hero at all until he experienced shame. His excessive pride caused him to make mistakes and impulse decisions, and I think once he experiences shame and reaches a state of emotional maturity, his pride comes down to a reasonable level that others can respect and tolerate. 

The Role of Attributions in the Process of Overcoming Shame

Another source I found is by Jessica K. Van Vliet of the University of Alberta. She describes shame events, and how shame has led to psychological disorders, including depression, eating disorders, and addictions. One quote she includes is “shame stems from evaluations of internal and external events and from cultural standards that are internalized by the individual.” This quote really stuck out to me. Shame events are so affective because the person looks at what is acceptable by society and what is not, or embarrassing or humiliating, based on their internal and external feelings as well as the culture they know.

Investigating the Compass of Shame: The Development of the Compass of Shame Scale

One really helpful source I found in my research is the article “Investigating the Compass of Shame: the Development of the Compass of Shame Scale by Jeff Elison, Randy Lennon, and Steven Pulos. Jeff Elison, a member of the department of psychology of Southern Utah University, and Randy Lennon and Steven Pulos of the University of Northern Colorado, describe in this article the effects of shame, as well as the four scripts of shame: attack other, attack self, avoidance, and withdrawal. These four scripts are the four well-known reactions to a shame event. They also include a study in the article, displaying the four scripts of shame and how they can correlate with each other. 

Working Thesis

Currently, my working thesis is Thor’s banishment and emotion of shame from his home planet of Asgard affects him physically, socially, and mentally. Also, I think his experience with shame has changed his character for the better. At the beginning of the film, Thor is a very prideful, arrogant character. His experience with shame calms him down, and his pride then becomes at a respectable level. I think his experience with shame has changed his emotional maturity, and therefore he becomes a better person. He is challenged physically and mentally several times while on his banishment, and these challenges prove him worthy.

Research Schedule

For my research project, I plan to do research a couple nights out of the week. I’m trying to plan my research on the nights that I’m not working, so it’s kind of scattered at the moment, and I don’t have an exact schedule set in stone. I did check out a book through Waubonsee’s interlibrary loan titled Shame and Guilt so I plan to read that at least three times a week to see what information I can get out of it. I have also found a few articles online that could be really helpful in my research. I plan to read through those first and highlight or mark which information could be useful, and then include them in my annotated bibliography.

Witnessing Shame in Thor

In the film Thor, there is a very clear and great shame event that Thor experiences. This shame event is when Thor decides to attack another planet, and he gets banished by the King, who is also his father. This is a major shame event because there are witnesses to this event, and this causes other emotions in Thor, such as anger and sadness. As I can remember, I believe Thor uses the avoidance script of the script theory while experiencing shame. He avoids his admission of shame, since he doesn’t have to tell the people of Earth where he’s from until towards the end of the film. I will have to watch the film and do a further analysis to fully understand how he copes with shame. 

Shame Theory

The critical model I have chosen for my film analysis is shame theory. Shame, as I understand it, is one of the most powerful emotions a person can experience. Shame seems to affect all other emotions, and in a case of serious shame and humiliation, there are usually witnesses to the shame event. I understand that there are four parts to the script theory of shame theory. People take part in the script theory when they experience a shame event because they are trying to regain their pride back. The four scripts are: attack other, attack self, withdrawal, and avoidance. 

Thor's shame.

I have chosen to do a film analysis of the film Thor. I will be analyzing Thor’s character by using the critical model of shame theory. I want to focus on how a prideful character’s banishment from his home planet has caused him shame and how this shame event has changed his character throughout the film. I also want to analyze how the people who witnessed his shame event treat him before and after, and how the people he meets on Earth treat him. I believe as the King’s son, Thor has a great sense of pride and honor, and I would like to see how  his character reacts to such a humiliating event.