Jackie Movies and Chilean Miners and Hope

After THIS story broke yesterday on Twitter I searched out the source story and also to verify the question mark about psychologists picking the movies for the miners. I found the following:

The New York Times — August 27, 2010 — Even a tiny home theater is being funneled down in plastic tubes to occupy the 33 miners stuck in their subterranean home.

A miner on Thursday wrote the name of Juan Aguilar, one of the trapped miners, on a flag commemorating Chile’s bicentennial.

Chile is sparing no expense or attempted innovation in trying to rescue the miners trapped by a cave-in on Aug. 5, fully aware that the country — and the world — is closely watching the ordeal.

But like everything else being done to maintain the psychological health of the miners over the weeks or months they may remain nearly half a mile underground, officials will carefully control what they are exposed to, down to the messages they receive from their families or the kind of movies that might be projected on the wall of the mine.

“Movies are possible,” said Ximena Matas, a local city councilwoman. “But the psychologists will decide what movies they will see. It’s up to them if something like ‘Avatar’ would be too upsetting.”

SOURCE: MEDIASCRAPE.COM

and this:

Stories of hope and hardship of 'Los 33'

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Psychologists treating the men through telephone and video links from the surface were worried enough about them that they began filtering virtually everything family members sent down a relief shaft. Cheery letters were all right; notes about troubles at home were not. Some letters were never delivered and others were edited, according to Mr. Ojeda, who called the actions "unjust."

After about two weeks, the miners demanded that the censorship stop, arguing they were not as vulnerable as they seemed.

But medical officials remained cautious. Psychologists selected the movies that the men watched on a cloth hung on a cave wall using a smart-phone-size video projector. They were allowed to view Mr. Bean and Jackie Chan movies, but not films about natural disasters or terror.

"We wanted them to relax and enjoy, not get into deep reflection," said Alberto Iturra, the lead psychologist dealing with the miners. Eventually, the psychologists stopped filtering what went down the hole, feeling the men were stable enough.

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SOURCE: NDTV.COM

Many fans can give witness to the feelings of positivity and hope watching Jackie can generate. Many have their own stories of how Jackie has inspired them to greater things, not give up, to keep trying and never give up.

If you have a story to relate of how Jackie or one of his movies gave you hope I would love to hear it.