Wiam Najjar

a wet fart of a movie lol

A point may be that some "monsters" are cultivated by themselves and some are created by society - the people who "fall though the cracks" and later want their revenge. Though his life there are many instances where Sigma's life may have gone in another direction. In the last episodes we see that he is ready to start yet again after finding the officer's notebook. Therefore, this late while help may alleviate some anger and hatred it may be too late to have a lasting effect and only delays his villainy. However, during his childhood there must have been countless opportunities to turn the tide and people missed it.

Yass! Well written article on a character's portrayal of mental illness! Thumbs up. Well written.. well written.

Thank you, just so you know that I ended up after much therapy in much prayer being a pretty well-rounded person and I appreciate your comment and I completely agree that his selfishness and his bitterness (hatred), Played the major part in his decisions. I had to decide that I was going to be a happy person regardless of what other people thought of me. Sadly, I was well into my 40s (I’m a 16-year-old kid trapped in this bod), Before I made that decision. Now my children are grown and I’m starting the second half of my life… (I figured if I lived to be 120 I was only middle-aged at 60), I intend to still live my life to the fullest. But my point is I had to make a decision how I was going to live my life. No one else could make that decision for me.

While they cannot be found criminally responsible, they will be held morally responsible. Until we learn more, as a society, all we can do is keep them apart from the rest of us.
That being said, there are clues along the way to a potential psychopaths in the making.
Potential being the operative word. A child’s behaviour can be influenced by many things and may not continue into adulthood. (A boy’s brain is not fully formed until around thirty!)
Conduct disorders in childhood are the hallmark of future issues. And they stem from the severity of callous and unfeeling traits (narcissism for example) they inherited. And those come in varying degrees, from petty theft to harming animals. Different behaviours present in children than in youths.

Interventions can be successful at an early age, but rarely make an impact with adults. Good parenting is the key. And that involves a reward-based approach, rather than a punishment-based (same as for raising great dogs) model. Parental warmth and consistent parental practices are the key.
The trick is to have the services in place and parents who give a damn about their child in the first place! If only society recognized that both victims and bullies need help.

Of course we are not. :( 'Progress' usually consists of more and more and stronger drugs. But willingness for and compliance with treatment/counseling are an ongoing battle too. But that is a vicious circle when part of the illness is denial and you are dealing with doctors/counselors who may or may not be concerned enough with the individual.

Mental illness is serious business and I totally empathize with people who had traumatic childhoods I was abused, brutalized, and terrorized as a child and lived in an alcoholic home. I was born with a slight case of cerebral palsy on my right side and was bullied for that told I was stupid, my parents told me I would never amount to anything, my own cousins would drag their right foot and drop their right arm because they didn’t want to be bullied and I had no friends. Suicidal at 12 which is unusual for the 1960s. Certainly I didn’t have the traumatic experience that sigma had,But how does that justify evil behavior., The term antisocial personality disorder did not exist in those days, I was just incorrigible, a troublemaker, nobody understood, nor did my parents. That being said… Yes sigma was totally completely evil. Not everybody Who is terrorized as a child turns into a psychopathic lunatic. Actually, most people living with emotional trauma do not end up psycho pathic murderous lunatics. And I think just because someone has had a traumatic, horrible childhood does not justify hir/her behavior. Here’s my take on Sigma. He was abused, brutalized, and terrorized as a child and grew up to abuse and terrorize, brutalize other people as an adult. I wish people would stop using mental illness as a justification for evil deeds… It gives the rest of us a bad rap.

Interesting articke, I love how you’ve delved into a new layer of Sigma!

I think Sigma’s story also shows the consequences of a broken and individualistic society. We see him let down by organisations, people and systems that are meant to be in place to protect us. As a child, he is abused by his parents and his school is powerless in helping him from bullies. He has artistic talent but is never encouraged or has his potential grows.

When Sigma is running away from Tae-Sool, the police ignore his injuries and don’t bother to ask why he’s in such a state. They identify him quickly as a thief as he didn’t pay his taxi fare because of his previous crime record- I’m not justifying the malicious comments he wrote online because it can devastate someone’s life, rather I’m critical at how we can become judgemental quicker than being compassionate towards others.

Sigma can’t even fulfil his extreme choice of ending his life, ironically in the backdrop of a nuclear storm. No one came to find him or tell him what’s going on. It’s a reflection of how isolating some of us can feel. And for those who are marginalised in society whether it be by mental illness, criminal history or anything else that can cause ostracisation in society.

What’s interesting is we see Seo Hae’s dad play a part in stopping Sigma becoming Sigma by kindly offering a hand to help the distressed Sigma in the park. However it’s hinted that he still becomes a villain in the end- that’s out of our hands and it is still an element of choice in our actions. We also need to understand that the struggles people face can’t always be fixed overnight- yet one little kind act might be the small bit of hope for someone else.

Thank you !!❤ That's a great article!!

Thank you for a well thought and beautifully expressed article, Wiam. You did a great job of showing the complexity of Sigma without giving away big spoilers. To me, he is a tragic character in that his actions are fueled by the need to be accepted and maybe even loved, and yet - when he cannot get the love and attention he desired, so he adapts a sort of "to hell with you attitude" - I'll show you. He is caught in a circle of Catch 22.

BTW, I always liked Kim Byung-Chul, and I also especially loved him in the character just prior to this one - in "Pegasus Market." I thought it was so hilarious

Thanks for the interesting article :)

My point of view: Whatever he may have suffered in the past doesn't grant him the right to cause harm. He stopped deserving sympathy the moment he started harming others. I'm sure his own abusive father would have a similar back story. It doesn't excuse what he did to his son though

The problem with such mental illnesses is that it leaves the ones with those illnesses free from accountability, which in turn, cause abuse to other innocent people, which might again start getting the same illness as their oppressor. It's an ongoing vicious cycle. I think society needs to recognize people with such illnesses to put a stop to this cycle.

Well, your article made me think of all those complicated things, I don't know where to stop anymore haha XD

That age old question: Is evil born or bred? There are many excellent movies and dramas that show that the creation of monsters can be, and often is, man made. But real life also shows that there are those with the mental fortitude to overcome the horrors of their childhood who go on to live productive lives. We congratulate them and must condemn the others. But, knowing as we do, as we must, that the evil enacted by seemingly evil people may stem from evil done to them, how do we punish/treat them? We know that treatment for mental health, though greatly improved over my lifetime, still has so far to go! And by the time these evil people reach adulthood and are enacting acts of criminality that cannot be excused, it is too late to allow them to stay in society. And we are universally in agreement that, in addition to mental illness, the unforgivable cruelty done to children is at fault in many of, if not most of, the creations of the adult monsters who prey on innocent victims every day. These are very complex and seemingly insolvable questions. Every time I have to think about it I get depressed just knowing that there will never be a definitive answer nor any end to this vicious cycle.

I am glad to read article discussing Mental illness. In Chinese, pardon me if I wrote it wrong, illness could be inborn (前在)or or develop in life (後在). Some serious criminal (eg murderers, abusers) and none criminal one (eg major depression, suicide ideation), thought to be passing down in gene and it got worsen as the person grown up. Society could help change the outcome but not always success. There are lots of people around us struggle with mental illness, some become big monster some keep it to themselves. It is something we as a society shouldn’t ignore it.

well i guess it's human to make mistakes ....but as long as we can endure we should endure and keep on moving ahead without holding grudges ....cuz hurting others does not make up for what happened !!

yes the child actor deserves more recognition !!
and the world has actually failed many like sigma ....even we in some sense ..!!