We are born without values, beliefs or principles. We absorb these from our immediate surroundings as we grow up and over time. However, when these principles are turned into weapons, we start the slow decline from humanity and compassion into extremism and segregation: "us" and "them”.
When we violently force societal views upon others, our attempts to permanently alter their paths, simultaneously crafts our own destruction. Extremist acts are accompanied by casualties, and for every hurt, more people are motivated to walk a path of revenge.
This is a never-ending cycle of rigid thinking. Solid. Unchanging. Brittle. Solidarity is brought about when people choose compassion instead of vengeance.
The creation of concrete mimics this, with chemical elements being broken down as a necessary part of a process of making something new. Without the loss of the individual structures, the mixture is weak and frail, and can never showcase its full potential. The breaking apart and reforming of the elements in concrete brings to light a newer, stronger material.
This film, “The Catalyst”, showcases the destructive effects of the violence that so often accompanies extremist attitudes, and the costs that it incurs. With so many dying because of the pride of others, the film asks, "How much more human suffering are we willing to endure in the name of pride, before we find the catalyst for change?"…