The emotion 'legget' experienced by the Ilongot tribe represents an intense and unmoored feeling that can only be understood through personal experience and tragic events.
Being open and honest about one's emotions, even if it leads to vulnerability, can lead to healthier and more fulfilling relationships.
Deep dives
Discovering an Emotion among the Ilongot Tribe
Anthropologist Renato Risaldo and his wife Shelley immerse themselves in the world of the isolated Ilongot tribe in the rainforest in the Philippines. Through their research, they decode the emotions of the tribe, including a feeling called 'legget,' which initially seemed simple and positive. However, when confronted with the intense emotional response of the tribe to a deceased elder's voice on a tape recording, Renato realizes that 'legget' represents an unmoored and out-of-control feeling. This feeling remains untranslatable to an American understanding until Renato experiences it himself after the tragic death of his wife, leading him to understand and embrace 'legget' as a better way to grieve.
Amelia's Anxiety-induced Vomiting on Dates
Amelia Pazanza, experiencing anxiety and uncertainty on dates, develops a pattern of throwing up when overwhelmed by her emotions. She traces this pattern back to her tendency to overanalyze and discuss feelings in her previous relationship. Pushing away her emotions and censoring herself in subsequent dates only exacerbates the problem. However, when she starts being honest and open about her feelings, including confessing to her date that she couldn't sleep due to her interest in them, she finds a relationship where her emotional expression is welcomed and valued, leading to a healthier and more fulfilling connection.
The Pursuit of Happiness and its Influence on Anxiety
Amelia reflects on her anxieties and constant questioning about her own happiness, which she attributes to the cultural expectation of pursuing happiness as the ultimate goal. This pressure to be happy and constant self-analysis moves her further away from happiness itself, as she is constantly chasing it instead of allowing herself to be present in the moment. Amelia suggests that this cultural emphasis on happiness, coupled with her own anxious disposition, creates a hyper-sensitivity to emotions and a continuous need to dissect and discuss them.
Can you discover an emotion? We travel to the jungles of the Philippines where an anthropologist named Renato Rosaldo lived with the Ilongots, an isolated tribe of headhunters. There he learns about legit, an emotion so intense, and varied, and scary to him, that he can't really map onto the usual palette of American emotions. It takes many years, and a shocking and tragic event, for Rosaldo to fully grasp legut. Then we follow a young woman who does something on dates that virtually guarantees their failure. Along the way , she gains insight into her own emotions, and those of a generation of kids raised to be happy.