e. To help others to make him or herself feel better. (Berkowitz 185) Though this theory has often been contested, not simply because it tends to negate altruism but because people in bad moods tend not to seek out the doing of good deeds, (Berkowitz 186) these two examples of pro-social behavior in this film are both realistic and examples of the negative state relief model of action.
The first example is when Rob agrees to help two skater slackers and frequent shoplifters at his store to produce a record. Rob does not have a record label but it is a logical extension of his love of music and of human progress. He walks into the store, where Barry and Dick are listening to a demo tape of Vince and Justin, which is actually really good. All of them are collectively amazed. Rob almost immediately walks back out the door to return to a scene where just before he entered the record store one of the skaters had run over his foot. He asks the group where Justin and Vince are, they point he walks over to them and tells them that he will produce their music. They ask what they will get out of it and he tells them a percentage after he recovers costs. Then they ask him what his label is called and he on the spur of the moment names it "Top 5 records" a play on the fact that he is constantly making lists of the top five of everything from breakups to songs to dream jobs, all of which are significant in the film.
Rob's idea to help two punks that he previously disdained, both or whom he only recently chased from his store for shoplifting simply because their music doesn't suck is an example of his attempt to better himself and break his own misery by helping an unlikely pair. He gains from the situation because he is bettering himself, moving toward the future, the complaint that Laura has of him from the beginning, i.e. not thinking of the future. When he and Laura rekindle their relationship as a result of her grief over the death of her father she actually gets on board and throws Rob a surprise record release party, which shows her acknowledging the change in him. The death of Laura's father and her grief over it lead her to relinquish her split up with Rob, because she is "to tired not to be with him." This may seem like backpedaling for Laura, but as it turns out the act is productive, as Rob has begun to change and to allow others to change.
The other act of pro-social behavior that emphasizes the negative-state relief model is Rob's marriage proposal to Laura. When he speaks to his/her words are not romantic, he says he is sick of thinking about the misery of his past relationships, can't imagine ever getting sick of her and he wants to think about something else, i.e. growing up and moving on with his life, which will likely include self-development and real creativity. He knows that what Laura wants is a relationship that progresses and the ultimate progression is marriage and commitment, something that has clearly eluded him before. The lack of commitment has been mutual, he cheats on her she aborts his baby without telling him she is pregnant, but Laura is convinced that her reluctance to commit is a response to Rob's inability to progress and be happy, in anything. The marriage proposal is a direct example of the negative-state relief model because ultimately Rob is trying to do the one sure thing that will allow him to stop wallowing in the self-pity of implied rejection. Though Laura does not agree to marry him, the proposal and his thought processes cause him to rethink the way in which he approaches life, seeking out the "fantasy" looking for the thrill of new love, including his current attempt to woo a cute music critic by making her a mixed tape, and actually making one for Laura.
The mixed tape making session is the closing monologue of the film. He is sitting in his house making a tape, the viewer does not know if the tape is for the music critic or not, until Rob says he is making the tape...
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