The Top 250 of IMDb is a regular follow-up to get suggests for good movies. I was recently reviewing them and noticed something peculiar. There seems to be an extraordinary number of movies after the year 2000 to have made it to the Top 250. Till about 4-5 years back the ratings were very well distributed across various decades and even genres. The genre distribution is more subtle to notice though.
It does have seem to have skipped me how so many "good" movies were released in the last few years. I never even watched many of these or did not bother to after watching their trailers.
What disappoints me the most is that it makes all the really well made movies slip down the charts and slowly move out of them altogether. Since most raters these days have barely watched any of these movies and would not care to the justification of why these movies should be removed from the list beats me. Ratings are very personalized and one cannot truely compare the quality of the different ratings for the same movie. For instance, some users may tend to rate even the movies they dislike with the overall averages. Most importantly, given that users have no knowledge or any inkling about what they are ranking down, its just not fair to do so. If we were to truly establish the quality of a movie it must only be done if watch a substantial number of the others we are implicitly giving the thumbs down to.
There can be reasonable statistical features incorporated which can reduce this bias but the best approach would be to release a list endorsed by body of film critics, buffs and organizations. A user list can be kept separate. The problem arises when a database like IMDb becomes an authority but relies on such dubious mechanisms as user ratings to establish worth.
The underlying problem of course is the gap of generations which means that since we would never entirely understand the scenarios, cultures and lifestyles of people a few decades prior we cannot expect to express a unbiased opinion on them. Star Trek fans who are avid followers of the series despise the Star Trek movie where as the uninitiated love it for the action and drama. Only folowers of Star Trek series can judge the resemblence to the original and correctness of not only fact, but significance paid to characters and plots. Non followers would rate is as jsut another movie but followers know the benchmark and what it needs to stand for and how tall.
Several of the old movies are pictured in the backdrop of major political and social events that shaped the world and are also excellent masterpieces of acting, presentation, ingenuity and plots. Old actors are still known for their legendary one liners, trademark expressions and costumes. The whole task of movie making seemed to be much more involved and creative not just in one or two dimensions. There is much to learn about the times gone by from these movies. One's knowledge and general awareness increases several fold by just watching and reading about these movies. Unlike newer movies which are a race against time to get as much sensory appeal as possible. There are several more arguments we can make here as to why the oldies are so important.
The obvious consequence is that new movie buffs would never be informed of these movies and they would probably get lost with time. People will never realise or get to appreciate and witness great pieces of art and movie making. Forums and databases like IMDb must think about this.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Concrete walls of a shaky education system
After several weeks of mental torture I have decided to pen down my thoughts on an issue I am extremely pained by. Let me elaborate.
My academic endeavors have led me into meeting a multitude of personalities, queer, interesting and inspiring. To my good fortune till this date I have come across individuals who have been sources of knowledge, thoughts and inspiration to me. Interacting with these minds has been enriching to me and my experiences in life, so much that I naturally developed the daft hypothesis that most people I will ever come across in my professional and personal life, read people of my background and interests, would share a greater if not similar curiosity in the 'world'.
To my misfortune this belief has become so ingrained in me that I feel terribly depressed and agitated when these beliefs are invalidated. The cause of my current 'discomfort' is the apparent lack of knowledge and interest I find in the people around me. I do not refer to the ability to produce a decent program in code or analyzing an algorithm or anything complex in academics, but to the basic abilities of logic and reason 'one' would attribute to an engineer.
I refer to the knowledge of our being, our world and our surroundings. Facts, figures and trivia we would pick up in the fifth grade or so. Where is Brazil? Why are houses in cold countries made of wood? What is the country Hitler was from? The no brainers, the rapid fire questions in an ill prepared quiz at junior school. Apparently, these are no brainers only for us. I was shocked there are my dear friends who didn't know their facts right.
Whats amiss where? Are they illiterates , certainly not. Are they not smart, not if you go by their resumes. Then what went wrong here. It seems to me that there is a large gap in our education system, ever widening. There seems to be no reward and merit for knowledge gleaned not from the latest syllabus books. All this when, whatever knowledge (which I sincerely feel is huge) the secondary and junior school syllabus in India provides is more than sufficient to establish a basic knowledge of the world. Where did the amnesia or disinterest settle in from?
Was there a disinterest from the very beginning just because showing interest, curiosity for learning would not fetch anything tangible or socially appreciable? Was there never a desire to explore and learn more? Much saddening was there no one friends or family who ever talked about these things? Random discussions on objects, events, personalities....no one to indulge in those?
Perhaps there are a billion other questions I could jot down, all of which true to an extent. Parents, family and friends are the greatest source of knowledge and wisdom. One spends most of their childhood around them, a stage when lots to be learnt. If things are not inculcated, interests are not piqued and encouragement is not given to the various faculties of the human mind, what good is a world class professional degree?
If one conversation with a stranger outside your field of interest cannot last beyond a minute you have lost the essence of life. You are a subject matter expert not a generalist and for me, failed the test of life. Awareness of the self and of most things in this world is important. If not the knowledge only awareness if sufficient to instill a desire to know more at a later convenient date.
Ignorance is definitely not bliss. What are we leading into? A society of extremely polarized minds - whose awareness and curiosity is strictly restricted to the demands to activities leading to material gains. Sad, really sad.
I feel tired and sapped out to even wage this war against ignorance. Giving all my effort to erase it. perhaps I should find my cocoon, my comfort zone around the people I know. But now I am victim of my own principle, my awareness of what lies outside the comfort zone, will discomfort me and horrify me.
My academic endeavors have led me into meeting a multitude of personalities, queer, interesting and inspiring. To my good fortune till this date I have come across individuals who have been sources of knowledge, thoughts and inspiration to me. Interacting with these minds has been enriching to me and my experiences in life, so much that I naturally developed the daft hypothesis that most people I will ever come across in my professional and personal life, read people of my background and interests, would share a greater if not similar curiosity in the 'world'.
To my misfortune this belief has become so ingrained in me that I feel terribly depressed and agitated when these beliefs are invalidated. The cause of my current 'discomfort' is the apparent lack of knowledge and interest I find in the people around me. I do not refer to the ability to produce a decent program in code or analyzing an algorithm or anything complex in academics, but to the basic abilities of logic and reason 'one' would attribute to an engineer.
I refer to the knowledge of our being, our world and our surroundings. Facts, figures and trivia we would pick up in the fifth grade or so. Where is Brazil? Why are houses in cold countries made of wood? What is the country Hitler was from? The no brainers, the rapid fire questions in an ill prepared quiz at junior school. Apparently, these are no brainers only for us. I was shocked there are my dear friends who didn't know their facts right.
Whats amiss where? Are they illiterates , certainly not. Are they not smart, not if you go by their resumes. Then what went wrong here. It seems to me that there is a large gap in our education system, ever widening. There seems to be no reward and merit for knowledge gleaned not from the latest syllabus books. All this when, whatever knowledge (which I sincerely feel is huge) the secondary and junior school syllabus in India provides is more than sufficient to establish a basic knowledge of the world. Where did the amnesia or disinterest settle in from?
Was there a disinterest from the very beginning just because showing interest, curiosity for learning would not fetch anything tangible or socially appreciable? Was there never a desire to explore and learn more? Much saddening was there no one friends or family who ever talked about these things? Random discussions on objects, events, personalities....no one to indulge in those?
Perhaps there are a billion other questions I could jot down, all of which true to an extent. Parents, family and friends are the greatest source of knowledge and wisdom. One spends most of their childhood around them, a stage when lots to be learnt. If things are not inculcated, interests are not piqued and encouragement is not given to the various faculties of the human mind, what good is a world class professional degree?
If one conversation with a stranger outside your field of interest cannot last beyond a minute you have lost the essence of life. You are a subject matter expert not a generalist and for me, failed the test of life. Awareness of the self and of most things in this world is important. If not the knowledge only awareness if sufficient to instill a desire to know more at a later convenient date.
Ignorance is definitely not bliss. What are we leading into? A society of extremely polarized minds - whose awareness and curiosity is strictly restricted to the demands to activities leading to material gains. Sad, really sad.
I feel tired and sapped out to even wage this war against ignorance. Giving all my effort to erase it. perhaps I should find my cocoon, my comfort zone around the people I know. But now I am victim of my own principle, my awareness of what lies outside the comfort zone, will discomfort me and horrify me.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Service Lax @ 12.24%
2 Vodkas Rs. 320
1 Sprite Rs. 50
Total Rs. 370
VAT @ 20% Rs. 74
S. Tax @ 12.24% Rs. 45
Total Rs. 489
That would what a simple enough bill at any decent bar in Delhi would look like. ( This of course is only indicative and to initiate a thought not a comment on my binging habits. )
After paying an exorbitant amount, on a couple of drinks, which accounts for the ambience, seating and other 'services' . The amount that is most unsettling component of the entire bill happens to be the Service Tax. What is this for? It raises serious concerns in both my high spirited or sober mind. Let me shed some light.
Why Service Tax? For service or the apparent lack for it? If the charge is for excellent service then it would have been deserved and awarded as tip by any self respecting customer. If this a charge they levy for training the staff on how to serve customers, oh-so then thats so much required isn't it. Maybe they should have struck with this idea much in advance. Legally speaking it is a provision for tax collection from vendors and service providers who offer their services to an individual or organisation. Perfectly right! The sad part though is that this is very conviniently imposed onto the customer itself. Not right definitely not right and also unethical! I wish I could impose my income tax liability on my employer.
Any choice to pay or not? The possibilities existing with most other forms of taxation are on inidividual discretion whether to pay or not. But here no. Even if I am discontent with the service I have to shell out the dough.
The there is always the question whether the money actually makes it to the government coffers. To me it seems that most of it certainly does not. If restaurants evade sales tax and income tax they very clearly abstain here too. So the government has established a yet another neat mechanism for more black money generation.
The ideal legal situation - Assuming that everything functioned smoothly and all the parties involved legally fulfilled their obligations it still raises a more fundamental question perhaps the most disturbing. Whatever happened to quality?? There was a time when people across the counters would be courteous, charming and normal to deal with if not delightfully nice. On several occasions now ever more frequently I encounter rude waiters, attendants and staff. It seems to me that coming to them is a favour I do to myself. Miscalculating bills, wrong orders, late service, lack of etiquette and the worse of them all lack of knowledge are some of the problems I can recollect offhand. Two reasons I can cite: Lack of Attitudes and Lack of sincerity.
When most things come easy for people they become complacent, carefree and a sense of folly develops. People dont struggle to get into such service oriented jobs be it Call centers, reservation offices, restaurants or information kiosks. The paucity of staff in new establishments and old businesses with new ventures means that people can be demanding and afford not to enhance their skills and at the same time be arrogant enough not to pursue a corrective path. They can get away with almost any incompetency and lapse. To make matters worse, the sheer number of people representing any segment of the market is substantial to cover up any problems. Moreover, when all the players in the market are in the same category there is little the poor customer like me can ask for. Tsk, Tsk a pitiable situation.
Is there hope down the tunnel? Is there even a silver lining? Currently, since things are on a downside there doesnt seem to be but there is always hope no matter how lost a cause is. So next time I say cheers with friends...I wish to be genuinely like the ambience and remember the experience.
1 Sprite Rs. 50
Total Rs. 370
VAT @ 20% Rs. 74
S. Tax @ 12.24% Rs. 45
Total Rs. 489
That would what a simple enough bill at any decent bar in Delhi would look like. ( This of course is only indicative and to initiate a thought not a comment on my binging habits. )
After paying an exorbitant amount, on a couple of drinks, which accounts for the ambience, seating and other 'services' . The amount that is most unsettling component of the entire bill happens to be the Service Tax. What is this for? It raises serious concerns in both my high spirited or sober mind. Let me shed some light.
Why Service Tax? For service or the apparent lack for it? If the charge is for excellent service then it would have been deserved and awarded as tip by any self respecting customer. If this a charge they levy for training the staff on how to serve customers, oh-so then thats so much required isn't it. Maybe they should have struck with this idea much in advance. Legally speaking it is a provision for tax collection from vendors and service providers who offer their services to an individual or organisation. Perfectly right! The sad part though is that this is very conviniently imposed onto the customer itself. Not right definitely not right and also unethical! I wish I could impose my income tax liability on my employer.
Any choice to pay or not? The possibilities existing with most other forms of taxation are on inidividual discretion whether to pay or not. But here no. Even if I am discontent with the service I have to shell out the dough.
The there is always the question whether the money actually makes it to the government coffers. To me it seems that most of it certainly does not. If restaurants evade sales tax and income tax they very clearly abstain here too. So the government has established a yet another neat mechanism for more black money generation.
The ideal legal situation - Assuming that everything functioned smoothly and all the parties involved legally fulfilled their obligations it still raises a more fundamental question perhaps the most disturbing. Whatever happened to quality?? There was a time when people across the counters would be courteous, charming and normal to deal with if not delightfully nice. On several occasions now ever more frequently I encounter rude waiters, attendants and staff. It seems to me that coming to them is a favour I do to myself. Miscalculating bills, wrong orders, late service, lack of etiquette and the worse of them all lack of knowledge are some of the problems I can recollect offhand. Two reasons I can cite: Lack of Attitudes and Lack of sincerity.
When most things come easy for people they become complacent, carefree and a sense of folly develops. People dont struggle to get into such service oriented jobs be it Call centers, reservation offices, restaurants or information kiosks. The paucity of staff in new establishments and old businesses with new ventures means that people can be demanding and afford not to enhance their skills and at the same time be arrogant enough not to pursue a corrective path. They can get away with almost any incompetency and lapse. To make matters worse, the sheer number of people representing any segment of the market is substantial to cover up any problems. Moreover, when all the players in the market are in the same category there is little the poor customer like me can ask for. Tsk, Tsk a pitiable situation.
Is there hope down the tunnel? Is there even a silver lining? Currently, since things are on a downside there doesnt seem to be but there is always hope no matter how lost a cause is. So next time I say cheers with friends...I wish to be genuinely like the ambience and remember the experience.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
An evening at the Border
Very recently I had the chance to visit one of the friendlier and popular segments of the indo-pakistan border the - Waga border. With not knowing what to expect on visiting a national border we headed there in the hot summer afternoon enjoying the countryside and open highway. Surprisingly there was nothing much to distinguish the villages from the ones elsewhere in rural india. What was I expecting battered houses? empty villages? military all around? Yes, but this was not somewhere around the LoC or Rajasthan.
With the auto rickshaw driver feeding us with trivia out throughout the journey like the fact that Waga is actually the name of the village on the Pakistan side. I forget the name of the Indian counterpart.
Anyways we reached about an hour and a half before the scheduled time for the change of guard. Lots of time to have sumptuous Indian snacks, a look at DVD recordings of previous events and also click a few snaps in the wheat fields along the border and the bunkers. Quite an opportunity.
So after spending time in these sundry activities, it was almost time for the gates to be thrown open and so they were. So began an exodus of around a couple of thousand people running to grab some seats for the best possible view. Joining them we crossed an electrified fence, botanical inspection centre, immigration offices and all which all seemed quite incongruous amidst the wilderness. There was also a nice walk along the border for a stretch where we get a glimpse of the Pakistan side very closely. So after much walking around we finally reached the seating area a really huge amphitheater sorts for atleast five - six thousand people and literally it was full. Crowds just kept pouring in by the minute and suddenly the wilderness was no more and it looked like a suburban farmhouse area with people awaiting a cultural and entertainment filled session. One remarkable difference between the two sides was the color factor. The indians I did not notice such starkly ever are extremely colorful with their dressing while the other side was seemed to be in monotones from a distance.
So after great difficulty the security forces managed to get the crowd in the right places. Finally, they started the fanfare with bollywood music playing loud enough to drown out any trace of sound from across the border, whilst they tried the same. Each trying to get one up on the other. The likes of recent patriotic movies' songs, peppy numbers to boost people playing created a surreal atmosphere. It was like a jam session with a cheap DJ playing to rouse the crowds all intense numbers to which crowds could howl out a few prescribed slogans to keep from becoming fanatic or get too carried away. No anti-national and no religious slogans was the stipulation. To further the already frenzy environment created two indian flags came out of nowhere and suddenly volunteers were drawn out from the crowds to rush towards the border waving the flag and rush back again with the same gusto as if to crash into enemy gates or more heroically place the flag on an enemy post. Without a doubt there were queues building up for this exercise with everyone up for grabbing their two minutes of fame as little kids and youngsters danced to peppy tunes keeping people in spirited moods. All this probably to divert attention from the fact that from most part of the seating area there's actually nothing visible of the border gates. Had there not been a few flags flying around a picture of this evening would have easily been mistaken for an open air musical or talent show event!
Once in a while a person in civilian dress would walk around roping people into the act of clapping and shouting loudly. He was later joined by some admirable senior citizens tearing their lungs apart to bring the crowds to their feet and transfer some of their patriotic zeal. While I doubt anyone would remotely feel patriotic at these moments everyone just joined in to have a gala time and my perception and the imagination of the event was totally rubbished.
With the auto rickshaw driver feeding us with trivia out throughout the journey like the fact that Waga is actually the name of the village on the Pakistan side. I forget the name of the Indian counterpart.
Anyways we reached about an hour and a half before the scheduled time for the change of guard. Lots of time to have sumptuous Indian snacks, a look at DVD recordings of previous events and also click a few snaps in the wheat fields along the border and the bunkers. Quite an opportunity.
So after spending time in these sundry activities, it was almost time for the gates to be thrown open and so they were. So began an exodus of around a couple of thousand people running to grab some seats for the best possible view. Joining them we crossed an electrified fence, botanical inspection centre, immigration offices and all which all seemed quite incongruous amidst the wilderness. There was also a nice walk along the border for a stretch where we get a glimpse of the Pakistan side very closely. So after much walking around we finally reached the seating area a really huge amphitheater sorts for atleast five - six thousand people and literally it was full. Crowds just kept pouring in by the minute and suddenly the wilderness was no more and it looked like a suburban farmhouse area with people awaiting a cultural and entertainment filled session. One remarkable difference between the two sides was the color factor. The indians I did not notice such starkly ever are extremely colorful with their dressing while the other side was seemed to be in monotones from a distance.
So after great difficulty the security forces managed to get the crowd in the right places. Finally, they started the fanfare with bollywood music playing loud enough to drown out any trace of sound from across the border, whilst they tried the same. Each trying to get one up on the other. The likes of recent patriotic movies' songs, peppy numbers to boost people playing created a surreal atmosphere. It was like a jam session with a cheap DJ playing to rouse the crowds all intense numbers to which crowds could howl out a few prescribed slogans to keep from becoming fanatic or get too carried away. No anti-national and no religious slogans was the stipulation. To further the already frenzy environment created two indian flags came out of nowhere and suddenly volunteers were drawn out from the crowds to rush towards the border waving the flag and rush back again with the same gusto as if to crash into enemy gates or more heroically place the flag on an enemy post. Without a doubt there were queues building up for this exercise with everyone up for grabbing their two minutes of fame as little kids and youngsters danced to peppy tunes keeping people in spirited moods. All this probably to divert attention from the fact that from most part of the seating area there's actually nothing visible of the border gates. Had there not been a few flags flying around a picture of this evening would have easily been mistaken for an open air musical or talent show event!
Once in a while a person in civilian dress would walk around roping people into the act of clapping and shouting loudly. He was later joined by some admirable senior citizens tearing their lungs apart to bring the crowds to their feet and transfer some of their patriotic zeal. While I doubt anyone would remotely feel patriotic at these moments everyone just joined in to have a gala time and my perception and the imagination of the event was totally rubbished.
A grim, sombre and serious affair I thought with a probably a tear shed from all eyes and thought spared from all minds as a tribute to our jawans and all those who spend their lives protecting our borders was not to be. Which made me ask myself if perhaps this was the only way we could wrest emotion and sense of national pride and identity amongst today's population? Wouldn't a simple affair without the dramatics do any good? The indulgence of the forces itself is surprising attempting to amuse the public with all this. Was it they who designed the event or the public that 'demanded' it? It may be hard to say but the sad bit for me was that a truly formal and orthodox event had been metamorphosed into mockery. It may serve the immediate purpose of an emphatic and emotional response from all but it gives them nothing to take back home. Soldiers for them become entertainers and actors and military customs and discipline a new form of act. Shouldn't we use the few opportunities of getting people identify themselves with nationality in a meaningful and effective manner?
Some random thoughts which popped in my mind as I waited for the main attraction only to be able to steal a glance from between the leaves of a huge peepal tree.
Fortunately I was spared from any further musings on the drive back because the great Indian landscape just wouldn't let think of anything else. No doubts no complaints when you drive around countryside at dusk with the wind through the hair and torso leaning out of the auto. Ah! I could never have it better. I found my national pride, my patriotism, my ultimate happiness this land always gives me and it didn't need any melodrama. I love my India! no matter what.
Some random thoughts which popped in my mind as I waited for the main attraction only to be able to steal a glance from between the leaves of a huge peepal tree.
Fortunately I was spared from any further musings on the drive back because the great Indian landscape just wouldn't let think of anything else. No doubts no complaints when you drive around countryside at dusk with the wind through the hair and torso leaning out of the auto. Ah! I could never have it better. I found my national pride, my patriotism, my ultimate happiness this land always gives me and it didn't need any melodrama. I love my India! no matter what.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I am legend
Very recently I watched this movie 'I am Legend'. A fictional story set in the future where a deadly virus takes over the entire world and wipes out almost all of mankind, well all mankind. That's what Will Smith or Dr. Robert Neville assumes. He lives in New York City alone with only his dog to give him company. Heck I always had this dream and more often the desire to take his place.
A long time back I dreamt about waking up one day and finding no one around me, every street empty every house empty and absolute silence everywhere. For some reason it did not scare me or get me asking questions. Very stoically I accepted the inevitable and sat down to decide a few things. I realized that I would need food and power. So I set out to rummage through all the shops to get as much of canned food or processed food I could get. I also got hold of a huge SUV to help me move a lot of stuff around easily. This I thought I would have to do on a daily basis. Another thing I did was to get hold of a few generators capable enough to run my place. I located these far from my place to avoid the noise. I decided it was crucial to learn some important tasks for survival. Growing my own food, learning to use a weapon and curing basic aliments. Out of these food wouldn't be an immediate concern. So I get hold of a gun to keep with me at all times. I felt I needed a gun to keep me safe from any beasts. I ransacked a book store and pharmacist and get hold of a lot of medicines. I then prepare a strict schedule for myself for each day from exercising to watching movies to searching for other people like me. I actually hated the thought of running into someone else. I enjoyed this loneliness and in a weird manner the power I yielded. I could do anything I wanted without thinking having everything in the world at my disposal. Omnipotent I felt. On the other hand I knew I had to keep myself entertained or else the same loneliness would get to me and make me go mad. I decided to read a lot and watch a lot of movies. But even this was temporary I felt.
I decided to travel the world and see all the beautiful exotic places. I had anyways started reading books to learn flying a jet. It was time I felt for real lessons. I would goto this flight trainer's airport each day. Very soon I also started deciding on the destination and route. In between all this I snapped out of my sleep and every time I have the same dream it always ends here.
Watching the movie was real nice to see my dream alive. Of course I didn't have aggressive transformed beasts after me at night time, but to see Will Smith doing almost everything I dreamt of made me feel real good. I knew would enjoy such an experience and I knew that I was well prepared for it. I read this book 'Life of Pi' which also dealt with a similar situation only that the protagonist is stuck on a boat with a tiger. Robinson Crusoe, I am Legend and Life of Pi all are works I really enjoy because they teach me so much about survival instincts and how to be independent and alone not just in life but if possible in the whole world. I look forward to this dream come true.
A long time back I dreamt about waking up one day and finding no one around me, every street empty every house empty and absolute silence everywhere. For some reason it did not scare me or get me asking questions. Very stoically I accepted the inevitable and sat down to decide a few things. I realized that I would need food and power. So I set out to rummage through all the shops to get as much of canned food or processed food I could get. I also got hold of a huge SUV to help me move a lot of stuff around easily. This I thought I would have to do on a daily basis. Another thing I did was to get hold of a few generators capable enough to run my place. I located these far from my place to avoid the noise. I decided it was crucial to learn some important tasks for survival. Growing my own food, learning to use a weapon and curing basic aliments. Out of these food wouldn't be an immediate concern. So I get hold of a gun to keep with me at all times. I felt I needed a gun to keep me safe from any beasts. I ransacked a book store and pharmacist and get hold of a lot of medicines. I then prepare a strict schedule for myself for each day from exercising to watching movies to searching for other people like me. I actually hated the thought of running into someone else. I enjoyed this loneliness and in a weird manner the power I yielded. I could do anything I wanted without thinking having everything in the world at my disposal. Omnipotent I felt. On the other hand I knew I had to keep myself entertained or else the same loneliness would get to me and make me go mad. I decided to read a lot and watch a lot of movies. But even this was temporary I felt.
I decided to travel the world and see all the beautiful exotic places. I had anyways started reading books to learn flying a jet. It was time I felt for real lessons. I would goto this flight trainer's airport each day. Very soon I also started deciding on the destination and route. In between all this I snapped out of my sleep and every time I have the same dream it always ends here.
Watching the movie was real nice to see my dream alive. Of course I didn't have aggressive transformed beasts after me at night time, but to see Will Smith doing almost everything I dreamt of made me feel real good. I knew would enjoy such an experience and I knew that I was well prepared for it. I read this book 'Life of Pi' which also dealt with a similar situation only that the protagonist is stuck on a boat with a tiger. Robinson Crusoe, I am Legend and Life of Pi all are works I really enjoy because they teach me so much about survival instincts and how to be independent and alone not just in life but if possible in the whole world. I look forward to this dream come true.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Winter Evening's Nightmare
For quite sometime I had a yearning to watch a professional play on stage. I have a liking for plays watching then right since school days and even in college didn't miss many inspite of lack of company or schedule. With the same spirit and hope I was looking forward to a professional version which would be executed technically and aesthetically better, no doubt. So I got this opportunity to watch a play on Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's dream' directed by Tim Supple, a very critically acclaimed one. But as things turned out it was nothing like I expected.
The play on the whole was repulsive and outrightly ridiculous. The first turn off was the fact that for some weird reason the director or some fool decided to have the play in multiple languages at once. It's novel I must grant that, I have never seen use of several languages throughout the duration of the play. But it makes no sense. The whole point of conveying the essence is lost if the audience is unable to comprehend the dialogues. The last time I checked a play was about expression which is the acting, depiction which is direction and importantly about dialogues. Apparently some one forgot that. On top of that the director claims to have toured quite a lot of India and the idea behind this approach is to glean or absorb several aspects of the multicultural diversity and vividness India possesses. What could be dumber? A friend of mine made a point that since expression knows no boundaries it is not required that it be presented in a language the audience understands. Comparing it to a very different art form called mime where there is no concept of language. In my opinion, Mime is an art form where the actor has given up one mode of communication in order to prove his/her skill in communicating with expression and movement. But in a play we dont have that! The actors aren't doing that and they enjoy the luxury of speech. So its little excuse to squander it on a funny idea that seems to be pushing intellectuality on others. If in theory, language should not be a boundary why do we not have plays in baby-talk or some arbitrary verbiage. Not only would the actors save time in memorizing verses but also a lot of effort spared for the audience trying to make sense of what is being said.
Another disturbing aspect was the use of verse. In these times when people have little reason to understand or be patient enough to listen to long convoluted speeches it is awfully foolish to have long boring speeches or what appeared to me as poems being recited one after the other. While the style of speech is 'considered' no doubt beautiful and aesthetic, there are many many instances I have seen in movies or in real life of how well writers frame dialogues being witty, appealing and also literally beautiful. Plays should be representative of the present era. It's not that the logic doesn't apply anywhere. For instance, the play itself boasts of having incorporating modern day influences in style etc. So why is this approach selective in the most trivial aspect where it should have been?
The whole event brings to mind the reasons for the decadence and growing irrelevance of art forms in our lives. Art definitely has started lacking mass appeal and also suffers a disconnect from the masses. So while at inception such events and forms were directed towards widespread promulgation of ideas and concepts modern day art forms have regressed moving towards darker and abstract ideas which are hard to grasp and appreciate. Most of popular contemporary art is at mercy of a few critics who would judge its worth and then brand it. It has become an easy way of cooking up strange ideas, wild imagination running amok with little need to justify or make sense. Art's definition itself has come to award them this misused freedom where we as receptors have little to ask and expect for. When everything is justified as an interpretation and ingenuity what is the difference between a skilled artist and a lunatic. Given a set of tools with some luck both may end producing the same result in any art form, for different reasons of course, or is it the same reason? Inspite of this as I write this there is an auction on somewhere where a twisted sculpture is being sold for an average person's lifetime savings a hundered times fold.
It's sad to see that plays have become the way they are now. I would still love to watch those school and college plays - cocky, cliched and always entertaining for sure. I still long to see such plays and hope that there is some director or actor out there who cares for some sense. Till then I'll stick to movies. No more nightmares for me.
The play on the whole was repulsive and outrightly ridiculous. The first turn off was the fact that for some weird reason the director or some fool decided to have the play in multiple languages at once. It's novel I must grant that, I have never seen use of several languages throughout the duration of the play. But it makes no sense. The whole point of conveying the essence is lost if the audience is unable to comprehend the dialogues. The last time I checked a play was about expression which is the acting, depiction which is direction and importantly about dialogues. Apparently some one forgot that. On top of that the director claims to have toured quite a lot of India and the idea behind this approach is to glean or absorb several aspects of the multicultural diversity and vividness India possesses. What could be dumber? A friend of mine made a point that since expression knows no boundaries it is not required that it be presented in a language the audience understands. Comparing it to a very different art form called mime where there is no concept of language. In my opinion, Mime is an art form where the actor has given up one mode of communication in order to prove his/her skill in communicating with expression and movement. But in a play we dont have that! The actors aren't doing that and they enjoy the luxury of speech. So its little excuse to squander it on a funny idea that seems to be pushing intellectuality on others. If in theory, language should not be a boundary why do we not have plays in baby-talk or some arbitrary verbiage. Not only would the actors save time in memorizing verses but also a lot of effort spared for the audience trying to make sense of what is being said.
Another disturbing aspect was the use of verse. In these times when people have little reason to understand or be patient enough to listen to long convoluted speeches it is awfully foolish to have long boring speeches or what appeared to me as poems being recited one after the other. While the style of speech is 'considered' no doubt beautiful and aesthetic, there are many many instances I have seen in movies or in real life of how well writers frame dialogues being witty, appealing and also literally beautiful. Plays should be representative of the present era. It's not that the logic doesn't apply anywhere. For instance, the play itself boasts of having incorporating modern day influences in style etc. So why is this approach selective in the most trivial aspect where it should have been?
The whole event brings to mind the reasons for the decadence and growing irrelevance of art forms in our lives. Art definitely has started lacking mass appeal and also suffers a disconnect from the masses. So while at inception such events and forms were directed towards widespread promulgation of ideas and concepts modern day art forms have regressed moving towards darker and abstract ideas which are hard to grasp and appreciate. Most of popular contemporary art is at mercy of a few critics who would judge its worth and then brand it. It has become an easy way of cooking up strange ideas, wild imagination running amok with little need to justify or make sense. Art's definition itself has come to award them this misused freedom where we as receptors have little to ask and expect for. When everything is justified as an interpretation and ingenuity what is the difference between a skilled artist and a lunatic. Given a set of tools with some luck both may end producing the same result in any art form, for different reasons of course, or is it the same reason? Inspite of this as I write this there is an auction on somewhere where a twisted sculpture is being sold for an average person's lifetime savings a hundered times fold.
It's sad to see that plays have become the way they are now. I would still love to watch those school and college plays - cocky, cliched and always entertaining for sure. I still long to see such plays and hope that there is some director or actor out there who cares for some sense. Till then I'll stick to movies. No more nightmares for me.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Hogwash school of Bizarre-dry and Bitchcraft
In the last decade nothing has gotten people more gung ho about books than the Harry Potter collection. It has no doubt re-introduced the habit of reading in a generation that makes use of summer vacations playing XBoxes rather than read books such as Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. These books were not just a healthy past-time for us they were our lifeline. Anyways this post is neither about books, no is it a critical review of the Harry Potter series.
This post is about the creator of this phenomenon - JK Rowling. No doubt she has managed to capture the attention of the generation with the shortest time span and indulged them into reading thick tomes. One must simply appreciate her skill at reviving the idea of wizards, magic and demons and weaving it nicely into today's context. She has achieved massive success and also triggered a series of Hollywood blockbusters which simply added to all the hysteric atmosphere around this subject. It's no doubt that such success - full of glamor and limelight would get to anyone's head, considering which her recent despicable actions can be forgiven.
Instance one, Durga Puja is a mega festival celebrated in East of India ( Bengal and the likes ). The celebrations usually involve erecting huge pandals or shamianas for a period of ten days. Over the years ( comparing with my childhood memories ) these pandals have begun to enjoy enormous proportions not just in size but they have become elaborate, expensive and beautiful pieces of modern day dismantable architecture. From huge palaces to world wonders like the Taj the Durga Puja organizers spare little to create a sensation. Catching onto contemporary emotions and interests one of the committtees decided to build and did build a replica of the Hogwart's school! (Now come the two Wows!) Wow!! Now that's something u didnt imagine. Anybody in their right senses would simply be awed by the construction.( I have seen pictures clicked by a friend of mine )
But no!! Some people are just the old whiny whiny. And who is this?? None other than our JK Rowling. It seems that the committee violated her intellectual property in doing so and so she happily sued them for a sum of 20 Lakhs. Wow!! Now that's something u didnt imagine. I have several points to lambast her on this.
Why would any creator ( I'll be generic ) sue someone for appreciating and propagating their own creation. It's certainly not an act of disrespect. The pandal was for religious reasons and no community shows any form of disrespect atleast to their own religions. Neither has the use been commercial. The committee wasnt earning any money out of it. It was only to draw attention. More importantly, they were at the end of the day only encouraging and propagating her own creative ideas. Would Walt Disney come and sue us all because we ever as kids wore Mickey Mouse costumes? Would Dinsey come and catch hold of the thousands of people who wear costumes of their favorite characters to cheer littel ones at amusement parks and malls? Definitely NO!!
No creative professional in the world does that. It's only those who are full of folly and have had success get to them too fast do that. It's become the age of mindless commercialisation. How can an author do something like that and even claim to uphold values of morality, goodness and ethics she so much propounds in her books. She is nothing but a con artist who has repackaged an old idea in a new bottle. Wizard's arent her creation, neither are flying brooms, witches or demons. So do we sue her for "borrowing" ideas from somewhere else? Do we call upon the medival writers and dig up their graves or trace their ancestors to sue her for royalty purposes. No we dont!! cause we arent like her and importantly, it's not right. People always need objects for inspiration. It comes from things around us itself. If we start placing restrictions on what we can use for our imagination and thoughts, how do we progress?? It's right that we should have a system for protecting intellectual capital but not when its not being misused. Its very trivial to filter out the cases. Having said all that I feel at the end of the day its nothing but another publicity stunt by a lost soul who no finds no more ways to retain her success.
Well for instance 2, she called one of the most liked characters in her books a Gay! Well you yourself can figure out the mental state of someone like that. What more so I say. I pity such people. God give them wisdom. Or better maybe she can invent a potion for improving herself!!
It's gonna be tough what ever it may be. Till that happens you enjoy ur books and keep imaging and inspiring. Dream On!
This post is about the creator of this phenomenon - JK Rowling. No doubt she has managed to capture the attention of the generation with the shortest time span and indulged them into reading thick tomes. One must simply appreciate her skill at reviving the idea of wizards, magic and demons and weaving it nicely into today's context. She has achieved massive success and also triggered a series of Hollywood blockbusters which simply added to all the hysteric atmosphere around this subject. It's no doubt that such success - full of glamor and limelight would get to anyone's head, considering which her recent despicable actions can be forgiven.
Instance one, Durga Puja is a mega festival celebrated in East of India ( Bengal and the likes ). The celebrations usually involve erecting huge pandals or shamianas for a period of ten days. Over the years ( comparing with my childhood memories ) these pandals have begun to enjoy enormous proportions not just in size but they have become elaborate, expensive and beautiful pieces of modern day dismantable architecture. From huge palaces to world wonders like the Taj the Durga Puja organizers spare little to create a sensation. Catching onto contemporary emotions and interests one of the committtees decided to build and did build a replica of the Hogwart's school! (Now come the two Wows!) Wow!! Now that's something u didnt imagine. Anybody in their right senses would simply be awed by the construction.( I have seen pictures clicked by a friend of mine )
But no!! Some people are just the old whiny whiny. And who is this?? None other than our JK Rowling. It seems that the committee violated her intellectual property in doing so and so she happily sued them for a sum of 20 Lakhs. Wow!! Now that's something u didnt imagine. I have several points to lambast her on this.
Why would any creator ( I'll be generic ) sue someone for appreciating and propagating their own creation. It's certainly not an act of disrespect. The pandal was for religious reasons and no community shows any form of disrespect atleast to their own religions. Neither has the use been commercial. The committee wasnt earning any money out of it. It was only to draw attention. More importantly, they were at the end of the day only encouraging and propagating her own creative ideas. Would Walt Disney come and sue us all because we ever as kids wore Mickey Mouse costumes? Would Dinsey come and catch hold of the thousands of people who wear costumes of their favorite characters to cheer littel ones at amusement parks and malls? Definitely NO!!
No creative professional in the world does that. It's only those who are full of folly and have had success get to them too fast do that. It's become the age of mindless commercialisation. How can an author do something like that and even claim to uphold values of morality, goodness and ethics she so much propounds in her books. She is nothing but a con artist who has repackaged an old idea in a new bottle. Wizard's arent her creation, neither are flying brooms, witches or demons. So do we sue her for "borrowing" ideas from somewhere else? Do we call upon the medival writers and dig up their graves or trace their ancestors to sue her for royalty purposes. No we dont!! cause we arent like her and importantly, it's not right. People always need objects for inspiration. It comes from things around us itself. If we start placing restrictions on what we can use for our imagination and thoughts, how do we progress?? It's right that we should have a system for protecting intellectual capital but not when its not being misused. Its very trivial to filter out the cases. Having said all that I feel at the end of the day its nothing but another publicity stunt by a lost soul who no finds no more ways to retain her success.
Well for instance 2, she called one of the most liked characters in her books a Gay! Well you yourself can figure out the mental state of someone like that. What more so I say. I pity such people. God give them wisdom. Or better maybe she can invent a potion for improving herself!!
It's gonna be tough what ever it may be. Till that happens you enjoy ur books and keep imaging and inspiring. Dream On!
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