Can Indian animated movies become the next big thing?

Tags

Arjun The Warrior Prince, India, Roadside Romeo, Toy Story, Walt Disney Pictures, Yash Raj Films

A few weeks ago, a trailer for the animated movie “Arjun: the Warrior Prince” was released. Even though the tagline calls it “the untold story of India’s greatest warrior”, it is, in fact the story of a central character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It marks the first release of an animated movie after the acquisition of UTV by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie seems particularly intriguing, as it brings back the epic feeling of Disney’s late 90s films, even though it seems that the combination of 3D and 2D animation is at times quite problematic. However, if one sees past the flaws in animation and some clichés in the narration, the movie does hold the promise of a visually interesting large scale spectacle.

Disney’s interest in the country is neither brand new, not unexpected: in 2008 it collaborated with Yash Raj Films for the production of “Roadside Romeo”. Like many other media companies, Disney has seen the potentials in the developing country and has been investing there for the past fifteen years. Currently advanced discussions also take place for the creation of an Indian Disneyland. Such ambitions and investments are supported not only by the growing GDP of the country, but also by the increased domestic consumerism and the nation’s fascination with media. It is a huge market that consumes huge amounts of movies and other media per year. It has a strong domestic production, with media products routinely exported to other parts of Asia, as well as Western countries with strong South-Asian communities. However, what India lacks is a long tradition of animated movies production. For quite a long time it has remained a consumer of imported animation products, as animation is a much more tedious process that requires the mind-blowing combination of huge amounts of money, highly specialised and talented professionals, experience, time and patience. When a live-action movie can go through all the stages of production within a year (pre-production, production, post-production, marketing and release), an animated movie requires a few years and a lot of love and attention to detail to reach, at least, respectable standards. Therefore, it is an investment of much higher risk.

However, it is not all that bleak. Animated movies are also a product with fantastic potentials for long-term revenue due to DVD rentals/sales, streaming, downloads, theatrical and television reruns and the licence agreements abroad. The ca also be affiliated to a plethora of merchandise, from toy figures to bed sheets. It has the potentials to create a universe of characters that can be marketed and sold, re-branded or evolve separately from the original product. Also, as it depends on the re-imagination of the world and the creation of a separate universe that can be inhabited by creatures of all shades, forms or shapes, it is a product that transcends cultural differences more easily than live-action movies. Therefore, it can cross into the Western mainstream more easily than other “ethnic” movies.  However, there is a catch to these fantastic opportunities: the movie – or series – needs to be good enough to capture the imagination of the children.

The combination of certain elements is essential for the success of an animated movie.  First and foremost, the production studio needs to set high quality standards for the final product. This can be a very expensive decision which will involve a lot of risk, especially in a country that is still experimenting with the production of animation. The studio needs to have enough faith in animation as an art form to be willing to invest long term or find patient investors who understand the difficulty of the endeavour. Take Pixar as an example: for a very long time it was a tremendously costly investment that seemed like it would never ever bring any revenue. It was the faith of investors such as Steve Jobs that kept the company afloat and allowed it to produce and release the ground-breaking and commercially successful first “Toy Story” movie.

The Poster of the Ramayana (2010), a 3D animation movie based on the Indian epic.

However, domestically produced animation will certainly not bring the level of novelty “Toy Story” brought upon release. Animated movies (2D and 3D) of international standards have been released in India in the past. Producers can count on the desire of the people to see something that reflects their culture, but at the same time, if they solely bet on it, they will miss the bigger picture. Something should not be “good enough for India”. It should be just good, especially in terms of animation quality and storytelling (which, unfortunately, has been traditionally the weak point of Bollywood movies). For all their advantages, animated movies/series face fierce competition in a global scale, with the two major players being the US and Japan. Their products have penetrated and dominated foreign markets for a very long time. So, even if the content produced is oriented for domestic consumption, it still needs to compete with the international releases that are also released domestically. In other words, in a globalised world the better product will win and cultural references can only offer a relative advantage, especially when the audience consists of little people who still decipher their culture and can easily blend Tom and Jerry into their intimate sphere of experience. This is where the involvement of foreign companies with long tradition in animation, such as Disney, can bring a tremendous advantage, due to the possibility of injecting local productions with foreign know-how.

The problem with creating a product for an audience that is not well-established (or has been driven away by previous aesthetic and commercial failures) is that the producers need to make conscious efforts to identify the elements that drove previous domestic productions to fail and the elements that assisted local and foreign productions to succeed.

It is a long and difficult path, but that doesn’t mean that it is all in vain. If one looks once again at the story of Pixar, it will become obvious that brave visionaries will fail multiple times, but if they have dreams, knowledge and skills they will eventually succeed. The success of animation in India won’t be just a romantic story of how a different narrative form infiltrated a seemingly hostile and rocky territory. It will be a victory for animation worldwide, as a strong Indian animation Industry that doesn’t just do work for foreign companies, but uses its talents for the production of original material will eventually form its own schools, aesthetics and narrative forms. It will enrich and renew the animation industry, while offering refreshing products to an audience that can easily become hardcore fans and ascribe “cult” status to movies/series. It may also turn into the Trojan horse that the Indian film industry has been looking for in hopes of infiltrating the Western market.

Caption from Disney’s first collaboration in an Indian animated movie, Roadside Romeo (2008)

But first thing first: India is a country with great heritage, an ambulance of interesting stories and a colourful present that can be used as the backdrop for compelling, contemporary narrations (in fact, even the ugly can be beautifully incorporated into a film, as the use of favelas in the movie Rio proves). Indian animation is already a very promising business with significant revenues. However, it needs long-term investments, talents with excellent education and broaden horizons and time to grow and develop its own distinctive identity. Otherwise, it will weather as fast at it will grow.

Simplistic narratives and the fleshed-out dwarf

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Emmy Award, Game of Throne, HBO, Joely Richardson, Major houses in A Song of Ice and Fire, Peter Dinklage, Song of Ice and Fire, Tyrion Lannister

There is a distinction to be made: in daily life, every divergence from “normalcy” is not something that demands justification in most cases. In industrialised countries, social norms, individualization and the respect for privacy will avert someone from asking another person directly why they have a specific characteristic (dwarfism, cleft palate etc.). However, within a narrative, any such divergence begs for contextualisation in order to acquire a “logical” position within the imaginary constructed universe of the characters.

Therefore, the question is how to incorporate in any type of narrative (a movie, a book, a tv series etc.) characters with such differences while avoiding turning them into caricatures. The Disney edition of Snow White (1937) is a striking example of how easy is to dehumanize an individual based on their physical difference. The seven dwarfs are men-children who are distinguished by the different colours of their clothes and an individual characteristic which is reflected in their name (Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy etc.). They live with a woman, Snow White, however she treats them like children. That allows for their desexualisation and the denial of their manhood altogether.

Image from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

On the opposite side of the spectrum, stand characters like Tyrion Lannister (from the HBO’s series Game of Thrones, based on the ongoing series of Song of Fire and Ice), who nevertheless appear far more rarely in popular fiction. Tyrion Lannister, born with dwarfism, is a canning man of great complexity. He shows little empathy for his enemies, without of course showing the absurd cruelty of other members of House Lannister. At the same time, he is tremendously charitable to people in weak positions, regardless of their background. He can show compassion both to Brandon of House Stark and to a poor prostitute. He is also the only living character to be depicted as a gentleman. (*spoiler alert*) This is especially prominent in the way he acts towards Sansa of House Stark who is humiliated by her fiancé and uncontrollable teenage king Joffrey. (*end of spoiler*) His understanding of the moral codes embedded to the social status of a nobleman allows Tyrion not only to reclaim his masculine identity, but also present himself as a better man in comparison to his peers.

These characteristics provide him with a certain charm that attracts the viewer/reader. He is a character that doesn’t rely on a disability to become likeable. At the same hand, a lot of his actions and personal traits have been influenced by this medical condition, in the same way that every health issue, life event or characteristic would have influenced the personality of an individual. Tyrion Lannister is a person with dwarfism, but that doesn’t sum up his character or his contribution to the development of the story. The actor depicting him,  Peter Dinklage won a well-deserved Emmy Award for his work in the series. However, this is not the first time that Mr Dinklage plays an interesting character: he was also a guest in Nip/Tuck, the provocative drama series on plastic surgery and human vanity. In the series, he had an affair with Joely Richardson’s character and he was shown becoming intimate with her. The show aired in FX in the USA, which, interestingly, just like HBO, is a pay television channel. This could be an indication that the creative staff working in pay television channels experience greater liberty in regards to boundaries that can be crossed and the experimentation with different characters.

Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones

Therefore, Tyrion Lannister’s character is a refreshing departure from roles traditionally saved for people with disabilities or other visible differences. Just like in the case of Snow White’s dwarfs, these differences often define the characters’ role within a narrative. When they are playing the bad guys, their deformities are played out for comedy purposes or become the reason behind their grudge against the world (and the noble, handsome and wholesome leading man). When they play the good guys, their physical traits act as a reminder of the misfortune that the main character (thus, the audience that identifies with them) have luckily avoided. Such issues are usually accompanied by sob stories of high school bullying, rejections from gorgeous girls or negligent parents and serve as moral tales. So, characters with disabilities or other visible issues are often presented completely evil or ridiculously good hearted, so nice as if the producers were afraid that any less amount of kindness would prevent the audience from sympathising with them.

Mini-Me and Dr Evil from the Austin Powers movies

However, a well-written character is one of a significant complexity that demonstrates human flaws, thus becoming all too familiar. That is what the example of Tyrion Lannister demonstrates: every character, regardless of their characteristics can be deeply loved by the readers/viewers if it is well-written. It is a matter of effort and desire shown by the writers, producers, directors and actors to dig deeper and find the core that makes a character interesting – its humanity – and rely on that for gags or tears. Then disabilities will become both visible and invisible: visible because they will be presented and invisible because they will not matter anymore.

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• Review: Games of Thrones Second Season Kick-Off (comicbooked.com)
• My other favorite hottie dwarf . . . and GOT. (thearmitageeffect.wordpress.com)
• RECAP & REVIEW: Game of Thrones “Garden of Bones” S2 E3 (fortheloveoftv.wordpress.com)

The Legend of Korra and the evolution of the Avatar world

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Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Hong Kong, Katara, Korra, Nickelodeon, The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra, Zuko

 

The Legend of Korra has been surrounded with anticipation, excitement and scepticism (from a handful of fans). The latter was to be expected, as the new series may take place in the Avatar universe, they are not, though, a sequel, but an entirely new series. Only the presence of Katara and the previous series’ offsprings provides a continuation with the original series. Furthermore, it became clear from the teasers and the posters that Korra would bring a darker, more mature element to Aang’s world.

Korra

However, the end result was very gratifying. Korra is set to run for 26 episodes, which offers the creators the possibility to spend time designing the characters and adding aesthetic value to the animation. The love and effort put on the final product can be observed in the little details (the angles used, the manipulation of the characters for comic relief, the use of jazz music, the inclusion of a pregnant character, the distinctive character of the city, a blender of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manhattan and Vancouver, as the creators describe it). it can also be seen in the extensive action sequences and the variety of backgrounds and characters introduced.

The Republic City

The world of Avatar has also evolved significantly since the time Aang was a young man. In the Republic city, people use technology for transportation, security and entertainment. There is a celebrity culture (as indicated by the appeal of the pro-bending tournament) and elements that indicate the industrial evolution that the world has undergone. Even the bending has evolved, thanks to the creation of a metal-bending police force trained by the late Toph. All these elements clearly demonstrate the  creators’ intention to explore new possibilities and push the boundaries in order to create a compelling story that will belong to the Avatar universe, yet feel fresh and intriguing in its own right. It is also comforting to see the air nomads rebuilding their nation which was almost completely destroyed by the Firelord (however, the existence of so many people dressed with the air nomads gowns made me wonder if they were non-bender monks rather than Aang’s descendants and airbenders).

Young Korra

Another very intriguing element is the choice of a teenage girl as the new Avatar – thus, as the new protagonist. First of all, the choice of a teenager allows for the exploration of certain themes that, in the first Avatar, could only be presented during the limited screen time of Prince Zuko (who was a teenager then). The decision for the Avatar to be a woman offers the possibility to construct another strong, not-so-girly role model that will face trials and tribulations both universal and more gender-oriented. However light-headed and cocky Korra may have appeared in the first two episodes, she has great potentials to grow into an appealing character.

Tenzin (airbender master, son of Aang and Korra's teacher) and his family

It is interesting, nevertheless, that Nickelodeon agreed for the story to take place after the death of Aang. On one hand, it couldn’t be avoided if they wanted to go for a new Avatar (as an avatar is a manifestation of a supreme being and can only occupy one body at a time). They were also quite aware that the series’ fan-base has grown older and would appreciate darker themes. On the other hand, Korra’s existence translates into the death of Aang (and that of many other major characters, due, of course to the time lapse). Regardless of how natural death may be, this is a sensitive topic to address to an audience that is still of a young age and feels intimidated by old age and physical demise. It is to be seen, though, if the creators will decide to go a step forward and address the issue during the series.

The series seems to have a lot of potentials, on the visual and the symbol level – and I am not just talking about the possibility of finally finding out what happened to Zuko’s mom – topic that the creators teased us with during the beginning of the first episode and I sincerely hope it won’t end up a running joke! Aang’s gigantic statue at the Republic City stands for everything Korra needs to fight for and the level of excellent she needs to reach in order to compare to her predecessor. This may be Korra’s story, but Aang will always be there, both challenging her and offering her a helping hand when needed. During the first two episodes, Korra has promised us to be a legend. Time will tell if she lives up to ours and Aang’s expectations, but for now, I am full of good faith.

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• [SPOILERIFFIC] Recap of the Legend of Korra premiere: Part 1 (blog404.org)
• Man in Black Commentary: Legend of Korra Episode 1 (mibreviews.com)

 

Dying in Athens

Tags

Athens, Greece, Greek, Greek Parliament, Hellenic Parliament, Suicide, Syntagma Square, Tsolakoglou occupation government

A man stood at the centre of a square and shot himself. This didn’t happen in a developing country. It wasn’t a poor, illiterate farmer crushed by the debts and the lack of social protection. It happened in Greece, yesterday. The man was a 77-year-old retired chemist from Athens. He decided to end his life in front of the Greek Parliament. His lasts words, according to an eye-witness, were “I’m leaving because I don’t want to pass on my debts”. He also left a note where he wrote that “The Tsolakoglou occupation government has nullified any chance of my survival which was based on a decent salary that for 35 years I alone (without state support) paid for”. The “Tsolakoglou occupation government” was the government during the occupation of Greek by the Nazi. He is said to have been a good and upstanding father to his only child.

The event was followed by blunt political statements, with the majority of the politicians declaring their “shock”. Of course, those who keep up with the news may have been saddened, but they are certainly not shocked. According to Police records, two people commit suicide every day. These statistics don’t include suicides that looked like accidents or were presented as accidents by the relatives for social reasons.

Today 2,000 people gathered at that same square, left flowers, honoured the deceased man and protested against the government. Violent clashes with the police followed. There is an overwhelming feeling of unfairness in Greece and the news made many people dub this action as a “homicide” rather than a “suicide”: a “homicide” caused by a system that abuses the vulnerable and the weak in an effort to improve financial charts that look irreversibly wrong. It also demonstrates the desperation of the Greek society that is left alone, defenceless with no mechanisms to support those in need because only four years ago, there was no great social demand. The public shaming that the country endured after the revelation of the debt (another “shock” for its political world) may be starting to turn into support and a realisation that not all Greeks have led a luxurious life, but just like in the case of children dying of malnutrition, support can only take you so far – especially if it is mixed with erroneous facts and partial truths.

With a collapsing social fabric, people are becoming desperate. Greece never depended on the welfare state: an unemployed person was almost fully supported by her family to make ends meet. To actually receive unemployment benefits, the person has to have worked for six months. Often there is no such proof, as people agree to work without being registered so they can make a bit more money. Greek families used to be able to support their children through university and during the first years of their professionals lives. Nowadays, though, it is becoming harder, as even the parents’ capacity to pay rent and foot the bills is shrinking. In other words, a society that had partially based its functioning on the efficient functioning of a parallel, unofficial system is starting to collapse due to the crumbling of this parallel system. This affects every aspect of the social life: medical bills, education, work, pensions, marriages and life itself. Within two years, suicide hotlines are receiving double the phone calls from people desperate enough to consider suicide.

The re-weaving of the Greek social fabric will not come with the imposition of more austerity measures or with the election of the new government. What is organic in a society cannot be changed overnight. It is a painfully slow process and it comes from the combination of social initiatives and public will. To make a family pay more taxes, the politicians need to offer a vision, a plan and a motivation. The vision is absent. The plan is vague (at least at this moment). There is also a complete lack of motivational gestures on behalf of the government. People are suddenly forced to change their budgets and way of lives without knowing when, how or if things will get better. With no social worker to care for them and no grandmother to chip in, depression is rising and with it, national anger, frustration and despair. Now, this suicide can turn into the symbol of the uprising of a people that was given money, but never given accountable governments, healthy political and civic education, true national goals and a vision.

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• Greek suicide seen as an act of fortitude as much as one of despair – The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)
• Greek Man’s Suicide Sparks Riots (leftperspectives.com)
• Pensioner shoots himself at Greek Parliament, refuses to search for food in garbage – RT (aboriginalpress.wordpress.com)
• Pensioner shoots himself at Greek Parliament, refuses to ‘search for food in garbage’ (PHOTOS) (rt.com)
• Athens suicide: a cry for dignity from downtrodden – Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: Athanasios A. (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: M.P. (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: Eleni (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: Noel (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: Vaggelis (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)
• The crisis in a Greek’s own words: Elpiniki (thedeciphering.wordpress.com)

Will Afghanistan fall apart once again?

Tags

Afghanistan, American, Americans, Hamid Karzai, Kabul, Kabul Bank, Pakistan, Sahar Gul, Taliban, Tolo TV, United States

When it was first invaded back in 2001, Afghanistan was a war-torn country with a human development index value of 0.238. Ten years later, the situation is statistically better, with the value rising to 0.398. Yet, despite the billions of dollars in aid, infrastructure projects and war economy, it remains one of the most underdeveloped and dangerous places in the world, in the same league as African countries facing civil wars and authoritarian regimes. in other words, despite all the effort and interest of the international community, it is almost as unfortunate being born in the region as it was a  decade ago.

Yet, good things are happening. Within the last decade, Afghans’ income and access to education have significantly improved. Men and women attend school and even go to University and there is some access to the internet. The infrastructure has improved. The central government takes up responsibility for the well-being of the citizen. Media is flourishing with a great number of press, television and radio stations diffusing varying content which is not always connected to religion and often challenges the tolerance of the cleric. Such an example is the progressive Tolo TV with the Western series, its locally produced shows, its reality song contests and its own edition of the Sesame Street. Young people are playing music and shoot video clips. Regardless of individual opinions of how “corrupted” all these initiatives may be, there is no doubt that Afghans, after years of being featured in the news for their political and security issues, get the spotlight for getting involved in entertaining activities and having some fun.

However, the imminent withdrawal of the American troops which will mark the end of a war never won is a terrifying prospect. Several unsettling events are reported. The Afghani government and the Americans are trying to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban to improve the stability of the country, which, if it happens, could bring interesting changes in the geopolitical relations in South Asia, a prospect that makes Pakistan nervous. At the same time, Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai is showing an equally unsettling attitude towards women’s right, which was in fact one of the major issues used by the US propaganda to convince the Allies and the public to get involved into that war in the first place. He recently endorsed a “code of conduct” which includes segregation of sexes and domestic violence under certain circumstances and ordered the release of a rape victim from jail, but apparently put pressure on her to marry her rapist. At the same time, women are incarcerated for a variety of other moral “crimes” (apart from being rape victims), such as escaping a violent marriage, being kidnapped, being forced into prostitution or running away. It has also been reported that women have been subjected to vaginal search when visiting their relatives in a notorious male prison in Kabul. The prospect of a peace agreement with the Taliban makes many human rights advocates nervous, as it is feared that women’s rights, already in a slippery slop, will deteriorate. Let’s not forget that Taliban militants were arrested in connection to acid attacks to school girls in Kandahar in 2008.

15-year-old Sahar Gul was imprisoned and brutally beaten by her husband’s family for refusing to become a prostitute. Her ordeal made the headlines worldwide.

National security is also crumbling. UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) released last February a disheartening report which indicated a significant rise in civilian casualties for the fifth year in a row, with a total of 3,021 civilians dying are a result of the conflict. That is more than eight people per day. The war economy and the presence of the Americans in the country brought some economic development and a number of investments. However, Afghani entrepreneurs seem to be looking for new investment opportunities abroad to secure their assets in the case of a slipping back to the pre-invasion situation. These people, survivors of the previous war, show no desire to go through another turmoil and put their families at risk. Who could truly blame them if they eventually decided to abandon a sinking ship?

What should be asked now is if Afghanistan is a failed case of enforced democratisation. If democracy is the product of consent of a matured society that has experienced democratisation and is able to function under certain social rules that do not rely on physical coercion and threat of violence, but rather on moral punishments, then Afghanistan seems like a failed case. However, there are other cases where lack of human development didn’t hinder the embracing of democracy (however flawed it may have been) by the masses. The most exceptional example is India. However, that was due to certain circumstances and specific local politicians that served as leaders to their people and offered a vision and reasons to embrace such a constitution. In Afghanistan there seems to lack such a strong figure that will build bridges and inspire confidence and admiration in a deeply divided nation still at war. At the same time, the serious obstacles posed in the functioning of even the basic democratic institutions (e.g. low participation in 2009 elections due to lack of security and electoral fraud) do not allow the people to meaningfully contribute as citizens and assist in the building of a reliable and stable nation.

Where there is also lack of security and corruption, development encounters many obstacles. For a nation to join the global economy, it needs the private sector to decide to invest money. There is only so much development – at times fictitious – that the public sector can achieve. Investments in Afghanistan are slowing down and with the withdrawal of the American troops, both providers of security and major source of income for the locals – the country needs to finds other means of attracting investments which will be especially hard if it cannot safeguard them. The country is trying to fight drug dealing, getting ride of the poppy fields, major sources of income for the locals who are left with no crops to cultivate. However, this righteous attitude is not applied to other members of the society, who take millions of dollars out of the country in suitcases and indulge in overt corruption.

Kabul Bank was involved in a very public corruption scandal in 2010 and nearly collapsed

It is quite obvious that Afghanistan has a long way to go before it can become a tourist attraction for the lovers of the Silk Road. On the other hand, if so far the International Community was tried to guide, protect and chastise the country, maybe it is better for the people to take control of their lives and shape their own future. The biggest lament is definitely the lack of security that does not allow wounds to heal and people to focus on the realisation of a vision for the country, putting aside clan politics. As long as stepping outside one’s house feels like a brave endeavour, balance will not be restored and democracy will still crumble in this mountainous and diverse country.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: catering for the underrepresented?

Tags

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel, India, Judi Dench, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Tom Wilkinson

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is an excellent movie, because it serves a core purpose of cinema: it entertains and moves the audience. There are plenty of flaws and as many plot holes and weaknesses as the old hotel itself, however there is a heart to be found in this well-acted and tender story.

Official Poster

The plot revolves around the adventures of seven British retirees who move to India to live in a hotel for the “Elderly and Beautiful”, run by Sonny, a young Indian whose dream is to “outsource old age”. These premises – which intelligently imply the lack of support both in an emotional and an economic level towards older people in western countries – allow for the development of a series of personal stories that are both charming and moving.

Even though the prominent role of older people may suggest a concentration on topics of life and death, the movie explores issues of sexuality, social positioning, dreams, aspirations, racism, abandonment and self-awareness. Of course, the most prominent selling point of the movie is the actors involved: Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup. They all give a different quality to the movie and turn it from an old-age rom-com to a portrayal of life after retirement.

On the other hand, the majority of Indian characters are quite stereotypical: the happy-go-lucky Indian boy who has a big plan and a beautiful girlfriend (Dev Patel), the girlfriend who works in a call centre and has an authoritative brother and the boy’s mother-monster with tender heart who tries to impose her will on her son (a stereotype which makes all Indian mothers seem more frightening than Tasso Kavadia). Nevertheless, it includes something rarely seen in Western movies, sexual relations between native youth involved in a romantic relationship.

(SPOILER ALERT) There is, also, a prominent exception in the stereotypical representation of the Indians, which works very well within a movie that consciously tries to normalize situations that otherwise would have been treated as extraordinary. Graham’s (Tom Wilkinson) storyline presented him as a retired judge who wants to go back to make amends with his past. When he was very young, he had an affair with an Indian boy. The relationship ended after they got caught sleeping together. He was sent abroad and was always afraid that this event would have destroyed his lover’s life. However, when they meet, the man tells him that he had a good life. His wife is also aware of the incident. Afterwards, the wife not only allows her husband to assist in the Hindu funeral of Graham, but she also accompanies him and supports him. The reaction of these characters challenges many persisting perceptions regarding non-Westerns that are constantly repeated in movies (most recently in “Eat, Pray, Love”). There is traditionally a connection between education, dignity and insightfulness which, as proven by the reactions of the man’s wife, is erroneous and just reflects western self-importance. (END OF SPOILER)

Scene from the movie

The other actor in the film, India itself, is beautiful as always, even though it serves as the stereotypical foreign paradise: poorer, dirtier, with “innocent and good-hearted” people, strange smells and beautiful sunsets. It is also the other selling point of the film, a promise of exoticism to an audience thirsty for a cost-free escape from the gray of the big Western metropolis. It also reproduces another stereotypical functioning of India in movies, that of an educator that offers Hinduism, temples and a different outlook to life. The heroes go there and learn more about themselves and the world (the other stereotypical functioning of India which was wisely avoided was that of the receiver of Western charity). It does, however, go further and shows the interior of companies, the new buildings next to the old, the desire to grow and develop, which, in its own way, is a positive element.

Despite these weaknesses though, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a genuinely beautiful, funny and heart-warming film. The dialogues are witty and at times hilarious, the acting is spot-on and the situations depicted are presented as natural, everyday events. Thomas Newman’s music also adds vivid colours to the scenes. It is a movie that is truly worth watching. It is also an opportunity to see how older people see themselves as complex human beings with needs and desire, a viewpoint that they beg for the rest of the society to adopt and abandon the old notion of older people as positioned one step away from their deathbed. As a lady told me after the end of a screening: “they should produce more movies like this about us the grey-haired”.

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What’s in the name?

Tags

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, Amerigo Vespucci, British Mandate of Mesopotamia, colonialism, Huambo, Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, United States

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet. 
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, 
Retain that dear perfection which he owes.

– Romeo and Juliet

Names, Shakespeare suggests, are mere indicators of things: their essence remains intact, regardless of their use. The rose smells as nice, regardless its name, and Romeo retains his perfection. However, there is more to the name than just the reference to a thing.

The majority of species communicate using a variety of technics, such as sounds, antennas or body movements. They express feelings, concerns or illnesses. Communication allows them to be part of a pack or a herd or a flock. Just like all other animals, humans use communication to be able to form groups which, with the passing of time, transformed from the small hunter-gatherers’ societies to the large and highly complex modern nations. One of the major factors that enabled people to create those more complex forms of communal life is communication.

Nevertheless, the name-generating process has strong cultural and political references. Such an example is the naming of places by the colonial forces: the America got their name by Amerigo Vespucci. This was the first sign of conquest of the continent by the Europeans, both in the physical and the cultural sense. Another example, in the same continent, is the reference to Native Americans as “Indians”, which resulted from Columbus erroneous assumption that he had arrived to East Indies.

At the same time, names can function as manifestations of political change or as efforts to rupture the connection with the past. In 1932, the British Mandate of Mesopotamia changed its name to Iraq. In 1945, the Dutch East Indies changed its name to Indonesia. In 1821, New Spain became Mexico. In 1972, the already independent Ceylon decided to change its name to “Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka”. The same process has been observed in the local level, with cities changing their names to much the phonology or the local language or adopting completely new names to indicate their new, liberated status of their countries. “Bombay” became “Mumbai” (just like dozens of other Indian countries), New Amsterdam is globally known today as New York and after independence, Nova Lisboa became Huambo. Another notable example of a city that kept changing names depending on the historical period and the language of its masters is Istanbul or Constantinople or Byzantium or Augusta Antonina or New Rome.

Names carry a very strong significance to people: they indicate familiarity and possession. They habitually name things that they own, but not those whose existence they ignore, because, to them, they don’t really exist. They name their dogs to form a bond with them, but not the pigs or goats that will be consumed after being raised for a short period of time. They change adopted children’s names to create imaginative bonds between the children and the family. They also name the people that they meet in order to define them, categorize them and position them in the social ladder, in order to indicate if they are their masters, their equals or their inferiors. They use nicknames to suggest proximity or inferiority. They use honorifics to suggest respect. The Japanese language is an excellent example of the functioning of language to reflect the social structure of society, as the words used manifest the social circle that the interlocutor is position in relation to the speaker.

Political correctness has brought a new meaning to the value of words, as the vocabulary has become a minefield. There are words that should be used and words that should not be used. Special phrases must replace widely used words, especially in reference to race, physical and mental limitations and gender. In an unequal world, there is still the belief that discrimination could be undone starting from changing the name of things or situations. However, this often leads to equally unequal measures, depending on the group challenged or the type of reference involved.

There is a lot to the name. There is power and struggle and intentions. It reflects the way we see the world and in that sense, they way we see ourselves. If we thing that the building is tall, it is tall in relation to us. Thus, we are small. If we think that another human being is better than us, then he can easily become our “master”, both in the name and in the actual sense. If we declare to the world that we are free from the past, then we are still struggling within, but we are trying to forget. However powerful the name is though, knowledge is even more powerful, the type of knowledge that will make us realise why we charge a specific object or situation with a particular name. This type of empowerment will allow us to not only embrace or change the name, but respect its meaning, its role in our proximate world and its impact on our identity.

The Hunger Games: Spectacle and substance

Tags

Bella Swan, Gary Ross, Hunger Game, Jennifer Lawrence, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta, Peeta Mellark, Suzanne Collin

The Hunger Games is a story of strength and survival and its cinematic adaptation is an exercise of style and substance over blockbuster/movie franchise requirements.

The story revolves around the tragic fate of a young woman in a dystopian future, where children 12 to 18 year old from twelve districts are forced by the Capitol (the city holding the central political authority) to fight each other to death as a punishment for their districts’ past rebellion. The movie is an adaptation of the eponymous first novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins. The announcement of the adaptation of the books into films caused a great discussion among fans due to their general concept, violence. The central question was how to produce a film aiming towards younger audiences and market it to the children and their parents, when the central topic is authoritative sardonic cruelty and the desensitization to violence caused by the media?

Katniss Everdeen: a modern Artemis

The studio apparently had two choices: the easy way, where romance would be over-emphasised to the expense of more substantial themes, or the hard way, which would make the publication and marketing process much harder. Wisely, they chose to safeguard the artistic integrity of the project, while drawing a great variety of talents to assist in the movie’s development, from Gary Ross, director of Pleasantville, to Jennifer Lawrence, an actress who at 21 has already been nominated for an Oscar, to Suzanne Collins herself, who contributed to the screenplay. Steven Soderbergh’s small, but sweet contribution as Second Unit Director was also a winking to cinephiles.

Fortunately, all this talent succeeded in producing an artistically pleasing and though provocative film that engaged both the younger and the older audience. Stylistically, the cinematography and costumes (especially the Peacekeepers’ gear) bring to mind 70s futuristic films. The story unravels without spending too much time in explaining situation, but rather allowing the audience to pick up information through the visual representation of events. This, of course, may be challenging in its own right, given the fact that in the majority of blockbusters situations and relations are explicitly explained through dialogues, with the information often being repeated throughout the film. At times it felt like knowing the book was important in order to appreciate the qualities of the movie, without trying to figure out certain details regarding the behaviour or the attitude of the characters. Some characters were never also officially introduced, or their role was never explained, such as Effie Trinket and Portia (Peeta’s stylist). This was, indeed, one of the complains I heard from two separate moviegoers, who were trying to find out why the Games were taking place in the first place.

Meeting her fate: Katniss on her way to the arena

The Huger Games also stands out as a film due to the central female character. After years of watching Bella Swan, the docile Mary Sue from Twilight taking over teenagers’ walls and fantasies, Katniss Everdeen is a refreshing change. She is a fighter and a caretaker. She is the male figure in her household. Her masculinity, in combination with her female traits, mostly expressed through her motherly love towards her sister and her attraction to her male companions, present her as a character that surpasses gender stereotypes and becomes relevant to both the male and female audience, without relying on nudity or emotional fragility. She is a role model, not a shapeless container for female day-dreaming. On the other hand, the love triangle between her, Peeta and Gale has been largely underplayed in the movie. Peeta is less persistent and his protective feelings towards her are expressed through actions, rather than words. Gale has officially taken over the role of the caretaker of her family, which is another strong way of showcasing his dedication to her.

The Hunger Games is not for the faint-hearted. It is at times so violent (even implicitly) that one should wonder how the studio managed to secure a PG-13 rating in the USA and a 12A in the UK. It should actually urge the movie industry professionals to discussion the possibility of providing a classification that would include tweens (9-12), but would exclude all younger audience. The maturity and needs of children, indeed, has significantly changed of the decades, as “childhood” is by no means a historically steady and homogeneous developmental stage. That said, it is by no means as violent, tense or aesthetically invasive as Battle Royal or Lord of the Flies. It is, nevertheless, a good start to a trilogy that was the smart marketing campaign and trailers that presented the film cohesively, without giving too much away (something that even big studios with long history have failed to do in the recent past). The Hunger Games is, by all means, a tremendous success for everyone involved and will hopefully pave the way for more challenging heroines and storylines in the near future.

The viciousness of acid

Tags

Acid throwing, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Katie Piper, Pakistan, Taliban, violence against women

In a world striving to sophisticate its weapons, the most banal liquid can still be a fatal weapon in the hands of the vicious. Acid attacks are an unlikely trend, with powerful results nevertheless. It is also mainly addressed to women.

It is interesting to note that violence with such crude results is addressed mainly to women, often by men who have taken a romantic interest in them. They are related to rejection of sexual advantages, marriage proposals, dowry issues and land disputes. The tender age of the victims should also be noted: according to Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed, 70% of the victims are under the age of 18.

When acid comes in touch with the skin, it burns it layer after layer after layer. This slow process can go on for days, causing horrific pain to the victim, as the liquid goes on to disfigure every part of the body it touches. It will also leave the victim with deep scars which, according to the severity of the attack, may cause complete disfigurement of the person.

Yet it is not fatal which demonstrates exactly the viciousness of the attacker. Humans, like all mammals, take pride in their appearance, as it serves them in multiple biological ways, which has acquired additional sociocultural significance during the evolutionary process. Beauty is a sign of good genes, physical well-being and procreation potency, thus signifying a good family background, respectable social position and the functioning of the person as a desirable partner. When the body and face are destroyed, the person is experiencing a type of death-like situation: she looses her individual characteristics that externalized a significant part of her personality and allowed people to engage to her, at least when first meeting. Instead, these features are replaced by shapeless skin that may cause aversion to humans. This aversion, as it could be suggested, is related to people’s fear of death and pain.

So, the person becomes invisible, but not being ordinary any longer: people turn their heads, avoid talking to her directly or, in worse cases, make fun or abuse her. She is position at the margin of society, with her future in stake: the prospects of marriage, family and inclusion are significantly diminished. Therefore, the perpetrator has not only succeeded in “avenging” the victim for her rejection, but has also marked her and turned her into a warning for the society as a whole. This is especially prominent in the case of acid victims by Talibans in Afghanistan, where the attackers were targeting schoolgirls.

However, Afghanistan is not the only Asian country where acid attacks are common: in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Gaza there have also been numerous incidents, often related to family honour and religion. Men are not the only perpetrators as well: in Cambodia, some women have used it to avenge their husband’s lovers. Laws have been drawn, foundations have been created to support the victims. Some of them have even stepped forward and shared their experiences and talked about the life after.

These are, however, only small steps towards tackling the issue. Even extensive treatment and emotional support sometimes are not enough to help the victim overcome the emotional scars sustained. A prominent victim of acid attack committed suicide a few days ago. Fakhra Yunus ended her life after ten years of treatment. Her alleged attacker (and then husband) Bilal Khar, a man of significant political influence, was never charged and is still living free in Pakistan (this man also deserves to be “famous” like Kony).

Fakhra Yunus before and after the attack

It is not an issue restricted to the development world though. Europe has experienced its share of violent attacks. Katie Piper has participated in many documentaries that chronicled her rehabilitation process and search of understanding beauty. A few days ago, an Englishman used acid to attack a muslim woman with a child, without, fortunately, hurting the child or causing her significant damage.

What could it be done to help the victims? Prevention – as in most cases – is the best treatment. Respect for women and other individuals, zero tolerance by the society to perpetrators of any short of violence against women and children is a step towards the right direction. A country’s development cannot be measured strictly by reference to economic indexes: a good society to live in is a society with respect for its members, regardless the sex. This is a goal that can be universally achieved and is not strictly related to education or culture, but rather to humanity and respect for life.

People are speaking up, not only victims, but other individuals as well. This is the first step towards the condemnation of the practice by societies as a whole. Legislation and international pressure can only take a society that far: the abandonment of a practice needs to be the decision and concern of the society as a whole, regardless of class, religion, sex or political views. This is the right step forward.

Five poems for the World Poetry Day

Tags

Alice Walker, Café au lait, Constantine P. Cavafy, Dog, Isla Negra, Jacques Prévert, Pablo Neruda, Sous

Despair

Déjeuner du matin –  Jacques Prévert  

Il a mis le café
Dans la tasse
Il a mis le lait
Dans la tasse de café
Il a mis le sucre
Dans le café au lait
Avec la petite cuiller
Il a tourné
Il a bu le café au lait
Et il a reposé la tasse
Sans me parler
Il a allumé
Une cigarette
Il a fait des ronds
Avec la fumée
Il a mis les cendres
Dans le cendrier
Sans me parler
Sans me regarder
Il s’est levé
Il a mis
Son chapeau sur sa tête
Il a mis
Son manteau de pluie
Parce qu’il pleuvait
Et il est parti
Sous la pluie
Sans une parole
Sans me regarder
Et moi j’ai pris
Ma tête dans ma main
Et j’ai pleuré.

Breakfast

He poured the coffee
Into the cup
He poured the milk
Into the cup of coffee
He put the sugar
Into the coffee with milk
With a small spoon
He stirred it
He drank the coffee
And he put down the cup
Without speaking to me
He lighted a cigarette
He made circles
With the smoke
He put the ash
Into the ashtray
Without a word
Without looking at me
He got up
He put a hat on his head
He put on his raincoat
As it was raining
And he left
Into the rain
Without speaking to me
Without looking me
And I put
My head into my hands
And I cried.

Death and Friendship

Un perro ha muerto – Pablo Neruda

Mi perro ha muerto.
Lo enterré en el jardín
junto a una vieja máquina oxidada.

Allí, no más abajo,
ni más arriba,
se juntará conmigo alguna vez.

Ahora él ya se fue con su pelaje,
su mala educación, su nariz fría.

Y yo, materialista que no cree
en el celeste cielo prometido
para ningún humano,
para este perro o para todo perro
creo en el cielo, sí, creo en un cielo
donde yo no entraré, pero él me espera
ondulando su cola de abanico
para que yo al llegar tenga amistades.

Ay no diré la tristeza en la tierra
de no tenerlo más por compañero
que para mí jamás fue un servidor.
Tuvo hacia mí la amistad de un erizo
que conservaba su soberanía,
la amistad de una estrella independiente
sin más intimidad que la precisa,
sin exageraciones:
no se trepaba sobre mi vestuario
llenándome de pelos o de sarna,
no se frotaba contra mi rodilla
como otros perros obsesos sexuales.

No, mi perro me miraba dándome la atención necesaria
la atención necesaria
para hacer comprender a un vanidoso
que siendo perro él,
con esos ojos, más puros que los míos,
perdía el tiempo, pero me miraba
con la mirada que me reservó
toda su dulce, su peluda vida,
su silenciosa vida,
cerca de mí, sin molestarme nunca,
y sin pedirme nada.

Ay cuántas veces quise tener cola
andando junto a él por las orillas del mar,
en el Invierno de Isla Negra,
en la gran soledad: arriba el aire
traspasando de pájaros glaciales
y mi perro brincando, hirsuto,
lleno de voltaje marino en movimiento:
mi perro vagabundo y olfatorio
enarbolando su cola dorada
frente a frente al Océano y su espuma.
alegre, alegre, alegre
como los perros saben ser felices,
sin nada más,
con el absolutismo de la naturaleza descarada.
No hay adiós a mi perro que se ha muerto.

Y no hay ni hubo mentira entre nosotros.
Ya se fue y lo enterré, y eso era todo.

A dog has died

My dog has died.
I buried him in the garden
next to a rusted old machine.

Some day I’ll join him right there,
but now he’s gone with his shaggy coat,
his bad manners and his cold nose,
and I, the materialist, who never believed
in any promised heaven in the sky
for any human being,
I believe in a heaven I’ll never enter.
Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom
where my dog waits for my arrival
waving his fan-like tail in friendship.

Ai, I’ll not speak of sadness here on earth,
of having lost a companion
who was never servile.
His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine
withholding its authority,
was the friendship of a star, aloof,
with no more intimacy than was called for,
with no exaggerations:
he never climbed all over my clothes
filling me full of his hair or his mange,
he never rubbed up against my knee
like other dogs obsessed with sex.

No, my dog used to gaze at me,
paying me the attention I need,
the attention required
to make a vain person like me understand
that, being a dog, he was wasting time,
but, with those eyes so much purer than mine,
he’d keep on gazing at me
with a look that reserved for me alone
all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.

Ai, how many times have I envied his tail
as we walked together on the shores of the sea
in the lonely winter of Isla Negra
where the wintering birds filled the sky
and my hairy dog was jumping about
full of the voltage of the sea’s movement:
my wandering dog, sniffing away
with his golden tail held high,
face to face with the ocean’s spray.

Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.

There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,
and we don’t now and never did lie to each other.

So now he’s gone and I buried him,
and that’s all there is to it.

Life

Expect Nothing – Alice Walker

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.

Meaning

Περιμένοντας τους Βαρβάρους – Constantine P. Cavafy

-Τι περιμένουμε στην αγορά συναθροισμένοι;
Είναι οι βάρβαροι να φθάσουν σήμερα.

-Γιατί μέσα στην Σύγκλητο μιά τέτοια απραξία;
Τι κάθοντ’ οι Συγκλητικοί και δεν νομοθετούνε;

-Γιατί οι βάρβαροι θα φθάσουν σήμερα.
Τι νόμους πια θα κάμουν οι Συγκλητικοί;
Οι βάρβαροι σαν έλθουν θα νομοθετήσουν.

-Γιατί ο αυτοκράτωρ μας τόσο πρωί σηκώθη,
και κάθεται στης πόλεως την πιο μεγάλη πύλη
στον θρόνο επάνω, επίσημος, φορώντας την κορώνα;

-Γιατί οι βάρβαροι θα φθάσουν σήμερα.
Κι ο αυτοκράτωρ περιμένει να δεχθεί
τον αρχηγό τους. Μάλιστα ετοίμασε
για να τον δώσει μια περγαμηνή. Εκεί
τον έγραψε τίτλους πολλούς κι ονόματα.

-Γιατί οι δυό μας ύπατοι κ’ οι πραίτορες εβγήκαν
σήμερα με τες κόκκινες, τες κεντημένες τόγες·
γιατί βραχιόλια φόρεσαν με τόσους αμεθύστους,
και δαχτυλίδια με λαμπρά γυαλιστερά σμαράγδια·
γιατί να πιάσουν σήμερα πολύτιμα μπαστούνια
μ’ ασήμια και μαλάματα έκτακτα σκαλισμένα;

Γιατί οι βάρβαροι θα φθάσουν σήμερα·
και τέτοια πράγματα θαμπόνουν τους βαρβάρους.

-Γιατί κ’ οι άξιοι ρήτορες δεν έρχονται σαν πάντα
να βγάλουνε τους λόγους τους, να πούνε τα δικά τους;

Γιατί οι βάρβαροι θα φθάσουν σήμερα·
κι αυτοί βαριούντ’ ευφράδειες και δημηγορίες.

-Γιατί ν’ αρχίσει μονομιάς αυτή η ανησυχία
κ’ η σύγχυσις. (Τα πρόσωπα τι σοβαρά που έγιναν).
Γιατί αδειάζουν γρήγορα οι δρόμοι κ’ οι πλατέες,
κι όλοι γυρνούν στα σπίτια τους πολύ συλλογισμένοι;

Γιατί ενύχτωσε κ’ οι βάρβαροι δεν ήλθαν.
Και μερικοί έφθασαν απ’ τα σύνορα,
και είπανε πως βάρβαροι πια δεν υπάρχουν.

Και τώρα τι θα γένουμε χωρίς βαρβάρους.
Οι άνθρωποι αυτοί ήσαν μιά κάποια λύσις.

Waiting for the Barbarians

What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?
The barbarians are to arrive today.

Why such inaction in the Senate?
Why do the Senators sit and pass no laws?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
What laws can the Senators pass any more?
When the barbarians come they will make the laws.

Why did our emperor wake up so early,
and sits at the greatest gate of the city,
on the throne, solemn, wearing the crown?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
And the emperor waits to receive
their chief. Indeed he has prepared
to give him a scroll. Therein he inscribed
many titles and names of honor.

Why have our two consuls and the praetors come out
today in their red, embroidered togas;
why do they wear amethyst-studded bracelets,
and rings with brilliant, glittering emeralds;
why are they carrying costly canes today,
wonderfully carved with silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today,
and such things dazzle the barbarians.

Why don’t the worthy orators come as always
to make their speeches, to have their say?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today;
and they get bored with eloquence and orations.

Why all of a sudden this unrest
and confusion. (How solemn the faces have become).
Why are the streets and squares clearing quickly,
and all return to their homes, so deep in thought?

Because night is here but the barbarians have not come.
And some people arrived from the borders,
and said that there are no longer any barbarians.

And now what shall become of us without any barbarians?
Those people were some kind of solution.

Love

Lover’s Gifts XXVIII: I Dreamt – Rabindranath Tagore 

I dreamt that she sat by my head, tenderly ruffling my hair with her fingers, playing the melody of her touch. I looked at her face and struggled with my tears, till the agony of unspoken words burst my sleep like a bubble.

I sat up and saw the glow of the milky way above my window, like a world of silence on fire, and I wondered if at this moment she had a dream that rhymed with mine.

Sources:

http://frenchpoetrytranslations.blogspot.co.uk/

http://tagoreweb.in/Render/

http://spanishpoems.blogspot.co.uk/2005/05/pablo-neruda-un-perro-ha-muerto.html

http://users.hol.gr/~barbanis/cavafy/barbarians.html