Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Alfred Hitchcock Presents S5E0: Death of poetic justice?

One of my favourite TV series that never fail to impress me each time I watch is the 1955 to 1962 production of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'(AHP). Over the past few years, Universal Studios have had the joy of sadistically slow release of these old TV shows' DVDs at a snail's pace much to the disappointment of die hard mature Hitchcock fans. There was a lot of excitement recently in November when news broke out that the 5th season DVDs were due to be released on 3rd January 2012! For those who have been living in outer space and are in the dark about AHP, these are 25-minute shows (before the current familiar 45-minute format was norm) that dwell on morbid subjects like death and murder (usually of spouse) presented by Alfred Hitchcock himself. In a sense, Hitchcock was just a compere who introduces the show in a witty way and finds joy taking jabs at the advertisers, at the beginning of the show, at beginning of the take-over of the world by advertisers and commercialism! If fact, Hitchcock with his peculiarly wicked British wry sense of humour and word play, is itself an attraction of the series.
In most of these shows, the perpetrator usually comes out smelling of roses after having apparently committed a perfect crime. In keeping with poetic justice and not too outwardly implying that crime actually pays, Hitchcock will announce before the closing credits how justice eventually prevailed!
Talking about poetic justice...
I pre-ordered the copy on Amazon. It was released in US on 3.1.12 and I received it on 6.1.12 all crisp and new, undamaged. Why? Because I have ordered on express mail (FedEx), that's why! So, why am I complaining?
Normally I ordered my DVDs with regular postage via US postal service and it takes a good 2 to 3 weeks to arrive after being stranded in Malaysian airports like forever to be cleared by Customs. With a little bit of mullah, everything is speeded up. That is life is it not? With a little bit of greasing, everything can go through the fast express lane whilst enforcement just looks the other way, whether you are in USA, Bangkok, KL or Timbuktu! Those who are financially challenged or believes in equality and justice will just have get in line and wait for their turn. Life is never fair. Justice in life sometime seems not fair but we can always pacify the losers that there is always a bigger eternal court which would be just and sometimes the sentences meted out can be for a very long time, like forever! And the promise of virgins for martyrdom?@*!
POETIC JUSTICEIn literature, an outcome in which vice is punished and virtue rewarded, usually in a manner peculiarly or ironically appropriate.The term was coined by the English literary critic Thomas Rymer in the 17th century, when it was believed that a work of literature should uphold moral principles and instruct the reader incorrect moral behaviour. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer)

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