RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Century of Self (2002) #1. Happiness machines "This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy."  —Adam Curtis' Yet another documentary, in fact, it is his famous one, from the disillusioned Oxford academia who traded his robe and mortarboard for a place behind the camera. This time around, he tackled something quite unique and it is quite mind-boggling, actually. It shows how the mind of the general public was and is still being manipulated by people in power for their own vested interest. Irrational suppressed minds The story starts in the late third of the 20th century in Vienna with Sigmund Freud. He postulated that human beings all have suppressed aggressive and sexual feelings. Civilization in essence, put a lid for them to demonstrate this primitive feelings and law and order prevailed. And that people in power were using this to control people in the name of ma...

What is a TaiTai 太太? noun   1. A term used in Chinese circles for supreme wife (implying situation where a man is wealthy enough to have several "wives") but no longer strictly interpreted. Term now applies to citizens of the world with an Asian viewpoint who have bounds of time and money. A TaiTai 太太 is a privileged lady of means.  2. Supreme of the Supreme is its literal translation. The term implies respect. Real TaiTai's 太太 meet the following criteria 1. A tremendous amount of leisure time 2. Lots of money to spend. A TaiTai 太太 travels a lot 3. Concerned about status, social standing, and owning the 'latest in anything" that is remotely hot (ie: Pashminas. Fendi Baguette Bag,....) God Forbid a TaiTai 太太 be seen with last year's style! 4. Keenly interested ih beauty upkeep (Pedicures / manicures/ facials/ slimming treatments) Will stop at nothing to eradicate the tiniest sign of ageing. 5. Often associated with do-good charity...

Sorgam ( சொர்க்கம் , Heaven, 1970, Tamil) Don't understand why it is ' சொர்க்கம்'  and not  'சொர்கம்' I remember entering the hall late when the first song was on-going and Sivaji was immersed in a day dream. In his dream, there was a chubby girl with coarse features and thick limbs (Vijayalalitha) gyrating to an electric guitar infused hot music clad in scanty parchment named clothes stuck with rupee bills. Some how, I remember the hall as the same one as the one where Psy wowed Penangites. As usual it was a last minute plan by Amma's regular movie buff, Rajamah. Rajamah, whose monthly grocery bill would include cartons of Ipoh's Chap Kwan Loong dragon brand 'minyak angin' (medicated oil), could easily be a glue sniffer -only difference was her glue was medicated oil. It was from her condition that I learnt about the diagnosis of 'Rhinitis Medicamentosa' - of a lady with chronic congestion of her nose whilst continuing with her sniffi...

Through a Glass Darkly* (Såsom i en spegel, 1961; Swedish) Written and Directed by Ingmar Bergman This is one of the three movies made by Bergman on spiritualism. The mark of this great director is seen in the make of the film which involves 4 characters and a film which spans only a single day. It goes on to suggest (at least in my mind) that there is a very thin line which separates insanity and religious fanaticism! It starts with the main characters swimming - Karin, her husband Martin, her 17 year old brother Minus and her father David. We slowly realize that Karin is suffering from schizophrenia whose prognosis appears guarded and incurable. Minus has some teenage issues of his own, unable to find a girlfriend. Martin is the only one who seem to be strong. David,  writer, has just returned from Switzerland to be with the family before leaving again.  We are also told that Karin's mother had died earlier due to the same illness that struck Karin, and th...

Silver Lining Playbook 2012 Another Hollywood movie with a predictably happy ending like the title suggests. It depicts a bipolar patient who is removed by his mother from a mental institution and how his family and his friend's wife sister, a depressive patient, try to go against all the negativity and hostilities around them to focus on a dance competition and indirectly fight the black dog together. Of course, in the process, they fall in love, bla,bla,bla... Haven't we heard this story before? The other subplots in the movie makes it different, though. After checking out the mental facilty, Pat (Bradley Cooper) plans to turn over a new leaf, focus on his life and try to win back his wife's heart. She had a restraining order against Pat after he bashed and morbidly wounded his wife's lover when he made an unscheduled entrance before his incarceration. Pat has a hot tempered baseball bookie father and a mother who tries to ease the tension in the hous...

The Power of Nightmare (2004) The rise of politics of fear #03. The Shadows in the Cave With the appointment of Bill Clinton as the President and the fail of various uprisings to establish Muslim governments in the Islamic countries, it looked both the neoconservatives and the jihadists movements were doomed to fail. They appear to be marginalized, losing the flavour of the times. The turning point came with the 2001 destruction of the New York Twin Towers. After failing to receive people's support in Algeria and Egypt, in 1998, Zawahari and Osama retreated to the barren land of Afghanistan. They then changed the strategy. Instead of creating mayhem in Islamic countries, they creating ruckus in concerns of the enemies of the Muslims (in their eyes).Attacks were targeted at embassies, hotels and outlets frequented by their enemy's citizens (read Americans) in Kenya, Tanzania. Volunteers from various countries who came to Afghanistan to serve in the name of religion we...

The  Power of Nightmare  (2004) The rise of politics of fear #2. The Phantom Victory The neoconservatives and Islamic jihadists have one common goal- to elevate their community. In the mid 70s and 80s, USSR was also their common enemy. Their playground then was Afghanistan. When Afghanistan was attacked, Ronald Reagan and his band of neoconservatives took it upon themselves to arm the Mujahideens with latest technology and weapons as well as plaster them with tons of money to crush the Soviet power. Pretty soon, the Muslim clergymen around the Muslim passed a fatwa (decree) calling it a religious duty to help their Muslim brothers to protect their motherland. This just drew support in many forms. Through Abdullah Azam's enterprising efforts, help came from Arabs, members of Muslim Brotherhood and other more radical Islamic groups. Some prisons were more than willing to relieve their radical inmates for this jihad. These people wanted to use Afghanistan as a model to ma...