Skip to main content

I get no satisfaction!

Seconds 1966

Man can never be satisfied with what he has. He is forever yearning for the unattainable and not satisfied with what he already has. If by a twist of fate, he is bestowed with his boon, he would still feel discontented and would crave for what he already had before!

This obscure sci-fi thriller never left its mark on anyone’s list of favourite movies. Nevertheless, it has many meaningful philosophical messages which are relevant to mankind even 50 years after its release.

It follows the mundane life of a middle age banking executive whose purpose in life seems to have been lost along the way. Having two adult kids who could fend for themselves, a predictable routine which gives him a comfortable life and cursory purposeless conversation with his wife appear meaningless to Arthur Hamilton. He wants something else but what is it?

A mysterious phone call from his supposedly dead friend brings him to an eerie clinic which promises him a complete make-over of himself into a new youthful life in a new young body. Using arm-twisting techniques, he is coerced into agreement.

That is life is, isn’t it? We are constantly dragged into situations which are beyond our control. Whether we like it or not, precluding situations tie our hand and we have to cave.

So, Arthur gets a body and a new life as a painter, Tony (Rock Hudson), in Malibu. The clinic stages a hotel fire to ‘kill off’ Arthur. Tony slowly adapts into his new identity, get a new love interest but soon feels out of place with his new found friends. He yearns for his old life and wife.

We seek pleasure that is short lived!
He gets drunk at a party and almost blows his cover, only to discover that many around him are actual ‘reborns’, just like him. Upon, Tony insistence of being reborn again, he is actually taken for the process. The only difference is that he will be somebody else’s cadaver!

The soul of modern man is hollow. Despite attaining many feats in his life, he still has that unaccomplished feeling. He is never satisfied. He does not know what he wants in the first place. When opportunities fall at his feet, he is sceptical. He wonders whether his choice is the right one. He is just drawn in by gut feeling or peer pressure. After choosing a certain path, he wonders whether he should have chosen an alternative way especially when his chosen one meets an obstacle. He starts imagining and appreciating all the things that he had before but failed to value. He wishes he could turn back the clock. In spite of what philosophers tell about time being all illusion and McTaggart’s unreality of time argument, we cannot go to a time which we left.

At the end of the day, what are we left with? Unfilled shattered dream. We may not be able to control dream but at least, when we dream, the concept of time does not matter!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gory historic details or gore fest?

Razakar:  The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad  (Telegu, 2024) Director:  Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...
Post a Comment
Read more

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human... Gems of Gemini Ganesan L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari   and Dr Jaya Shreedhar.  ( Abs:  Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan) Seeing six of Ge...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chicken's Invite? (Ajak-ajak ayam)

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...
2 comments
Read more