The unreal Reality TV!

https://www.reddit.com/r/LGBTindia/comments/1mgqjr8/l
esbian_couple_in_bigg_boss_malayalam_7/

Everyone's actions and inactions are being scrutinised with a fine-toothed comb. Their activities may become a yardstick by which their downline can measure themselves. People are always on the lookout for gossip as well as something new to try out, no matter how outlandish or impractical it is. In other words, monkey see and monkey do, bypassing the higher centres altogether. It is referred to as fashion or high culture, depending on the context.

Fashion and culture are constantly shifting. What is considered the latest avant-garde idea today could be outdated in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow's runways in Milan and Paris will feature fashions that your grandmother wore in the 1970s. 

The media plays a vital role in determining what is in and what is out. What magazines and newspapers used to popularise in the 20th century is now done by TV and social media. People perform outlandishly silly and dangerous things just for the fleeting moment in the limelight. 

It started with putting the camera in front of people to see how they would react in a potentially embarrassing moment. The final outcome turned out hilarious. Everyone had a good laugh. The antics seen on "Smile! You are on Candid Camera" remain iconic to this day.

Then somebody thought, "Why not put the camera in front of the faces 24/7 and see how they react!" Thus was born the concept of reality TV, as seen in shows like Big Brother and Survivor. People became accustomed to living their day-to-day lives under scrutiny. Slowly, their real, hidden, ugly sides began to show. When elimination of contenders remained the mainstay of the game, the contestants had to dig deep to make a pact with the devil to bring down the other.

Maybe because it is actually voyeurism—a trait scorned in decent societies—reality TV provides a legitimate avenue to peep into people's private lives and vote them in or out. If voyuerism is an accepted behaviour, surely bad-mouthing, foul language and evil intent are alright, as that is what happens in real life. They must call it reality TV for a reason. So that kind of behaviour is the norm, then bitching and cuzzing must surely be. 

What people fail to realise is that, even though it is called reality TV, the whole thing is, in reality, scathingly scripted to boost viewership. The producers will continue to push the boundaries of obscenity and impolite social etiquette just to earn money. People, being spineless, will use them as the yardstick for what it means to be current, just as the Kardashians set the standards for how family dynamics should be.

Recently, on Big Boss Season #7 Kerala Edition, the participation of an openly lesbian couple, Adhila Nasarin and Fathima Noora, created a lot of discussions amongst the conservative section of society. Whilst the younger generation feels everyone has the right to live life as they wish, and moments like this were profoundly affirming, others think shows like these try to normalise LGBTQ culture. By the way, after years of struggle, the couple obtained a landmark injunction from the Kerala Courts in 2022, affirming their rights as consenting adults to live together.

Broadly speaking, Donald J Trump is actually the product of one such reality TV show and is currently living in an illusion of an episode of his 'The Apprentice'. He makes sudden, unprovoked, random statements, then retracts his statements. Then one of his sycophants would sing his praises and suggest something outlandish, like nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, to get everyone talking. Like in these shows, where viewership and rating are everything (to draw advertisers), he is perpetually in the headlines all the time to boost his own rating. This is complemented by the constant blowing of his own horn. It is out of tune, but who is going to tell?

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Carpe diem!

Four Years Later (2024, Mini series S1, Ep1-8)
Australian-Indian Romance Drama

imdb.com/title/tt31632538/

We are given one life and are expected to make the best out of it. Sometimes, one gets one chance; sometimes, one gets a 'get-out-of-jail' free card. We can seize the opportunity to mould ourselves into better versions or just brood about it. We can blame everyone else for the lost opportunity or give it another go. At the same time, we need to take advice from people who have traversed a similar path. We do not want to leave a trail of enemies behind us. Neither do we want to leave behind a stream of people who believed in us with shattered dreams. Nevertheless, their advice may be archaic, and on top of that, it is our dream too.

This is the story of the son of every middle-class Indian family, yours truly included. The parents would work hard, instil discipline and build an impossible dream via education. They would drum into the kids all their life problems once the coveted degree is attained. The children will soon realise that they have been sold a fake narrative. Nothing changes.

A communist would blame all the problems we encounter in our lives on someone else. He would blame it on societal pressures, patriarchy, and capitalism. He would adopt a victim mentality and vehemently refuse to accept any blame for these issues. In reality, our lives are in our hands. We write our destiny. We reap what we sow.

This is an enjoyable miniseries, written, produced, and directed by second-generation immigrants of the Indian diaspora, that tells the story of an Indian doctor from Jaipur who hopes to pass his anaesthetic examinations in Australia. What makes this production interesting is the storytelling, the nuanced characters, and the depth with which the characters and their emotions are explored.  

In the typical Indian fashion, the doctor is match-made and is married off. Soon after the wedding, his application to join his job in Australia comes through. The patriarchal leader of the family decrees that he should leave for Australia alone, as bringing his newlywed wife would be a distraction. This sets the stage for the problem that would drive the miniseries to eight episodes. Our hero starts a fling with a fellow immigrant who works on the hospital cleaning team. The series begins with the newlywed wife making a sudden trip to Australia, unsanctioned by her in-laws.

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The end justifies the means?

Penguin

Miniseries (8 episodes)

Even though it was supposed to be shot in Gotham City, we do not see a single shot of Batman or any resemblance to his existence in this miniseries. After all, it is a spin-off from Batman 2022. It tells how Penguin turns to become a wealthy mobster that he is. It also serves as a cooling period before the first sequel to the trilogy comes out in 2027. This miniseries helps to maintain the DC Comic fans' interests before the dark-caped one makes his presence again. 

The series explores Penguin, aka Oswald Cobb, 's rise to power. Often ridiculed for his physical handicap, Mama's boy decides to fight his tormentors through his devious, twisted mind and planned outbursts. From a disfigured run-around nobody, he becomes a feared gangster. Along the way, he picks up a faithful, quick-thinking sidekick. His nemesis is a lady from a gangster family who Oz killed and pocketed his new designer drug.

At the end of the day, when one is well-heeled, nobody is bothered by how one acquires wealth. He simply slides into high society. Money sanitises everything. Evidence can be manufactured, security can be bought, and one can obtain the best justice money can buy. The end determines the outcome, not the means to reach it. 

Colin Farrell delivers an incredible performance as The Penguin. His prosthetics, receding hairline, and distinctive tilt in his walk make him virtually unrecognisable. 

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When stock pundit be held responsible!

Money Monster (2016)

Director: Jody Foster

That it is. There is no shortcut to making that first million. First, one must realise that one's journey to the land of gold and honey may meet impassable obstacles and not reach the intended destination. Or, he may be skewed away from the path and end up in a ditch. Or, he may be swallowed by a beast (or troll under the bridge, if you still believe in fairy tales!)

Wealth is finite. It is a zero-sum game. For one to make a million, somebody else must lose a million. The way advertisers do their thing, prospectors buy the idea that no one is a loser. They entice you into the gravy train, which never runs short of curry!

With the advent of complex algorithms, the unholy union of data scientists and conniving dupe masters never had it better. Speaking in incomprehensible jargon that they do not understand, they create a smokescreen that can cleverly hide their true malfeasances. Their spick appearances and polished social etiquettes belie their demonic intentions beneath their mask.

Even nations are getting involved in this debacle. When fiat money is churned out indiscriminately, even small Governments with altruistic intentions gamble on their children's future when their investments appear robust and are backed by the greenback. 

Have you noticed how financial experts have such short life spans on the airwaves? Like swallows before the summer, they appear in droves when the stock market is doing well. They yak and yak like they have perfected the art of making money out of the market. It is as if they are there for everyone's picking. Overnight, they will be uncontactable when things go south; swallow fly south. This must be why their actions are termed 'flight by night' activity. And the market will swallow everything in one big lump. 

What happens to all those sycophants who promote and sing praises of the moneymaking product as if it is the best thing to happen to mankind since sliced bread? Are these mere messengers? We do not kill the messengers. Or can they be held accountable for what comes out of their mouths? 

These are the questions that go through the mind of the compère and controller of a popular money programme named 'Money Monster' when a disgruntled investor holds the host at gunpoint and straps a bomb vest over him. The investor had lost his inheritance in stocks after taking the programme's advice, hence the frustration. 

As expected, life on the silver screen is more black or white. By the film's end, the cause of the stock prices' fall is pinpointed to fraud by its owner, and instant justice befalls the wrongdoer.

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Wealth bequeath power for generations to come!

Fool Me Once (Miniseries, S01 E01-08; 2023)

The thing that piqued my interest is the apparent class difference that happens in the UK. It is common knowledge that European societies were separated based on their professions. Pretty soon, the professions were imprinted on their surnames. Weavers became Webbers and Webster, clerks to Clarke, shoemakers to Schumachers, scholars to Scully, tillers to Tyler, and the various Smiths and Taylors.

Specific surnames denoted aristocracy and privileged them to move around the royal family and stand a chance to pick a bone strewn by the monarch. Hanging around with the right crowd ensured prosperity and opportunities to venture out to exotic lands and further fatten the family coffers.

Talking about making an overseas trip and coming back rich, besides the Pirates of the Caribbean, we have, from the East, Robert Clive. Robert Clive owes much of his existence to India, and he had appropriated the word India into his name. Clive of India had amassed so much from political wrangling and military conniving. He started employment in the East India Company as an office clerk and, through his expert manoeuvring, overthrew one of the wealthiest rulers in India to bring home £25miilion in today's money. His status was raised to a Baron for his efforts in bringing in foreign exchange. His family was set for generations to come.

When the imperialist powers moved their mercantile prowess to the East, they tried to pigeonhole their subjects into similar divisions. They found this kind of 'divide and rule' helpful as it also created animosity amongst its subjects. The imperialists laughed all the way to their ship and their motherlands. Years later, from their lootings, they emerged as first-world nations, smelling of roses. Their subjects, even generations later, stay stinking as basket cases. They not only still had to look up to their former colonial masters but also be dependent on them for items of precise engineering.

That was what went through my mind when I viewed this miniseries. It is set in an obscenely colossal manor in the UK as the family comes to terms with the brutal murder of one of its sons. Things take a turn when a nannycam picks up the deceased on camera playing with his daughter.

Pandora's box opens many family secrets, under-table dealings, family dirty linen and shady family businesses involving Big Pharma and poor third-world nations.

Expect a Sivaji's 1964' Puthiya Paravai' kind of ending in this one!

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The truth will set you free?

Dead to Me (S1-S3, E1-10; 2019-22)
TV Series

The fallen will often be pacified with the conviction that truth will eventually prevail. If someone is accused of something he did not do, he will find solace in telling himself that the truth will set him free. Everybody thinks the Universe will take its own sweet time, but justice will meted out in the end. 

Everyone is told to look at the bigger picture and concentrate on winning the war, not merely the tiny battles. At least, this is what the lawyer will advise his client. The truth will not come out breaking through the walls with a flying cape to save the day. It has to be fought with tooth and nail. Court cases are won by shrewd legalese minds with all the money they can continue paying. The promise of justice at the higher courts is shrouded by the need for more retention fees.

Therefore, I have come to think I will follow the wise words of the not-so-wise Malaysian parliamentarian who went on Hansard saying, "It is not wrong to take a bribe; it is only wrong when you get caught!" One has to look in all directions, cover the bases, dot his 'i's and cross his 't's as and when he is caught in a potentially incriminating situation or even commit a crime himself. Even if he does not get away scot-free, his defence team can at least create an element of doubt in the prosecutor's arguments. 

The law is such a pain that it favours those in power. Even God cannot save his priest, as witnessed by the numerous pending court cases. The only thing that is keeping them away from being cooped behind bars is not God's grace but good old-fashioned moolah that gets them good legal representations!

This dark comedy starts with a mother of two, Jen, a realtor, mourning over the death of her husband. He was hit by a speeding car at 2 o'clock in the morning. Jen attends a support group where she befriends Judy. Unbeknownst to Jen, Judy was the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle. Judy, remorseful of her act, tries to make amends with Jen. Meanwhile, Judy herself is moaning over her five previous miscarriages and her imminent divorce. 

Things become complicated as police investigations hit an impasse. The plot thickens as Jen finds out his loving husband had an affair. Judy discovers that her husband is involved with the Greek mafia. Meanwhile, an argument with Steve ends with Jen killing him and hiding his body in her freezer. The story becomes increasingly complicated with Jen covering her crime, Judy concealing her accident, and both developing an unbreakable bond. Only on the TV/silver screen, a morbid subject like death and murder can be turned into entertainment. And a perfect crime is actually possible.

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Love thy neighbour, they say!

Fauda (Chaos, Hebrew/Arab; 2015-2019)
(Miniseries S1-3)

Is it not ironic that the Western nations want to police the whole world but failed miserably at finding peace at the heart of the Judeo-Christian stronghold. It seems that the brothers of the Book perform poorly when it comes to showing brotherly love. Also funny that a place that four great religions of the world look up to as their holy land cannot be protected by their Protector. A land hardly larger than 30,000 square kilometres, but this piece of land had not seen peace since time immemorial. 

The feud has lasted so long that nobody can remember who drew first blood. Both parties, the Palestinians and the Israelis, claim legitimate historical rights on that piece of land. Looks like all that talk of the religion of peace, the religion of love and the religion of compassion is mere rhetoric. The reference to 'brotherhood' is only offered to the brethren of the same faith, not of the whole of mankind.

I am sure God must be in a quandary. It is like the old Indian saying or maybe an old movie dialogue. It is akin to asking a mother which child she wants to support; she would say, "you are asking me whether I love my right eye more than the left eye. I love them both." Probably that is why there are no permanent solutions here. Let both brothers fight it out till both exhausts each other. The trouble is that their course has sympathisers from people elsewhere. Everybody else is drawn into the bottomless wormhole. 

This miniseries shows, from an Israeli viewpoint, is about a group from an Israeli counter-terrorism unit in the Israeli Defence Force. They are often referred to as Mista'arvim, meaning living amongst Arabs. They speak Arabic and assimilate into the local population to collect intelligence on the latest Palestinian terrorist activities. In the series, we find a power struggle between the Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas and the newbie around town, ISIS. It looks like PA wants to maintain law and order, but everyone else has their idea of which brand of Islam should prevail on their land. They want more possession of land, which they assert was theirs anyway, to start with. To die for such a course is divine; they have been indoctrinated and have the rest of Palestine (and the world) follow suit.

This is, of course, the Israeli perspective of things. The Palestinians should rebut with their own version of the ground situation, but then, there will be confusion on which version is acceptable. Each faction of society would insist theirs is correct and proclaim their claim is a pursuit worth dying for.

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Work life balance?

Severance (Miniseries, S1, E1-9, 2022)

Director: Ben Stiller, Aoife McArdle

Apple TV

First, we were told that our vocation determines us; staying true to fulfilling the goals of our job is equivalent to being close to Divinity. But just see what it let us to - a social classification system that essentially pigeon-holes one's future by birth. Karl Marx then asserted that life is more than mere monetising one's labour. Man has to find balance in maximising time spent on Earth by indulging in things that excite him, maybe hunting, art, music, etcetera. And that led to Lenin extrapolating it to stir the working class to rise against their enslavers.

Now we are told that we should find a life-work balance. We should not bring home the stresses of our workplace home and vice-versa. We cannot let our personal dilemmas affect our work performances as well. So what better way to severe these two intertwinings? 

This is the premise of this miniseries. Workers of an unspecified company doing seemingly so much yet nothing agree to undergo this dissociative procedure. A small device is implanted in the brain, which gives no memory of their outside life once they enter the office. Essentially, they lead two individual lives, oblivious of their two lives.

Soon the workers realise that there is more than meets the eye. The latest recruit wants to resign, but she is told resignation is not an option. Pretty soon, the workers discover a way to find their outside life. This leads to many events with a nail-biting cliffhanger at season end. The miniseries is far from over and has built a cult following. Season 2 is in the pipeline as internet sleuths try to identify the Easter Egg cues that may explain the whole meaning behind the story.

On the side, the viewers also sense that the tale also takes a swipe at the modern environment and etiquette of the typical modern workplace. There are plenty of unproductive actions in the name of work, and there is a tendency to self-aggrandise one's frivolous 'success'. This 'success' motivates workers to continue their pursuit to lick the boots of higher management and the imaginative figures of 'Big Bosses'. Non-conformers are labelled troublemakers, and their career paths can be far from smooth.

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