No one would harm a penguin, except Batman!

My fascination with penguins started long ago during the transitional period when colour TV was slowly being introduced. There was a time, as a teenager, when the greatest excitement around the neighbourhood was knowing which home had a colour TV. Looking across the flat facing mine, I could guess which units had the latest device, which was the talk of the time, which was the flickering flash of hues emanating from each unit. Maybe its occupants purposely watch TV with the lights off to show the world they have indeed arrived!

I was once watching someone's TV during an ongoing show. I had a hard time deciding whether his TV was monochrome or colour. It was a long-shot scene from Antarctica, with a lone penguin walking against a pristine white snow background. That is when I realised that a penguin can fit into any world without creating a fuss. It also struck me that a penguin can be an unassuming animal, just minding its own business, walking, flipping its flippers and squawking all day.

I later discovered that my sisters, who were both in Convent School, had a name for the nun school caretakers: penguins. Dressed in long black robes, with their hands tucked behind their backs, they would suddenly appear at the back of the class unannounced. Against the bright light in the background, they would appear like penguins when students turned to find the nun at the back of the class.

The reference to penguins came again in the late 80s when I was in university. The Iranian Revolution had succeeded, and sympathisers were hopeful of a return to the glory days of the Ottoman Empire. Islamic dressing was the flavour of the day, and pretty soon people were moving around in black garb, complete with black facial veils and gloves. There were even five medical students at the university who had such fashion sense. These 'penguins', as they were referred to by fellow culture-shocked students, were politely told to pursue other academic fields which avoided public interactions.

Embrace the penguin
Times of India

After MH370's disappearance, the South Seas were mentioned as a possible area where the wreckage could be found. I started watching documentaries about these seas and the lands surrounding them, which are described as the harshest places on Earth. Penguins came up yet again. The story of their survival, chicks waiting in winter for their parents to bring food, grow, mate, lay eggs, partners taking turns incubating, all within a short window of opportunity and under the prancing eyes of the predators is just amazing.

Recently, I watched an episode of Season 5 of 'Slow Horses'. Penguins came up again. A group of terrorists sent a warning to the police that they meant business. They detonated a bomb in, of all places, the zoo. The casualty, penguins. One of the investigators cursed, "Who the heck hates penguins?" Another replied, "Batman!"

Almost serendipitously, a certain world leader expressed his intention to control Greenland, which was thought to be a giant icy wasteland all this time. Newspapers tried to showcase the case to the world, complemented by a picture of Trump walking towards an icy oblivion, leading a penguin by its flipper.

Instead of creating awareness of the heady direction US foreign policy was heading, the picture soon became the showpiece of how PR companies could go wrong. Netizens were quick to educate Trump's PR team that penguins do not live anywhere near the Arctic Circle, definitely not in Greenland.

Antarctica - Encounters at the End of the World
The Nihilistic Penguin

Netizens also noted that the penguin picture bore a strong resemblance to the one that appeared in the 2007 documentary 'Encounters at the End of the World' by Werner Herzog. The documentary maker noted that, rather than following the herd, which tends to stay by the sea where its food is, that particular penguin decided to venture away from the pack. At a glance, it appeared the penguin was certainly on its way to meet its maker, which is probably what happened. No matter what the modern management guru may say about taking the path least travelled, what lay ahead of the animal was miles and miles of ice, and more ice. That earned the penguin a quirky nickname, 'nihilistic penguin'. The scientists in the show explained that occasionally one or two penguins stray away from the pack. A possible reason for this behaviour could be spatial disorientation or a brain infection. Scientists, amongst themselves, have an agreed code. Whenever they observe any behaviour in animals that would endanger themselves, they generally do not intervene. They let nature take its course. 

So, the image of Trump leading the penguin spells doom and gloom for both Greenland and the USA. Would anyone interfere, or would everyone just let nature take its course?

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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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