Of Hope and Fear!

Hunger Games (Based on Novel Trilogy by Suzanne Collins) 
Film Series, 2012, 2013, 2014. 2015, 2023

There is a thin line between having hope and fear about things happening our way. To quote Baruch Spinoza, there is neither Hope without Fear nor Fear without Hope. This applies at an individual level when one wants to pull himself up with his bootstrap. He may tell himself not to fear the unknown but to hope for a better future.

Hope is not a bad thing when things look hopeless. To hope and not strive is foolhardy. That must be the reason why 'hope' was one of the reasons it was found to be one of the contents still lingering in the Pandora Box when it opened. Perhaps it was the lesser of the evils, as all others had escaped. 

To rule over a group of people, politicians create fear among their subjects. The goal is to create so much fear that the subjects will succumb to the pressures and submit to the demands of the oppressors. At the same time, to avert retaliation, the subject must be given a little hope—just a little, not much. Give a little rope at a time, just enough until it is long enough for them to hang themselves. The oppressors will then continue reigning over their subjects. Just a nice set-up. This must have been in Michiavelli's cookbook 'The Prince.'

'Hunger Games' is a trilogy of movies based on a novel about a dystopian future where a country named Panem is ruled by a cruel regime. Each district must send a representative to its annual non-holds-barred blood sports game. The winner kills all the other opponents for the sheer entertainment of the ruling class. While the rest of the country lives in abject poverty, there is lavishness and opulence in the Capitol.

As the film took to a cult-like following, the moviemakers decided to produce a prequel to the whole thing. The last offering is about how the evil President, Snow, came about to be the person he is. Starting as a poor citizen, he worked his way through rank and file as a soldier to seize the opportunity to survive and climb the ladder of opportunities. The question is, at which point does chasing the elusive dream filled with overtaking and suppressing others turn to evil?

(P.S. The interplay of hope and fear is the pathognomonic of Malaysian politics. On the one hand, the optimists have been seeing a glimmer of hope that things will improve and soon see his nation with its head held high. The politicians also see this. They frequently fan the fear of one group overpowering the other. They sell themselves as the saviours of the status quo. The leaders paint a dystopian future where the majority would be oppressed and homeless. The realists have no time for all these. They merely seek greener pastures.)

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When the hunted becomes the hunter!

Prey (2022)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg

When the film 'Predator' came out in 1987, it was a hit. It was the time of American jingoism. The free world believed that America was the only superpower around and only they could give the best solution to all of world problems. Rambo and his First Blood franchise did just that. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Muscleman from Austria, did not want to be left behind. After fighting baddies from all four corners of the world, it was only natural that our Mr. Universe try a hand at muscling down enemies from out of this world. 

When 'Predator', a sequel to 'Prey' in terms of story timeline, came out, it was a super duper hit. Shot in the lush forest of South America with cinematography completed with sense-around movie theatres, moviegoers thought that was the pinnacle of Hollywood's moviemaking.

The movie developed a cult following. Comic books were rolled out, bankrolling on its success. Board games and computer games ensued. After all possible clientele were exhausted, the natural course of action was collaborating with followers of the 1979 'Alien' franchise. Since the main characters of both 'Alien' and 'Predator' fought extra-terrestrial forces, it was only logical that fighting matches were fixed between these two alien forces. Numerous spinoffs were churned out subsequently.

Following the 1987 film, many sequels came out with not-so-creative titles. 'Predator 2' (1990), 'Alien vs Predator' (2004), 'Alien vs Predator 2' (2007), 'Predators' (2010) and 'The Predator' (2018). 

After exhausting all avenues of reaping profit from the 'Predator' franchise, the logical next action plan is to return to the basics. So they went to the beginning, pre-independent New World, in 1719, when the Comanche people roamed the land freely. The first Yautja, the villain, probably landed on Earth and started his hunting expedition. 

In keeping with the times, the cast and the storyline are kept politically acceptable to the people in Hollywood and the viewing crowd at large. The protagonist has to be a lady, of course, and from a minority group, a Native American. Comanche language is spoken liberally throughout most of the film. The whites are depicted as uncouth, uncultured and heartless carpetbaggers. 

Everyone is a hunter here. The Yautja hunts for sport. The Comanches hunt for survival to satisfy their basic needs of food and shelter. Over the generations, the Comanches have developed a symbiotic relationship with Nature. They hunt what is needed and maintain peace with their surroundings for generations. The French hunters depicted here are observed to be evil, hedonistic, self-serving people who turn violent because they can. They abuse Nature by hunting bison indiscriminately for monetary gains and torture the Comanche for the kick of it. 

In its visually pleasing display, we experience the hunted turning the table against the hunter in the thick of American wilderness at a time when being civilised meant staying in zen with Nature, not abusing and raping the environment for personal gains. The prey becomes the predator for survival. 

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Beware of deep fake videos!

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Carrie Fisher, who acted as Princess Leia since the beginning of the Star Wars since 1977, died on December 27th 2016. But thanks to computer-generated imagery (CGI), she is kept alive in the movies until her character gets a decent burial. She appears in almost half of this movie due to the unused footage from Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Imagine someone who had died two years previously still featured in a movie that demands continuity. As we see in this film also that there is a thin line between being alive and dying, especially if one is a Jedi Master. A departed soul can still perform ground shattering literally 'out-of-this-world' feats. One has to tune in to the correct frequency to receive the intended instructions on decision making. Do I sense a speck of Vedanta teaching here? 

This kind of make-believe is no longer confined to the celluloid industry and fantasy but has permeated into the mainstream. Cybertechnology has advanced so frighteningly fast that algorithms can digitally manipulate audio and visual inputs to create fake videos. These are called deep fake videos and have the potential to create disaster when conflicting information is inserted for nefarious intentions.  We have to be aware of this ability and be ready to differentiate what is real and what is not.

Now, coming to Star Wars Ep 9, it was not the fresh idea that came to change the world when the first episode (or rather Ep 4) hit the screens back in 1977. Since then, many have changed in advances in storytelling and film technology. Many copycat franchises have also emerged competing for a share in box office collection. 

It is the same good-over-evil message, but this time around, the storytellers are telling us that there is a thin line between living and dying, as mentioned earlier.

This YouTube video gives a complete rundown on the Star War saga.

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Privateer, not pirate!

Pirates of the Caribbean Series
The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
At World’s End (2007)
On Stranger Tides (2011)

The lure for control, power and money drove many shady characters to the 4 corners of the world. Of course, by this time, the time frame upon which this film is set, Man has already realised and accepted the Earth to be a sphere.

The brave Portuguese seamen paved the way to find sea routes to reach the East when the Islamic Empires controlled land routes. The early Portuguese seafarers had no plans to conquer land. All they wanted was to control ports and prosper via tax collection.

The brutal Spanish sailors tried to outdo their Iberian Lusophone neighbours by finding an alternative sea route to the East. What they discovered instead were Indians who were ‘red-skinned’ and mountains of precious metals. The hospitality of their hosts was returned with barrage of artillery and small pox. Pretty soon, scores of ships were plying the Atlantic Ocean with pillage of Aztec gold other precious metals. 

Not to be outdone, the new kids of block, the British, got their royal seal to rob the Spanish of their spoils. Many pirates, who by now became known as privateers, became legitimate representatives of the King of England to officially rob of any ship not flying the Union Jack. This business drew men who had a brush with law, with disreputable morals and diseases to join the fracas.

This, combined with the mysterious myths of the seas, like the ‘Legend of the Flying Dutchman’, the Bermuda triangle, mermaids and the elusive Fountain of Youth are the basis of this high grossing franchise. Flushed with the marvel of modern cinematography, exotic locales, either a gay-like mannerism or drunken gait of Johnny Depp with witty double meaning scripts, it is an interesting watch.

It tells of a time of man's civilisation when babary ruled, marauding was legitimate and the sword was mightier than any pen. History was written in blood. 

Some memorable lines were...

“If the world is so cruel, what makes you think that after-life would be any different” Davy Jones.

“It is not much of the destination, it is the journey, you see”

Agreeing to a  suggestion by a preacher on an idea, Jack Sparrow says, “I rather go with the missionary position!”

Pass shelf-life!

Spectre (2015)

With all the hype that preceded the launch of latest of the James Bond's franchise release, it was only natural that we were all riled up to be one of the early viewers of this offering.

It started with the usual 'edge of the seat' suspense befitting of a Cold War hero who is out to save the world from despotic domination with a licence to kill! The build-up before a spontaneous collapse of building and rogue rudderless helicopter created the atmosphere for more suspense. The filming technique of a street parade in Mexico to honour the dead was quite interesting as the camera appear seamlessly be lifted off the ground and down as if the camera was mounted on a drone!

The buck stops there! After the credits rolled in, it was the same old swashbuckling display of pyrotechnics. My head grew heavy and eyes grew dim. Trying my level best to keep my eyelids open was a Herculean task. In between the eye-shut, twilight and occasional eye-opening, all I saw was frequent screenshots of the hero running hand-in-hand with a beau in distress against a backdrop of fiery hot explosive gun powder. It was interlaced with an unbelievable duel between our pint-sized saviour of the capitalistic world and the mean lean killing giants where Bond comes out unscathed, unshaken and unstirred. He even vaporises the megalomaniac's henchmen like mozzies with his single machine gun against more sophisticated arsenal at their disposal. And the ladies who drop their drapes at the drop of his bow-tie!

I think that the Bond franchise had over-lived its shelf-life. With so many new movies with so many innovative and imaginative plots, the idea of a lone man saving the whole of the civilised world seems laughable. 24th outing should be the end of an era.