The watershed moment!

Beatles '64 (Documentary, 2024)
Director: David Tedeschi.

I suppose the world will never have enough of the Fab Four. In 1995, when Apple Corps released the Beatles Anthology 1, the world went wild. It was marketed as a collection of long-lost recordings yet to be released. The band had not put out an album since their breakup in 1970 and had not performed together since the 'Let It Be' rooftop concert, so the audience was eager for some classic tunes.

The first anthology was undeniably nostalgic. It featured the Beatles' unfinished track, 'Free as a Bird.' By then, two of the four members had passed away, and their voices were electronically blended. The result was a spark in the eyes of every Beatles fan. The music video showcased numerous old black-and-white photographs from their time in Liverpool as young lads. The other songs were reworks of their earlier hits, showcasing their playful moments in the studio and experiments with alternative tempos and arrangements for their music.

In this way, two more anthologies followed shortly after. By then, the frenzy had subsided. Occasionally, there would be one or two feature films centred around Beatlemania. That was all until Martin Scorsese embarked on a project to release some footage from their archives of the recordings made during the Beatles' remarkable first trip to the USA. People realised that they could never get enough of the Beatles.

Mass hysteria?
https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-elderly-perceive-
The-Beatles-in-the-60s

America was in mourning after JFK's assassination in November 1963. The music industry was already poised to encourage the public to move on. In a calculated move, it planned a transcontinental cultural exchange to bring the British music sensation, the Beatles, to perform in the USA. To this end, the album 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' was released, with hopes that their visit to the US would introduce and boost sales there. Previously, British performers had not fared well in America. 

Unexpectedly, 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' hit the Top 10 in December 1963. So, when the Beatles arrived in New York in February 1964, the US witnessed an unprecedented phenomenon of adolescent girls screaming their lungs out for no apparent reason. The girls featured in the 1964 footage were interviewed in this documentary, yet none could explain why they were screaming at the time. Such is the power of the human mind. Monkey see, monkey do.

Ali is the greatest!
Bettmann Archive

The older section of society could not grasp what all the fuss was about. Still reeling from the loss of their beloved President, they only saw four young chaps with peculiar haircuts and fashionable suits. They thought they were merely a fleeting trend accompanied by loud music. Nevertheless, they were indifferent. In America, they had Elvis Presley with his sensuous gyrating moves and lyrics rich with sexual innuendos, female singers lamenting their romantic tribulations, and the Beach Boys serenading with their ever-popular surfing songs. The Beatles seemed harmless enough.

The Beatles soon graced three Ed Sullivan shows, including concerts in Washington, D.C., and Florida. They even paid a visit to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) as he prepared to face Sonny Liston.

The Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show marked a pivotal moment. It signalled the beginning of the British Invasion in music.

(P.S. Ringo is named Ringo because he wore various rings and frequently changed them. His given name is Richard Starkey.)

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Syukur, our schools have no random shootings!

Tiger Stripes (2023)
Written and Directed by Amanda Nell Eu

This movie reminds me of P Ramlee's not-so-famous film, 'Sitora Harimau Jadian'. Sitora was 1964 Malaya's answer to the European folklore of werewolves. Instead of werewolves, he created a story about a were-tiger. Made in black and white with a limited budget for the make-up department, it failed both in awe and in its gore aspects.

'Tiger Stripes', on the other hand, is not much of a scary movie. It is more of a social commentary. It highlights bullying in schools, the confusing hormones-laden pubertal era, the uninspiring methods of teaching, and maybe many more.

International viewers will wonder why girls in that all-girls school suddenly go haywire, shrieking and falling down simultaneously with jerky hand and body movements like a person possessed. Yes, the film also showcases the problem of mass hysteria, a peculiar phenomenon that is seen in many all-female Malaysian schools and hostels.

Another glaring thing shown here is the dismal standard of English taught in Malaysian schools. Imagine 13-year-olds still struggling with grammar and tenses. That is not fiction, but very much a common site in many schools in the interior parts of the country and also in the poorer section of towns. My sister, who used to mark public examination papers, would be testimony to this. She could not believe what was written (or not written) on exam papers.

My beloved secondary school headmaster used to advocate that 'academic excellence is no substitute to poverty of character'. It may be true when academic achievements are par excellence. One can explore other avenues to mould a holistic student who can withstand the challenges of adult life. Here, what I see is another wrapped hollow package. The country values the presentation, not its content, quantity not quality, and racial aspirations, not national development.

Mass hysteria is a poorly understood collective psychogenic illness. It is not even listed in the DSM, the manual of all psychiatric and psychological ailments. South East Asia is labelled as the world capital for this illness. Many medical experts failed to identify a single cause for this condition. Stress has been suggested as the prominent cause. Most of the time, faith healers are called in, as is seen in this movie, with comical outcomes. In 2015, a local university in the state of Pahang came out with an anti-hysteria kit that was sold at a whopping RM 8,750. This kit, created after years of research, could allegedly ward off evil spirits. For that sum, the kit came with just chopsticks, salt, lime, vinegar, pepper spray and formic acid.

(P.S. Syukur (thank God), our schools have no random shootings!)

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