In search of the Garden of Eden...

Eden (2024)
Director: Ron Howard

https://www.imdb.com/it/title/tt23149780/

This is another philosophical film. This time, it explores the formula for living life. Is it through inquiry, probing, and teasing out the best way to live based on collective thoughts, or by accepting that life is hard and meeting the challenges it throws at us? Or do we simply not care, embracing hedonism, indulging the senses, and enjoying as if there is no tomorrow? We have the choice of living like Plato, Sisyphus, or letting Dionysus be our guiding light.

While watching, I drew a parallel to 1966 Kollywood's 'Saraswathi Sabatham,' where the celestial troublemaker Narada incited the three goddesses of the Hindu pantheon—Parvathi, Lakshmi, and Saraswati—to quarrel among themselves. These three goddesses are said to govern courage, wealth, and knowledge, respectively. A turmoil ensued, with each goddess conferring her virtues onto subjects on Earth and testing them. Ultimately, it was concluded that no one virtue is more important than the others; man needs knowledge, wealth, and courage in equal measure to succeed.

Set between the two World Wars, the story begins with a disillusioned German civil servant, Heinz Wittmer, who arrives at the Galapagos Islands to start anew with his docile wife and their sickly son. Dr Frederick Ritter, another disillusioned soul dissatisfied with worldly pursuits, had previously settled there. He was a well-known figure in Germany through his writings and life experiences. Having abandoned his practice and modernity, he lives with his wife on the island, surviving through planting and hunting, with few necessities. Ritter and his wife are not pleased with the new arrival, fearing that soon the island will mirror the modern world they had left behind. They even suggested the most inhospitable place for them, hoping they would simply give up and return whence they came. Surprisingly, they persevere and survive through sheer hard work. 

Meanwhile, the island receives another unwanted guest. Baroness, a suspicious character with two lovers and a questionable past, arrives. She aims to construct a luxury hotel. She brings trouble along with her.

All three teams end up attempting to sabotage each other's efforts to reach their respective goals. Each believed their intentions were noble and justified, confident they would attain their ideal society. Yet, they failed to see the evil lurking within every individual. Ultimately, ego, greed, hubris, and the desire for power undermine their purported utopia. 

The Wittmer family of Floreana
https://happygringo.com/blog/the-galapagos-affair/

The question now to be answered is this: are humans so feeble-minded and weak that they need an objective code on how to live, or can they, through repeated trials and errors, find a common way to share their space here on Earth? Can utopia ever become reality? Will they ever find their Garden of Eden, or will they mess that up, too? Every utopian project carries the recurring risk of doom due to human frailties, stemming from the dormant reptilian mind that is waiting to be triggered by our primitive needs. 

No one mantra works all the time. One has to take a step back, reassess their progress and make amends. Sometimes these corrections may question the foundation of one's belief. For example, when his crops are invaded by wild boar and he is hungry, Dr Ritter, a self-proclaimed lifelong vegetarian, decides to barbecue a bull's head. 

(P.S. This is based on the real-life experiences of the Wittmer family, one of the pioneer white settlers of Floreana Island of Galapagos.)

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Nothing happened in Stockholm?

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/old-town-in-
stockholm-sweden-gm523395133-51237318

Stockholm Syndrome never really happened, at least not how they described it to us. A little background here... Back in 1973, in Stockholm, a convict on parole, Jan Erik Olsson, attempted to rob a bank with a gun. He took four bank employees as hostages. He held the hostages for six days in the bank vault, demanding that the police release his friend, a celebrity criminal, Clark Olofson, from behind bars, some money and free passage. The police did not budge, but they managed to smoke them out by drilling a hole through the vault and infusing noxious gas inside. The puzzling thing throughout the whole fiasco was that the hostages were said to have sided with the assailant. They viewed the police as the bad guys and did not take the opportunity to escape when the police purposely laid the plan for them. It is said that the hostages later crowdsourced funds for the robber's trial. 

It was later revealed that all these were fabricated. There was even a rumour that one of the hostages was engaged to her captor. The most apparent thing was that none of the media people interviewed the hostages to get a first-hand account of what transpired in the bank. Unverified rumours started flying. Soon, the understanding was that the hostages were brainwashed. In Sweden, pretty soon, the act of hostages building psychological bonds with their kidnappers was labelled Norrmalmstorgssyndromet,  after Norrmalmstorg Square, where the attempted robbery took place.

Outside, this phenomenon was recognised as Stockholm Syndrome. Policemen at academies were taught to take note of this when handling a hostage situation. Hostages cannot be relied upon to cooperate with the police but could paradoxically work with the bandits.

To be fair, Stockholm Syndrome is not classified as a mental disorder in the DSM-5. The FBI's extensive research into numerous kidnappings indicates that only 5% of victims develop some kind of psychological bond with their captors. Additionally, 3% of the general population hates the police, anyway.

The interest in this phenomenon was piqued once again a year later, in 1974, when Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of a famous publisher, was kidnapped by an urban guerrilla group, the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was later caught robbing a bank with the group. She was imprisoned for seven years, only to be pardoned and freed by Bill Clinton.

It gets more complicated after this. Quite the opposite of what is described in Stockholm Syndrome, sometimes the kidnappers grow a soft spot for their victims. In 1996, thousands of party attendees at the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru, were abducted. It is said that the friendly rapport with the kidnappers helped the earlier release of hostages. Anyway, the invited guests were probably high-level diplomats who were well-versed in negotiation skills. The scenario where the perpetrators build a positive bond with their victims is called 'Lima Syndrome'.
 

Kristin Enmark
"I did what I could do to survive!"
https://varldenshistoria.se/kriminalitet/stockholmssyndromet
-gisslan-skyddade-svenska-brottslingar

Contrary to what developed in Stockholm and Lima, hostages sometimes invoke their kidnappers' aversion. In 1980, the Iranian Embassy was seized with 26 captives by terrorists. The hostages were argumentative, loud, and trying to escape. The terrorist quickly shot the loudest one of the lot and threw him out of the Embassy to emphasise his demands with no qualms. This is London Syndrome. The bad behaviour of the victim sparks a negative response.

In one podcast, Radiolab, finally, eight years ago, someone interviewed one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, involved in the Stockholm bank robbery, to find out what was really happening then. Kristin volunteered to be a hostage after overhearing her co-worker speaking on the phone emotionally to her husband about her children's logistics arrangements, as she would be stuck in the crisis.

It is difficult for a third person to predict how a victim would react in a stressful situation. We fail to see why a person repeatedly finds himself trapped in an abusive relationship. We wonder for how long a battered wife gets stuck with her abusive husband. There must be more than meets the eye. The logical thing for a person on the outside is to get out. It is not so easily done.

https://ivno.over-blog.com/2023/03/les-illusions-le-syndrome-de-stockholm.html

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A rescue mission that almost never happened!

Manjummel Boys (Malayalam/ Tamil; 2024)

Director: Chidambaram

I was intrigued by this movie after reading two articles. The first detailed a legal dispute between Ilaiyaraaja's side and the producer. The dispute arose when the producer used Ilaiyaraaja's song composition as a background without obtaining permission. This incident added an exciting layer to the movie's production. The second article discussed the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary's directive to the Kodaikanal Police to investigate police brutality against complainants, which also played a role in the movie's plot.

This is a gripping tale of a rescue mission that took place in 2006. A group of young men from Majummel, Kochi, embarked on a trip to Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, a popular tourist destination. While exploring, the men made a fateful decision to venture into a restricted area. Tragically, one of them fell into a seemingly bottomless pit. The story unfolds as the remaining men, faced with a group of apathetic officials who had essentially given up on their friend, embark on a daring mission to rescue him. 

This survival thriller is based on actual events. The cave the young men entered has a long and checked history. It was first described in 1821 by a British officer who christened it 'Devil Kitchen'. It caught people's attention when it was featured in 1991 Kamalhaasan's hit movie, 'Guna'. Since Guna, a mental patient in the film, used this cave as his hideout, it came to be referred to as 'Guna's Cave'. A catchy song from the movie, 'Kanmani Anbodan,' is used liberally in this movie and has become a bone of contention with Illayaraaja's camp.

As many as 16 victims have plunged into the pit in Guna's Cave, but none have been rescued. Even a Central Minister's relative had fallen into this hole. All the available resources could not rescue or not so much excavate his remains.

Roots of Guna Caves ©Shutterstock 

So, when the Majummel Boys ran to the Kodaikanal Police for help, the police were not too enthusiastic in carrying out rescue missions, looking at the cave's track record. In fact, they were beaten up, accusing them of trying to cover up a murder. The fire and forest departments were not helpful either. No officials dared to go in hoisted on ropes with so many urban legends floating around. Long story short, the boys and the local people hawked on the police and rescue teams. One of the Manjummel Boys, Kuttan (Suji David), volunteered to go in. After many tense moments, the victim (Subhash) was found alive and rescued. Kuttan went on to receive a State award for bravery. Subhash remains the only person rescued after plunging into the hole in Guna Caves.

This movie is a visual treat, with stunning cinematography that captures the beauty and danger of the cave. The camera work effectively conveys the tension and fear experienced by the characters, adding to the overall suspense of the film.

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google.com, pub-8936739298367050, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

The Survival Story

Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve, Spanish; 2023)

Director: J.A. Bayona

We have discussed this movie before. Check here.

This is yet another version depicting one of the greatest human stories about survival. On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 flew over the Andes from Uruguay to Chile. It was carrying 45 passengers on board, mostly Uruguayan rugby players. It crashed into the most inaccessible part of the mountain. Presumed to be dead by the authorities after failing to find them in their search-and-rescue, the 29 initial survivors were left to fend for themselves.

A few died due to their injury, and some in an avalanche that ensued. Exposed to the element and having no food to eat, they had to use the last of their survival skills, teamwork, and spiritual faith to hang on to their dear lives. When food became non-existent, somebody suggested that they eat the remains of the dead.

Initially, the passengers thought a rescue mission would ensue. After seeing planes just fly off and hearing on the radio sourced from the crashed plane that search-and-rescue missions had been called off, they became desperate. Caring for the injured, keeping themselves warm, getting food, and getting help were their immediate priorities.

The philosophical question of survival cannibalism played again and again amongst the survivors. On one hand, the thought of eating human flesh was repulsive. On the other hand, they were not killing another to eat them. They were merely consuming the cadaver, which will be consumed by creepy crawlies and bugs anyway. To put it to good use, like preserving the biggest asset to mankind, i.e. life, is worth it. Farm owners or cattle breeders are generally not too close with their flock, as they know their final destiny. Hence, on the flight, many of the deceased were known to each other. To eat the flesh of someone they knew must be in bad taste (pun unintended).

One of the survivors who refused to consume human flesh at all accounts succumbed, but he also had other physical injuries. Finally, the tenacious human spirit added with intelligence and a stroke of good luck or divine intervention*, two of them scaled mountains and ravines to finally get help. 

The movie's final moments end with some sombre thoughts. The emotional trauma that the survivors must have endured must have been enormous. 

When it all started, cheery smiles!

Out in the cold!

The actual footage during the final rescue in 1972.

* Does 'luck' or 'divine intervention' still play a role after all the passengers have gone through? It is natural to wonder whether it came too late.

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To tame the reptilian mind?

A Nearly Normal Family (Swedish, Season 1, E1-E6; 2023)
Director: Per Hanefjord

Maybe there is no one there watching you. You are just out there alone on the small blue dot amid all that emptiness.; a blob in that awful waste of space. That’s all. Above us, only sky, and there is no hell below us.

Perhaps the wise men who came long ago knew about this all the while. They also knew that an observing eye in the sky ensured conformity and obedience. Could they know about the double-slit lamp examination findings and how the results vary when an observer is included in the experiment? The reality changes when observed. Putting the fear of prancing eyes would ensure people act within social mores. That would prevent straying from the needs of the societies, sticking together against the elements of Nature and from predators eyeing the exact needs.

As time passed, things were added and amended to suit the demands of the times. A certain amount of legitimacy was sealed by infusing a divine infusion into the equation. For a while, things went on smoothly.

The great leap forward in the sciences made people question many of the so-called God-sanctioned laws they had blindly followed. Words like empowerment, personal spaces and choices began to be mentioned. Suddenly, the religious fervour lost its lustre.

The world then noticed that everyone had their own vision of the world, and they wanted to live it as they chose. Life rules do not matter anymore. Rational reasoning took precedence. Unfortunately, humans are not so disciplined. They let their heart and minds sway. Soon, they fell prey to their primal needs.

Getting into mess after mess, they soon realise that religion, whether a God existed, paved a safe journey to the destination.

This thought went through me as I watched this miniseries about a pastor, his philandering lawyer wife, and their precocious teenage daughter. The daughter, when she was 16, befriended an older boy who sexually assaulted her. The family decided not to report the rape to the police. The daughter grew up with unresolved issues, opting out of her studies but continuing her carefree social life. One day, she is accused of murdering a 32-year-old young man who turned out to be her lover.

Life takes a turn for all three. The rest of the story is about how the family stays together to resolve the issue at hand. As if realising that divine guidance is necessary for peace of mind, the series ends with the daughter lighting a candle at a church when everything is resolved.

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We will survive!

The human race must be a resilient lot. Nothing will annihilate them except if they decide to self-destruct. We have been through tragedies in many forms, natural calamities to man-made ones, but we keep coming back strong, shaken but not stirred. All they need is time and space to prosper.

This, I realised when I attended a wedding in Karak, a small town along the Titiwangsa Range which forms the spine of the peninsula, in the state of Pahang. Even though it is located only about an hour's drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, these two towns seem worlds apart. Away from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle, Karak is nicely tucked between hills covered with lush greenery of the tropical forest and its fresh air.

The wedding reception held in the modest premises of a Chinese temple, it covered all the bare necessities. Forget the razzmatazz of the city lights and unnecessary blatant display of bling-bling, the function was never deficient in any other department.
The hall set the mood for a colourful Indian wedding. Draped in contrasting bright red, black and white backdrop, the dais displayed a shining wrought-iron seat fit for the royalties which seated two, naturally for the King and Queen for the day.

Being Malaysians, furthermore from a laid-back Eastern coast town, people were just sauntering jauntily at their own pace, way past the time specified on the invitation card. But what the heck, it is a party, not a scheduled flight.

It is incredible how the people of a small town can sustain their day to day living and fulfil their social obligations even being away from the glaring lights of the city. Somehow, people manage to satisfy their need as they go on their lives. Like in that wedding, the local bakery provided a 3-tier wedding cake, and the town's electrician provided the 'state-of-the-art' sound system to set the pace for merrymaking. The neighbourhood shutterbug immortalised the memorable night digitally in pixels and cine forms. Gustatory needs were met by caterers form the town itself. They were quick to serve a mouth-watering spread that tickled all taste buds and satisfied all palatal cravings.

Give people peace and give them space to express. They will be self-sufficient and establish a prototype for future generations to follow. When their path meets a hurdle, they could initially falter but then quickly recoup, regain strength, and soon they would be sailing again in no time. That is the undying spirit of the human endeavour.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/riflerangeboy/

Not just monkeying around!

Monkey Kingdom (2015)

You see a troop of monkeys up high in the telephone cables walking a tightrope trying to get to the other side. You think nothing of the endeavour. Little do you realise that the tribe is actually a band of wounded soldiers trying to recoup their energy so that one day that they could reclaim their motherland.

Well, these are some of the little things that you would learn after watching this documentary. That everyone, even low life animals with five senses, has a story to tell about their existence, their civilisation and their evolution.

The film follows the behaviour of a barrel of macabre monkeys in a certain locale christened Rock Castle in Sri Lanka. There is an obvious hierarchical way of life, in that the supposed high-class ruling class, protector of the clan occupy the highest level of the rock. Perched high in the strata, they are privileged to savour the best of the fruits and the best of the food available the whet the primitive desire of any life form, appetite. The low-lives, literally occupy the lower grounds scavenging on discards and devising their own ways and of survival.

Maya is the protagonist of the story. She is from the lower clan and is resigned to the fact that this is how her life would progress and end. She is just another monkey at the receiving end of her supposedly higher class sisters and the possessive alpha male leader of the pack, Raja. In comes Kumar, a castaway from another tribe who was trying to place his own footing in life. He swooned Maya away and planted his progeny in her. After a showdown with Raja, he was chased away in the wilderness. The fruit of the union materialised six months later in the form of Kip. 

The progestational changes in Maya with Kip in her bosoms made her see the world in a different light. Suddenly, she is worried of the kid. Perpetually living on crumbs and threading harrowing experiences on a daily basis was no way to pave a bright future for her offspring, she thought. The pouring monsoon rain was no solace for a bleeding heart. Life had it upsides too. Just like the mushrooms, which make good titbits, that spring after a rain, the aftermath of the monsoon brings the feast of flying termites. But still...

Life is its own dramas and melodramas. After 6 months, Kumar comes back strong and wiser. He is now more apt to interact with the ruling class and starts moving in their circles.

Tragedy struck the colony. A bitter battle with a mission of intruders made them lose their homeland. With a stroke with bad timing, Maya, Kumar, the wounded and ego bruised Raja and the sisters became refugees. They retreat looking for sanctuary. Shooed and chased away from marked territories, they learnt to survive in the boisterous concrete urban jungle. Here, they realise that the lower strata of the society who are quite used to the harsh living conditions of life were quite adapt to the street smartness needed for survival. They were quick with ideas to plan their next meal and plan their next 'takeaways' - from people's homes!

Just like the change of the seasons and the tides of the seas, adversities in life were soon replaced with comfort. Kumar and Maya, soon realising that there is no place like home, made their claim on Rock Castle. With renewed vigour of their urban adventure, they repossessed the rightful claim on their home from intruders. The stars shone again in their lives until another hurdle would arrive.

At the end of the day, you realise that it is the ambition of every sperm/ovum provider that their prodigy would be perched high in comfort devoid of the sufferings and uncertainties that their predecessors had to endure. Whether it is an amoeba, a lowly worm, macabre monkey or full grown sixth sensed homo sapiens, the law of nature, karma or whatever you want to call it, adversities happen. Hence, living beings should be prepared - rainy day, drought or tsunami. Adversities bring out best in man and the worst!

We claim that our Maker made us in his mould and we cannot be placed in the same of the kettle of fish as animals as we are superior! Perhaps we are guilty of personifying Him. We want to think that He should look like us. Well, this type of class politics is across the board. We humans have subdivided ourselves by colour, beliefs, class etcetera. Just like that observational studies have provided evidence for the existence of such classification amongst animals. So we are no different from animals!

FYI - Collective noun of monkeys - troop, cartload, mission, tribe, wilderness, barrel.