The illusion of being in-charge!

Vinodhaya Sitham (Strange Decision, Tamil; 2021)
Director, Screenplay: Samuthirakani

They say Time heals skirmishers, and loggerheads get forgotten over time. At the same time, they condemn Time as a cruel curse. Time dries, shrivels, slows, ages and eventually kills for the next generation to take charge.

We like to think that we are all indispensable. We assume our dependents are waiting for us to care for them. We feel that we are far from completing our pre-set ambitions. We are convinced the world, like a grandfather's clock, will stop short never to work again the moment we drop dead.

There is news for us. Nope, the Universe does not revolve around us. We are a mere speckle of a minuscule of stardust in the grander scheme of things. We do not matter. Things just go on beyond, despite our absence or presence. It is what it is. Que sera sera, what will be will be. We are just passing through. The rest will live, with or without us. 

It is only our ego that feeds us this sense of grandiosity. The filial piety that is expected of us and is given to us that sensation of pomposity, that we are essential to do what is needed. Without it, we think everything would come tumbling down like a domino. Wrong again. We sadly think we are in control. In reality, nothing is within our control.

This 2021 light comedy brings forth something quite profound to general viewing. Parasuraman, a soon-to-be general manager, is a man on the go. A 50 something diligent worker who had dedicated most of his adult life to his company. His 25 years of marriage has produced three lovely children. Thanks to his control and advice, he (thinks he has) managed to pave a bright future for his kids and company all these years. He got no time for the little men and their ambitionless life path. For Parasuraman, it is just work, ambition, family and progress.

All that came to an abrupt end when he was involved in a fatal accident. Devasted, he managed to cut a deal with Time to complete his work on Earth. Time gave Parasuraman 90 days for that. Reality hits him. All the things he thought he was in control of were actually happening above him. Many things were going on behind his back, and their outcomes were not what he intended to be.

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A biblical tale

Sodom & Gomorrah (1962)
Director: Robert Aldrich

My understanding of the Biblical story of Sodom & Gomorrah is that God's was angry with their indulgence in homosexuality, and He brought about their destruction. The word 'Sodomy' arose from the pervasive sexual acts against nature for this exact reason. 

The backstory of this tale is narrated in Genesis, chapter 19. The versions may vary between the Torah, Bible and Quran, but in essence, it goes something like this. Lot, the nephew to Abraham, is the leader of a wondering Hebrew tribe. He and his people were given a place to stay just outside Sodom. Sodom, Gomorrah and three other states were part of prosperous 'cities of the plain'. Sodom was visited by two angels in disguise. They were treated well by Lot but were harassed by citizens of Sodom who were aggressive towards them. There is a mention of the mob wanting to rape the angels. Despite Lot's offering of his two virginal daughters to the crowd, they did not relent. The showdown came to an end when they were blinded by the angels.

Lot's wife petrified!

There was a follow-up conversation between the angels and Lot. He was warned about God wrath on the people of Sodom and Gammora and His impending sending of mega-storms to flatten out both cities. They told Lot to get his followers away from Sodom before the catastrophe and not look back. The cities were destroyed for their decadent lifestyles with excesses, failing to aid the needy and lacking hospitality. 

Scholars are divided on the existence of such a kingdom. Some say similar stories are present in other cultures anyway. Others suggest that a comet could have struck this area. The reason for God's wrath is also debated. Was it their ill-treatment of the angel or their decadent lifestyle that was the issue?

Lot's wife:'pillar of salt'

The film version, maybe working within the confines of the regulations, or to throw in a spanner into the discussion, and with creative licence, and taking versions from many sources gives a slightly complex interpretation to the narrative. It does not provide a preachy presentation of the mighty power of God or suggest homosexuality as a possible cause of the city's devastation. Instead, it portrays Lot as a human trying to balance the duty of a leader and that of a man. As a leader, he needs to provide comfort for his people, but at the same time, not too much comfort as it tends to make man haughty. As a leader, he also must avoid falling into the traps set out by his enemies to derail his good deeds. 

The filmmakers decided to stay away from the hint of homosexuality being the cause of Sodom's apocalyptic end. They also must have thought it would be wiser to end the story before the twisted saga that spun around Lot and his two daughters in their new area of sojourn. 

In a gist, the movie can be summarised as such. Lot and his God-fearing nomadic Hebrew followers reach Jordan River. Lot makes a special arrangement with the Queen of Sodom to settle down there for cultivation. The Hebrews intend to build a dam for irrigation and, in return, promise to help to defend the Sodomites from invading Hamites. In time, the Hebrews prospered as they moved into the city when the dam they built was destroyed in one such war, and it flooded their old settlement. They found salt and started trading salt instead. Lot and his men all prosper as businessmen and slowly start living the same hedonistic lives as the Sodomites. 

Some of the Hebrew tribesmen try to question their change in lifestyles. Once, they had preached that salt should be free for all, but now they had become salt traders. On the other hand, Lot feels that he has done so much for his people. His people are living in peace and comfort. Where did he go wrong? Or did he? In his eyes, he has done all the right things and yet people are complaining that he has deviated so much from God's prescribed path.

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Nature or nurture?

What The Peeper Saw @ Night Hair Child (Diabolica Malicia, 1972)

Directors: James Kelley & Andrea Bianchi

This is what one calls a 2am movie. One which one watches in the still of the early morning when he has insomnia and the rest of the home occupants are snoring away. It starts off sounding like a 70s B-grade soft porn flick with the exotic location, the flaring bell-bottoms and Mediterranean weather. Then there is the intimacy between a teenage son and his stepmother, who is barely a decade older. A murder is thrown in, and then an attempted murder...

When it comes to young kids acting way out of their leagues, we often say that they are merely reacting to the external stimuli that they are exposed to. We look at their parents' (or lack thereof) parenting skills. We try to place the blame squarely on either parent for what they did or did not - for being absent at school functions or failing to offer a shoulder to cry on when the situation had warranted. 

Britt Ekland

Nobody blames the company or the friends they decide to keep. Oh, yes! They blame it on the parents, too, as if parents can hawk on their choice of friends. And the list of virtual (it used to be invisible) friends is too tricky to keep track of. Nobody talks about the unrestricted ease of access to smut available to them. And with so much pressure there for children to grow up fast, nothing is easy. 

Every child is assumed to be born as pristine as a white piece of cloth, and his caregiver apparently paints the patterns and hues on them. Really? Are all children the end product of their parent's upbringing? We know there is no 'one-way-fit-all' system to work for all. There surely must be children who, by biology, are innately evil. Science has shown that human beings are conditioned to 'behave' in a particular fashion with social conditioning anyway. Left to their own devices, people would just act to fulfil their primal desires.

Marcus Lester

This 1972 production created a lot of controversies when it was released with its quite liberal exhibition of the female body and even an implied underage sex scene. It is the story of a twelve-year-old boy whose mother died in a bathtub. His father brings home a new girlfriend. She finds this angelic boy a little too precarious and acting weird. As the movie progresses, we realise that the pubescent boy has some unsettling behaviours like peeping on courting couples, killing cats just for the kick of it and even peeping and even murdering his biological mother!

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Just a little bit more...

Finally, after a long time, I attended a family get-together. As expected, most of the attendees were there not because they were dying to witness the obnoxious display of affection amongst family members. They were there either for the booze or were just happy to come out of their houses after being cooped up for so long. 

Of course, the event they looked forward to most was banter with friends over drinks at the corner of the hall. It was the opportune time to catch up with the rumours around Malaysian public life. These lively and animated talks are more convincing than the umpteen WhatsApp and social media messages circulating amongst friends. Nothing beats live chats. In Malaysia, coffee shop rumours are notoriously known to carry more weightage than official statements. Even though denied vehemently by the powers-that-be, these rumours will prove to be the real deal after all.

This time around, the corner crowd comprise civil servants and self-made entrepreneurs. Being true blood Malaysians, they whine about everything and do nothing about them. What better topic to talk than about politics and corruption? I gather that these men, of their esteemed stature, must indeed have had frequent encounters with politicians and men in high office. After a few doses of inhibition-inducing beverages, boy, did they start venting!

Malaysia's own superhero
after Superman, Spiderman, Batman and Hanuman,
welcome SAPUMAN!

If these people were complaining that corruption was rearing its ugly head ten years ago, now they seem to be singing a different tune. They used to sing praises of certain leaders who still held true to their profession. These friends of mine claim that taking bribes is not too bad. It is the norm, a social lubricant, that happens the world over; even developed nations are guilty of it, and feted leaders do it. The grouse they had is with people who make obscene kickbacks.

"It is okay to make money, but it is not okay to take too much," they say as if justifying corruption. Just like skin-deep beauty and beauty on the inside, nobody talks about good virtue anymore!

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The problem with building a nation!

Rose Island (L'incredibile storia dell'Isola delle Rose, Italian;2015)

Director: Sydney Sibilia

The idea of a nation is something relatively new. Before the advent of 'print capitalism', no law prevented one person from sojourning another part of this God's wide world. People of a shared ideology or values would congregate to live according to their pre-set societal norms. These 'imagined communities' as described by Benedict Anderson, are created when a sufficient number of people share the same language, live in the same geographic space, adhere to the same religious faith or cultural tradition, decide to live together. A nation is born when enough people identify with it. The printing press legitimises the birth of nations.

It is interesting to note that language was instrumental in developing nationalism at the infancy of the printing press. In the 21st century, however, political Islam seems to have transcended all borders. Brothers of Islam quiver when their blood brothers in a land half a globe away are wronged. However, they would not bat an eyelid for their fellow citizens in the same predicament just because of their differing faiths. It seems Islam transcends all nations.

Tourist hub

With nations came the power to control their citizens. Rules are set. In return, the government promises to defend its subjects from outside interferences. The nation-state is permitted to collect funds to ensure the smooth running of the people's life. Citizens are expected to conform, and their way of thinking is moulded, but what can be printed and broadcasted.

Rose Island

'Rose Island' is based on a true story of an eccentric Italian engineer, Giorgio Rosa, who built his own island in 1968 because he would not conform to ridiculous rules and regulations of the land. In a frenzy, after seeing a billboard advertising for workers on an oil rig, he jumped on the idea to erect a concrete platform off the international water territory off the coast of Rimini in the Adriatic Sea.

With a ragtag team of a war deserter, a pregnant teenager and a bored club promoter, the platform became a hot tourist spot drawing international travellers. The problem arose when they applied for nation status via the United Nations. Everything came to a grinding halt when the Italian government brought it down with dynamites. It is said that Rose Island remains the only nation to be attacked by the Republic of Italy.

The idea of creating a separate nation reminds me of the antics of Swami Nityananda, a fugitive godman who has built a new country of Kailasa, off the coast of Ecuador, with its own flag, currency and passport.

The only remaining remnant of existence
of Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj

The idea of freedom brings us to the 1960s when it mattered to the powers-that-be transmitted over the airways. At a time when governments were churning out propaganda news to go one up against their opponents across the Iron Curtain, there was a pressing need to transmit away from government control. Radio Caroline, one of the most popular radio broadcasts of the 1960s, was broadcast from international waters using different ships. When small record companies with spanking new brand avantgarde music hardly got airtime, this independent station is Godsent for the younger minds to explore more unexplored frontiers in music.

Between the right and the just thing to do!

Sleepers (1996)
Director: Barry Levinson

Sometimes when I see how some cases are persecuted in this country, I wonder if they are some kind of arrangements between the prosecutors and defence so that the rich and famous stay immune from conviction. One does not have to look far to know the many cases that raise suspicion. Even the executive branch of the government does not mind appearing incompetent just to fulfil specific preset political agendas. All of it reminds me of a grand freak show put up by the powers-that-be for self-aggrandisement and stupefying the citizens at their own expense. Every day is a constant reminder of the 'you reap what you saw' adage. Yet 70 years of rule by a single party has created a kind of Stockholm Syndrome that people admire the very leaders that cheat them blind!

This 1996 film is based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's book. The author insists that the story is based on actual events, with the name of characters and places altered to protect the identity of the accused and victims. Despite extensive scrutiny into the records of similar cases that made it to the US Courts, nobody found any remotely resembling the story in this film. It features a lineup of many familiar faces, including Robert Ne Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Brad Pitt.

In 1968, four boys living in Hell's Kitchen, a poor Irish-American neighbourhood in Manhattan, get into a reform school when their prank goes wrong, and they end up seriously injuring a man. During their 18-month incarceration in the school, they had to endure many life-changing physical, psychological and sexual abuses from the guards. Even though they did not report the crimes, they vowed to avenge later when the time was ripe.

The time came in 1981. Two of the four boys are now hard criminals, one an Assistant Public Prosecutor and another a journalist. One day, the criminals sighted one of the guards in a restaurant. They shoot him in cold blood.

When their case comes up in court, the prosecutor and journalist devise an elaborate plan to expose the rot in the correctional school system. The sweet smell of revenge came with a price, and it involved a priest lying under oath. The priest had to weigh between staying true to his profession as an upholder of truth and telling a white lie to uncover massive wrongdoings.

(PS. In Malaysia, in the mind of many of our holy men, the answer to the dilemma is quite a clear cut. Religion takes precedence over everything else. Doing the morally conscientious thing with humanity or upholding the truth does not arise. It is always about protecting the flock. Higher thinking is just too mentally challenging!)

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Dead Man walking?

Kaagaz (Paper, Hindi, 2021)
Directed by Satish Kaushik

We all have the frustrating experience of dealing with the 'system'. How can we forget how simple technicalities cannot be just changed because red tape prevents them? Everybody in the system can 'see' the problem, but nobody can do anything about it.

With the widespread use of AI and chatbots in daily dealing, the situation is becoming more chaotic. We, the end-users, are made to deal with idiots. No amount of 'I want to talk to your manager' will move the system. 

Lal Bihari of Uttar Pradesh had first-hand experience dealing with this madness. He had to prove to the Indian bureaucracy that he is alive. It all happened when Lal Bihari, a farmer in real life, was declared deceased by his relatives who swindled his share of the family inheritance. He spent a good portion of his life between 1975 and 1994 going up and down courts to prove his existence.

Lal Bihari Mrithak (deceased)

In the movie version, Lal Bihari becomes Bharatlal Bihari, a bandmaster, was coaxed by his wife and friend to expand his music business. For that, Bihari approached a bank for a loan that needed collateral. He remembered an old inheritance, a small piece of village land that he could use for that purpose. Unfortunately, when he enquires about getting the deed, he finds out that his relatives had declared him dead and had usurped the land.

In a comical way, the film portrays how Bihari becomes a pauper with mounting legal fees. His existence is questioned, his marriage is in shambles. His wife is supposed to be a widow, but how can she be dressed as a widow when her husband is beside her. Bihari tries to kidnap a kid to be arrested. He thought that by being arrested, the legal system would charge him. If he is charged, then he exists! That also does not work. Finally, he started an Association of Dead People, participated by hundreds of people around India who were in the same boat. 

Bihari finally proved his existence in 1994. He even tried to stand, unsuccessfully, against Rajeev Gandhi in 1985 to prove that he is alive. The height of his 'career' is when he was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in 2003. The Ig Nobel Prize is a parody of its namesake for unusual achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think". His association has about 20,000 members now.

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