Happy Wednesday!!! Halfway through this bleak snowy week. Chicago is not being a fun city this week.
I’ll start!
Reading: I am between books, which is terrible. I just finished the new Pineapple Port mystery, I still highly recommend the series to you (link here), very light and fun and quick. I skimmed The Blue Castle to remind myself of it before this Sunday (remember, read it and discuss!). And I just had a friend aggressively NOT recommend A Discovery of Witches to me because she stayed up all night reading and said I shouldn’t even start until I am on vacation.
Thinking: What can I do to make the weather less depressing? I got out my sunlamp and my humidifier and new essential oils thing, and I bought a really bright colored sunny puzzle to work on. And I am eating oranges at the rate of 3 a day. Is it time to actually try exercise?
Watching: Mostly doing true-crime terribleness still. There is a guy who started stealing from the Toys ‘r Us he managed to pay for his family’s new below ground pool. And my biggest question in this whole story, even bigger than “did you really need that pool?”, is how the heck he made $200,000 a year by reselling stolen children’s toys on the internet. Are they made of GOLD??? Oh, I also watched “Crisis Hotline: Veteran’s Press 1” because I was curious and it is riveting and amazing and makes you feel happy that there are people in the world who care that much and are that good at their jobs.
Listening: Gotta get in some SUNSHINE!!!! So, this song, from a movie I haven’t even seen, but which is just the sunniest happiest song ever.
Question for you: If you had to choose between overcast and cold and snowy or super super hot and humid or chilly and wet and rainy, which would you pick?
I think I would choose chilly wet and rainy first, because you can still sort of move around and function in the world. And then cold and snowy next because being outside is horrible but at least you can be cozy at home. And hot and humid last because somehow the heat and humidity follows you all the way home and you are never fully comfortable.
Follow up question: which of these instagram posts of The Rock with his daughter is the cutest?
Final question: should The Rock’s oldest daughter, the first 4th generation wrestler in the WWE marry Aryan, or should his youngest daughter (see above) marry AbRam? Or should the youngest daughter and AbRam cutely meet at the wedding of the older couple and fight and tease each other and then meet again years later and fall in love at first sight?
dontcallitbollywood 
Reading – nothing
Thinking – depressing high school memories
Watching- Diana :a life through the lens
Listening -Diana secret tapes
The second rock photo is the best.
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This is horrible! Stop thinking depressing things! Look at Rock photos!!!
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 7:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I watched most of White Tiger, which really was very, very gay. They should have leaned into that more, because the parallell for the main character is PC, not Rajkummar. I think it would have added a lot to the story.
Aside from that I predictably hated it, for the male rage and the way they simplified class issues as much as the relentlessly unpleasant tone.
I’m also watching Lady Dynamite finally, which is really amazing. Almost like it’s possible to use art to make deeply complex statements on very difficult issues without just making your audience miserable!
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You are a crazy person, next you are going to say it is okay to use humor to deal with difficult issues. Or even that humor is a better way to get people to think than beating them over the head with facts. MADNESS!!!!
Have you seen Kimmy Schmidt? I suspect Lady Dynamite is similar, although I haven’t seen it. Terrible terrible tragedies for the characters, dealt with in a hilarious way that makes it easy for the audience to watch and understand.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 7:56 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Even worse, I think if you want to beat them over the head with facts you should just write an academic or political paper or make a documentary! And include a bunch of easy actions for your middle class audience to undertake to help emancipation.
I have! And enjoyed it, though it’s not perfect. It’s pretty similar in that but way more complicated and experimental. Kimmy Schmidt but without any established comedic or narrative elements.
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But, the middle class audience is already watching this movie and talking about it at cocktail parties! Isn’t that enough? What more do you want from them??? Isn’t “awareness” the ultimate goal of everything???? Heck, sometimes they even change their social media avatars, what more can you ask?
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:12 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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True, this is the pinnacle of social activism. They should definitely feel very smug about it.
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Yeah, I don’t know why I feel so good about myself, donating money and going to protests and things, when I have never cared enough to change the background color of my Facebook page.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:27 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ah, but do you care enough to watch movies with the groundbreaking message that treating people who are poorer than you like shit is bad because then you will be murdered with a broken bottle, unless you really are very rich and have even more power, in which case nothing bad will happen to you?
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No, I don’t care that much. And I am rightly criticised by the people of The Internet for instead choosing to do “sexiest SRK photos” posts.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:38 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh well, I’m so decadent I only watched it for the sublimated murdery gay desire.
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Oh my God, the sarcasm in this exchange is gold.
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I’m at work and just dropping in for a sec because this was assigned watching and I didn’t even know there was an AAPI Inauguration Ball?? Anyway, Raja Kumari and Ari Afsar:
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Grr, YouTube messed up the time signature sharing. Segment starts at 31:35. Trying again.
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Worked for me! And it made me all happy about Raja Kumari.
By the way, it’s weird that the Indian community has completely ignored Kamala, isn’t it? When I say “community”, I mean like movie stars on instagram and stuff. I guess they are too spooked of anything political at all? Anyway, nice to see Raja Kumari standing up for her.
Also, Raja Kumari and Divine (inspiration for Gully Boy)!!!!
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 8:48 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It is weird! She’ll have to go visit, full charm offensive. Once it’s cool to travel again.
Speaking of, my mom got her first Pfizer shot today! So excited it’s really happening.
I’m proud to have started a Rock and tiny daughter adorable photo feature here. I’m partial to the Santa pic. And matching her with Abram is perfect. I’m not sure Aryan could stand up to wrestler daughter, but this way we still get to imagine engagement and wedding pics with the Rock and SRK as in laws. (I wonder if they’ve ever been in the same room? He’d be giant next to Shah Rukh and Gauri.)
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My Grandpa got his first shot yesterday! Or, as he put it in the one line email he sent, “I’ve been shot”. Grandpa likes to get to the point.
I think the Rock and SRK would be excellent in-laws. Both hardworking, love their kids, and like building their brand. And yes, the photos would be HILARIOUS.
On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 12:01 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Looked it up, the Rock is 6’5″ hahahaha! It would be hilarious. Like that moment with Hugh Jackman x 2. Here he is with Priyanka, figure she’s a couple inches shorter than SRK?
I went looking for other comparisons but strangely enough the Hollywood actors seem to avoid getting photographed next to huge muscley guys who make them look puny. Poor Dwayne, probably wanders around the fancy parties going, anyone up for a selfie? Anyone?
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Nah, PC is taller than SRK! By maybe a couple inches, not a lot. But that means that a he would be really REALLY tiny next to The Rock.
On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 4:52 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Your friend is correct about The Discovery of Witches. It is AMAZING but also very very addicting and long. Read it when you are on vacation or just don’t care about sleep.
I am about to read the last Bridgerton book. But I took a break over the last few days and watched Fate: The Winx Saga. Have you seen it yet or are you planning to? Teenage fairies, mystery, and magic – this show was made for me! I now want to go watch the animated version even though the Netflix series is very very loosely based on the aminated series.
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READ BLUE CASTLE!!!! I think you would really like it, it’s super short, and then you can join our discussion on Sunday!!!!
Yaaaaaaaaay, last Bridgerton book!!! So you read the one with the youngest daughter and the not that rich suitor that could in theory be turned into a gentleman thief and then Hrithik could play him? And now you get to read my favorite book with the very very organized heroine.
I saw Winx show up, Netflix somehow thought I might enjoy it 🙂 I am still on a true crime kick, but I’ve got this list of shows ready to go for when I feel fictional again. Winx, Bridgerton, Karate Kid, and the last season of the Crown.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 8:56 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh I plan to read Blue Castle before Sunday.
I think Hrithik would be great as Garath! Who would play Francesca? It needs to be someone spunky. So far, Francesca and Kate might be my two favorite heroines. Francesca’s novel was the most fun to read for me, and When He Was Wicked with Francesca and Michael was probably the sexiest/raciest book of them all.
If enough people watch Winx, it would be so fun to discuss it and speculate about season 2. I wish it was based on a book so I could read ahead. I am sick of these 6 episode series where I have to wait for another year or two for the next season.
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And of course, the Francesca novel is the one I skipped. She wasn’t in the TV show at all, was she? But they kept the naming convention which means we know there is a missing daughter. I wonder if in TV Land they are going to have her as already married before Daphne’s season? So she will just suddenly show up once it is time to do her storyline despite never having been mentioned before?
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:13 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Francesca is in show but just very briefly. Also, I meant to say Hyacinth and Kate were my two favorite heroines.
From what I have read, Netflix contracts usually go for three seasons at a time so I wonder if they will combine story lines. For example, I can see Anthony’s and Colin’s storyline being combines since they have already spoiled who Lady Whistledown is.
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Oh good, I also really liked Hyacinth!!! Spoiled and smart and not good at hiding that she is smart, that’s a sweet spot. Make Hrithik be Garath, and make Sanya Malhotra be Hyacinth, I say.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:31 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ooh I would like it to be Sanya, Swara, Tapsee, or Kriti. Heck, they should all be in it. They can each pick which heroine they want to be.
Okay, so I decided to start reading The Blue Castle instead of the last Bridgerton book during lunch (thinking it would be less addicting) and now I just want my workday to be over so I can finish reading it. Recently, I keep reading during our family movie dates and at some point my husband is going to stop believing me when I say, “Oh I am totally paying attention to the movie” when I am clearly not.
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I love the Blue Castle!!! And yes, SO addicting. I like all the Montgomery books, but The Blue Castle is the only one that is really “I will die if I don’t get to finish it soon” kind of experience.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 3:10 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Reading: My Siva Purana arrived yesterday, weeks early. India via Utah to New York. Cost 395 rupees. I paid $16 including shipping. Started on it right away. Much fun so far. I hope we DCIB it sometimes.
Thinking: About Indian gods and goddesses. And about Ramesh Menon’s contention that the universe is “…older, vaster, more complex and fundamentally different from what we have bee taught.” Shiva and his “…godlike, grandly demonical” cohort are real beings, not “the invention of brutish man scrabbling to create the spoke and the ploughshare.”
I just love that I’m reading history!
Watching: Nope. Just reading.
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Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! So glad you got your Siva Purana!!! And yes, it is on the schedule, for 3 weeks from now (I’ll me announcing on Sunday). I want to give other people time to order and read it since it is a bit of a long one.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 10:20 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You won! My copy from NY hasn’t come yet. Could also be that out car is parked in front of the mailbox and is now snowed in there…
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You’ll get a kick out of it. Supposed to be simplified but still confusing in spots. Wish I had a Sanskrit dictionary. But now I know why there are do many people in India!
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I saw another random old malayalam movie Grihaprevesam (1992) only because I liked one sentence sinopsis:
“The movie is about a wrong couple who get married in Guruvayoor temple due to a mix-up.”
Doesn’t it look interesting? Last week movie about a spinster was better, but this one wasn’t bad also. The main couple was a disaster (the girl cries all the time, and the guy is golden-hearted but stupid), but other characters are very good. The girl is never forced to stay in this marriage, because her father is a good person and gives her freedom. Hero’s friends are interesting and have their own stories. One of them is married with 2 little kids, and his wife is not just some boring houswife in the background but an interesting character on her own. She is the one who wants to have sex with her husband in the night, and also is shown taking the pill (I was shocked!).
Funny thing is that I also tried watching two cult Mohanlal’s movies and didn’t managed to watch even 20 minutes. I think I’m alergic to good movies 😉
I have also watched a short movie Freedom@Midnight for Anupama Parameswaran, but I wouldn’t recommend it, because it was depressing (it’s about problems in a marriage)
And today I finally saw the polish film Cold War. I liked the movie (the black and white and the music) but I hated the romance. Why people just can’t be happy and don’t complicate their lifes unnecessarily?
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Reading: I finished a very very silly romance “Twelve Nights”. It was bad and very historically inaccurate. Yes, I know nobody read this kind of books to learn history but still.
And now I could lend something Georgette Heyer. My library has few books and I didn’t know which one I should take. In the end I chose Venetia. Was it a good choice?
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Oh!!! I think Venetia might have been the first Heyer I read! It’s a nice one.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 2:02 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Venetia is great, especially if you know something about Lord Byron and Regency scandals in general. Sexual assault scene at the beginning, though.
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Reading: Just finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, which means I can get started on Blue Castle for this weekend.
Thinking: Whether I should get a sunlamp? It seems kind of silly when I do own blackout curtains, but it’s just so hard during the winters when there is no actual sun 😦
Watching: Started watching An Evening in Paris with Shammi and Sharmila! She’s stunning of course and I love watching 60s Paris/Switzerland with Hindi film songs. Also, all the bystanders look dazed and seem to have no idea what’s going on when Shammi starts to lip sync and dance 🙂
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Yaaaaaay, Blue Castle!!!!
Yes, you should totally get a sunlamp. It makes a huge difference, and it isn’t even that expensive. Get a small one and then if you don’t like it, you can just throw it in a closet
Yaaaaay, An Evening in Paris! Such an incredibly fun movie, such a crazy plot.
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Oohhh can’t wait to see what’s in store for me with An Evening in Paris!
Off to do some online shopping and research sunlamps…
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Thinking: Just saw that Bridgerton is now the biggest Netflix series ever. Normally I don’t care about such things, but it makes me very happy to think that a genre and primary audience that have always been looked down upon did this! And that it will hopefully lead to more such content.
Reading: Dipping into Regency romance with The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas.
Listening: Still in Bridgerton afterglow! The soundtrack is on repeat. Also podcasts covering the show.
Watching: Sanditon on Amazon (have you seen it?). I wasn’t even aware that Jane Austen had an unfinished novel! From what I could gather, she didn’t get to any major plot points, so the series takes the characters and setting and has to craft a new story. It’s good, bolder than what Austen might have written, but I’m enjoying it.
Oh and the Rock untangling daughter’s hair is the cutest!
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Thinking: besides about all my grading, I read a ton about Maara here and was pretty psyched and Einthusan doesn’t have it and my life is ruined. (Of course, Prime Japan doesn’t have it.)
Watching: I finished Jodhaa Akbar! Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyy! Man, it really dragged for me after about the 2.5 hour mark.
Gangajaal: I think this moves Prakash Jha from hit or miss to mostly miss in my personal categories. Oh my GOD is it violent. I mean, I watched all of Badlapur and I had to hold my hands over my face for this. Also, weird theatrical acting from the women. Ajay’s mother in law (? or maid or anyway someone who answers the phone) has one line in the movie, basically where she answers the phone. She comes in, grabs the phone receiver, then twirls around to smile at the camera in one smooth motion while saying hello. His wife is kind of the same style. It’s often said that one actor is in a different movie, and it really seemed like that here. Honestly, the only thing I really liked from him was Chakravyuh, and I may have been overwhelmed because of Arjun and Abhay in the same movie. Rajneeti I liked on first watching but less the second.
Tribhanga: I had just finished AK vs AK when I watched this and maybe because of that I thought Kajol might be sort of riffing on her public persona–everyone knows she has a temper, and doesn’t get along with some members of her family. I may be vastly in the minority, but I wish they had left out the sexual abuse. Then it’s a really interesting movie about a woman trying to be free and what that cost everyone. (Just the bullying and the estrangement from the grandparents is enough to ruin someone’s childhood, I think). You throw in sexual abuse and it’s a movie about sexual abuse, plus too heavy for the rest of it. I also don’t like the thing where a movie tells how phenomenally talented a character is in something that the actor can’t really do. Kajol may be able to dance a bit, but of course she’s not Padma Shri level in Odissi, so everytime they cut away from her when she was about to dance I think hey, that’s Kajol! She can’t really do that! I suppose they needed it because Tribhanga is an Odissi term (went down a quarantine rabbit hole of Odissi tutorials on youtube, which really came in handy here). They were really determined to make the most of Netflix’s allowance of the f-word, weren’t they. I loved everyone’s costumes but there was something odd about the makeup, particularly on anyone older than Kajol.
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Also thinking: gutted that I couldn’t watch Chak De India with you all last week! Einthusan is so frustrating sometimes!
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Try again this week!!!! We are doing Bobby Jasoos, it’s on Netflix, and it’s short so you can go to sleep early.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:44 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yaaaaaaaaaaaay, you finished Jodha-Akbar!!!! I am so proud of you!!!!
With Gangajal, when you say one actor is ina different movie, I am assuming you mean Ajay? Because he is almost always good. Except for Ishq.
I think the movie needed a little more than embarrassment over the divorce and estrangement from grandparents, but maybe less than sexual abuse. Maybe her new young husband distracts her and she ends up never being home and forgetting to go to school events and just generally making her kids sad in a way that is clearly related to putting her needs above theirs? And agree about the Odissa dance! When it first came up, I was hoping it would be a unique thing where it’s a hobby she really loves, but she isn’t supposed to be amazing at it, just likes it. But no, she is supposed to be amazing and is CLEARLY not.
On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 9:43 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I haven’t seen Tribhanga but I watched the trailer and I remember I was shocked that Kajol plays some kind of classical dancer because she isn’t one.
@Miss Braganza Maara is on Einthusan, in tamil and also in telugu.
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Yes! The thing that drives me so crazy about the dancing point is that it would be so easy not to do! This is one of the several things that make Abhay’s film One by Two such a dumpster fire: Preeti Desai is supposed to be a dancer of unprecedented talent. In that movie they actually show her dancing, and, yeah. Have her be a talented cook, or essayist, or plumber or something where we don’t watch her do it. In Kajol’s case, as you said, a hobby she’s taking up in middle age. Why does she have to have a Padma Shri? You’d think this was a Kangana film, and people had made fun of her dancing.
Yeah, I like the idea of the new husband distracting her, and it adds to the bullying and the kids feel generally sad and alone.
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Ok! Here’s the link for anyone who would like to join the TeamSRKUS watchalong. Still voting on the film…down to Veer-Zaara, KHNH or KANK! Leave a comment at https://fb.me/e/A9EeCeof or in our Instagram story. @teamsrkus xx
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Reading: I really enjoyed Blue Castle and haven’t opened another book since.
Thinking: Re-White Tiger: It is accepted and wonderful and best that authors write about what they know. The White Tiger author knew of the wealthier Indian society and how they treat servants and wrote an award winning book about it from the servant’s point of view, perhaps putting himself in the servants place (big perhaps as I haven’t read the book and don’t know the author). None of this is wrong. In fact it is all quite interesting.
Yet, when that book is turned into a movie it is perhaps correctly criticized for lack of female characters and over simplification caste and class. And then there is my guilt as a foreigner watching it for which I don’t have a name.
The book is allowed to just be, but the film is expected to be MORE.
Watching: Meh – I’ve watched 10 minutes of a lot of things.
Answer: Yesterday it was a blizzard. The biggest blizzard my valley has seen since 2005 (another friend says it was 2006 but I think she is wrong and it was 2005). I took the kids cross country skiing on our roads. And then we played in the front yard making a sled jump, tunnels, and a snowman all day. We were fortunate in that everyone except my husband has really warm clothes, so basically we could be out in a blizzard. We live down the block from a small hardware store that uses a skid steer loader for delivering pellets and such, and it drove up and down the neighborhood clearing out driveways and in our case delivering more snow to our sled jump. At 4 PM spouse decided to buy a pack of beer because it had been such a good day. And then we sat and stood outside watching the kids play in the blizzard, while drinking guinness. To keep the snow from falling into my beer I had to cover the top with a glove and then attempt to cover my face while taking sips so the snow pelting me wouldn’t actually get into my mouth. And yet, despite the difficulties, it was fun to drink a beer in a blizzard. It is supposed to rain later today and I am very sad. Thus cold and snowy is definitely the weather I prefer.
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Great general question about novel to movie! I agree, but I can’t quite pinpoint why it is. Maybe because in the book we are forced to be within the mind of the central character, while in a movie it is about crafting an experience to make us relate? Or something about actual specific presentation of people, with skin color and body type and all the rest that comes along with it? Or perhaps just the editing involved? A novel to a movie means you have to make choices about what to include and what to leave out, and that means there are more moments for error.
Yesterday sounds like a really great day. One of those days where 10 years from now your youngest is going to be saying “remember that day we had snow? That was the best day ever!”
On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 8:57 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t think I expect more of the movie, but I haven’t read the novel, so I can’t criticise it. If the novel is like the movie, I would criticise it for those points, too.
I didn’t feel guilty per se, I just felt annoyed, because here is a middle class person writing for middle class people about a class he is not from, and I think it really shows. To me it has a paranoid tone, which is worse because of the difference in the way the wealthy characters are treated. The one who is less bad gets murdered, the ones who are irredeemably bad get away with it, and there are no characters who are just good. So the message this middle class work is giving to its middle class audience is like, being good to poor people isn’t possible, but don’t be slightly good, because they will kill you. Your only option is wholesome slaughtering them.
Plus it doesn’t put the middle class audience in a position of responsibility or action. The poor character claws his way out by himself, so the middle class audience can be like, well, they’ll figure it out. Better not get too close to them in case I get murdered! But the truth is the middle and upper classes are the holders of power, and they are the ones to solve it.
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Have you seen Article 15? It’s not a perfect movie, but it is aware of the exact issues you raise here. Our hero is blind to his privilege, because he is honest and tries to do the right thing and so on and thinks that is enough. But then comes to see that it is about going above and beyond. And we see how the lower castes can fight and fight as hard as they can, but they won’t get anywhere unless those in power take responsibility. Even the “good” people who haven’t done anything wrong, not REALLY.
On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 9:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I have not! I don’t generally watch social issue movies because they annoy me too much. But that sounds great. I thought Newton was also a good example.
I think you don’t even need to put the poor main character in a position of debt or gratitude to the middle class characters for this to work, just make it like David Copperfield, where he encounters someone good but for whatever reason it can’t last.
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Article 15 does something really good, Zeeshan Ayyub plays the smart rebellious freedom fighter who is the True hero, way more charismatic and interesting and brave and everything than our protagonist. But because the world is unfair, he simply cannot change things, and so our weaker less brave and less smart hero who happens to have social power is forced into a role he doesn’t want.
I mean, it’s also an INSANELY depressing movie and a clear ripoff of Mississipi Burning!!!! But it’s smart in how it does things. But you have to watch a movie about 13 year old girls being gang rapped and murdered. Anyway, look at the image they give you of the undercaste rebel who SHOULD be the hero:
Versus the uppercaste man who, because of social unfairness, ends up being forced into the role of savior even though he knows in his heart that he is not half the man of the undercaste rebel in every way. The film wants us to say “oh, gee, that’s disappointing. That other guy is so much better, I wish he could be a social leader instead”
On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 9:57 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yeah, I will never watch that movie, but that’s a great message, and it’s a way to do the white saviour trope well. I mean, it will appeal to your privileged audience a lot. I really like the way they showed that in those outfits. Very effective.
But if you want to avoid the white saviour thing and keep an underprivileged person as the main, you can still have a character in it as a model for the privileged class.
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I also think it has some messages about gender and what it means to be Indian that I find super uncomfortable. The bad guys who get away with it are more Indian, more masculine. The guy who gets murdered is presented as having become less Indian, less masculine, so he has to die. Meanwhile, the main character’s moments of softness are punished.
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That’s a good point.
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