Again, I don’t necessarily have a conclusion for this, it is just the beginning of thoughts and I’m not sure where they should be going. But there is such a nice interesting discussion going on the last thinky post on stardom, that I want to keep the thinking going.
Continue readingObjectifying women is wrong. BUT! If an entire image is carefully crafted, with the full participation of the model, to evoke sexuality, they we aren’t objectifying, we are talking about Art. You’ll see, these aren’t like “oo, I can see her breast” photos, these are classic elaborate really beautiful images. But which is the BEST?
Continue readingMerry Christmas Angie! And Merry Christmas to all of us, because while I find Arjun unremarkable as an actor, as a person I find him surprisingly inspiring and, a strange word to use for a movie actor, but maybe a little bit Noble?
Continue readingI’m not a southern film expert, like, AT ALL. But I do know enough to suggest 5 films that might help you to understand why Rajini Sir is such a big deal, and what he means to people. Because I just went through that journey myself and these are the 5 films that helped me. And apparently his next film is going to be big BIG (since just the first look poster got a cross-language release), so now is a good time to study up.
Continue readingYaaaay, a classic director! Better than that, a classic director whose films are readily available online (thank you Rajshri Tamil official youtube channel, blessings on you and long may you reign).
Continue reading“Queer”= anything non-gender normative. Can be drag, can be transexuals/Hijras, can be a male-male couple, can be a female-female couple, whatever! And to help, I called on my friend who is a pansexual drag queen with a degree in gender studies currently working at a Queer history museum. Just so you can relax, all of these photos were approved by a qualified expert.
Continue readingHappy Day After Thanksgiving!!!! Also known as, “the day I get to sleep in and then organize my life”. I’m excited! But also, taking a break because I will always always bring you your TGIF posts.
If you haven’t seen the film and want to see this movie as it was intended, DON’T READ ON. Read my non-spoiler review instead. It’s one of those movies that works best if it surprises you. But if you have seen it already (or never plan to, or just hate surprises), then you can read on.
I know this isn’t the best movie, in many ways. But it is a very enjoyable and memorable movie. And I’m sleepy and this is a movie I can write about without thinking to much. Because it doesn’t demand much thought.
I already did action film and rom-com lists to match this. My goal is, once you have finished the list of DVDs recommended on websites, or by the librarian, or handed to you in the DVD store, what next? And there is a surprisingly long list of films with strong female central characters in Hindi film.
Happy Tuesday! Did not mean to make this another Sridevi week, I was looking for something intelligent and intense and on youtube with subtitles, and I landed on this film. And then later learned it was Sridevi’s second major role.
This is TGIF, it’s supposed to be a happy post. So no grieving here, just celebration of life. A big part of which was her clothes, remember how she was the best dressed at Anushka’s reception? And what we can learn from her, both in what clothes we want to wear, and the attitude we want to have when we wear them.
This is the last Sridevi daily review. Not the last review, I am sure I will continue watching her movies, but the last special review. As I said in my earlier post, I don’t want to feel that I am dragging this out, that her death is over-shadowing her life, and so it’s time to move back to a regular blog schedule. But first, ChaalBaaz!
This is partly because there are some friends in real life who are asking me to explain what happened, and partly because I feel the need to sort of write it out like a story for myself. And partly because this will be the last Sridevi news type post (probably. Unless something big changes), I don’t want to keep chewing away for ever, I want to sum it up one last time and move on to remembering her life, not her death. (previous as it happened posts here and here and here and here and here and here and here)
I know this isn’t the best movie, in many ways. But it is a very enjoyable and memorable movie. And I’m sleepy and this is a movie I can write about without thinking to much. Because it doesn’t demand much thought. Unlike yesterday’s movie, which is part of the reason I was up so late and am now so sleepy.
I stayed up way way way way waaaaaaay too late reading funeral coverage last night. I think the last time I did that was for the royal wedding. Which made me start thinking how oddly public this event was, like a royal wedding more than a celebrity funeral.
Moondram Pillai, so far as I can tell, does not exist with subtitles. So instead I ended up with Sadma with poor subtitles. A challenge for my Hindi skills! Luckily, most of the performance brilliance was in the non-verbal parts.
I put up a post yesterday related to Sridevi’s death about how there is a recent association in Indian popular culture between “skinny” and “healthy” and also “beautiful”. And then the comments section just went wild with people talking. Mostly people from the west, where the weight issue has been the dominant issue in appearance for years. But I started to feel odd talking about this on an Indian film blog without acknowledging the fact that in India it is in fact skin tone that is the dominant issue.
Just trying to get something positive out of this. Might as well use it as a reminder of what “healthy” actually means, versus how the Indian press and public figures (just in the past few years! It is still reversible!) have started to use it. And how the West has been using it for years.
I already reposted everything already in the archives, for at least the next few days I will also put up new reviews. Sorry, mostly Hindi, they are just more easily available, and/or I have already watched them and can review without needing to set aside time to watch. (all Sridevi reviews here)
This story is just going to drag on and on, I can feel it. And if I am already getting tired of it (not mourning Sridevi, just the logistical updates), can you imagine how exhausted her family must be? Waiting and waiting and waiting and putting all plans on hold over and over again?
This is the second part of the story that always happens. After the twitter messages, the personal visits start, and the stories of people comforting or helping directly. And then tomorrow (probably) will be the final story, the funeral and wake. At which we will see what public statements are made by who attends and how. Well, not quite the final story. It doesn’t end with the funeral. These bonds we are seeing now aren’t just for show, they will be followed up by serious commitments and lifelong support in Sridevi’s memory for the people she left behind.
And now the tweets have started. Which is expected. Always the first reaction after a death. In this case, they are interestingly similar and interestingly wide-ranging.
This is one I didn’t expect. I think it might be so much of a shock that I’m not really feeling it yet? I’m strangely numb right now. Sridevi, at age 54, seemingly in perfect health, her daughter not yet launched, has died. Died as she lived, with great fame, but also great privacy.
Also, all women in pink! Because I want to see if I can make joyomama’s head explode in the comments (for those who don’t know, regular commentator joyomama is a fashion historian who writes about gender color preference). Oh, and also because I’ve gotten a couple of people pushing back against the standard TGIF. So no objectification and no men and no SRK in this one!
dontcallitbollywood 