ENGLISH VINGLISH

Visa Interviewer: "Ma'am, how will you manage in our country if you don't know English?"
Passerby: "Like you are managing in our country without knowing Hindi!"

It is rather unfortunate that the latter is not so much of a problem as the former. English has been deemed a universal language, and that has led to every nation using English as its official language. Such is the situation that knowing English is power. If you do not know English, you are considered illiterate.

The irony is in the fact that by using English as means to become "modern", India has almost eliminated its own language and culture. We fail to appreciate our own native language. Our very identity as Indians has been compromised.

But then again, is this really such a bad thing? After all, Indian society, as aptly portrayed in the film, is nothing but the wife cooking at home, while the husband is busy at big meetings consisting of "important talks in English". Does Indian culture mean male chauvinism to such an extent that the husband objects to his wife having ONE money-generating job of making laddoos? These are the topics explored in this wonderful film and in this particular review.

First off, the performance of Sridevi in this film needs special mention. After a 15-year hiatus from acting, she returned to the big screen with a bang, and received the well-deserved title of "Meryl Streep of India". So beautiful was her rendition of that innocent yet determined mother, that by the time she delivered her big wedding speech towards the end of the movie, there was not a single dry eye in the theatres.

The central theme of the film is feminism. It is important to understand feminism and women empowerment. Both of them essentially mean the same thing- giving importance to the marginalised voice of women. Feminism is the concept, and women empowerment is the goal.

But in recent years, even well-to-do women have started a propaganda under the name of feminism. As expected, this has lead to the common misunderstanding that feminism is nothing but women chauvinism. What feminism actually strives towards is gender equality.

Sashi: "Does it mean marriage is over? No. That is the time you have to help yourself. Nobody can help you better than you, if you do that, you will return back feeling equal, your friendship will return back, your life will be beautiful."Therein lies the true difference between true feminism and fake feminism. True feminism is all about listening to the unvoiced, letting one speak the unspeakable, putting unconditional efforts to understand the misunderstood, and most importantly, dissolving the tendency of "othering", silencing, over-powering or de-valuing what "I" cannot see, listen, speak or understand. Having a female body does not make one a feminist. 

I find it absolutely needless to go on and on about the male chauvinism that has been portrayed in the film very clearly. I guess the following quotes speak volumes.
1. Satish: "Tum ye laddoo banane ka chakkar chor do. Tumhare laddo sirf mere liye hain."
Translation- "You should leave this job of making laddos. Your laddoos are reserved only me."
2. Sashi: "Mard khana banaye to kalaa. Aurat khana banaye to farz!"
Translation- "When a man cooks food, it's art. When a woman cooks, it's her duty!"

Satish, the husband, constantly neglected the needs of his wife. All he considered Sashi to be was someone who served him tea every morning and cooked amazing food. He does not hug her in spite of having the closest relationship, and does not talk much with her because apparently important talks require to be completed in English. In short, he does not respect her at all. 

He even neglects his duty as a father. When his son comes to their room while in America, he asks Sashi to handle the situation because he is on vacation. However, when Sashi, who relentlessly takes care of her family 24X7, takes a break for one day and is not there when her son gets hurt, all hell breaks loose. Satish even goes out of his way to call her selfish. 

Sashi's daughter also hardly respected her own mother. In fact, she always felt embarrassed of her mother, because she did not know English. She was embarrassed of the fact that her mother was illiterate.

The only person in the family who empathises with Sashi is her mother-in-law, perhaps because she has also had her share of male chauvinism in her times. She constantly tries to console her in times of extreme distress.

In America, however, she gains many pillars of support- her teacher, her classmates, and most importantly, her niece. Why her niece supports her so much is something that has confused me. Perhaps because she was shocked to see a woman being discriminated against, while she was brought up in an unprejudiced environment. Or perhaps because her sister was getting married, and she had her concerns over the life of women after marriage, which were reflected in Sashi's life after marriage. By helping Sashi, she felt she was helping her sister too.

Coming to the first day of the English class. Two things happen which boost her confidence:
1. She is not the only person struggling because of lack of knowledge in English. There are other people from vastly different backgrounds with the same struggle as her.
2. She has been called an entrepreneur by the teacher. What she does- making laddoos- has a name. It is not something trivial as her husband makes it out to be. Dignity is what defines an individual and it comes through proper salutations.

Sashi: "Jab apne aap ko pasand nahi karte hain, tab apne se juri hui har cheez achi nahi lagti. Nai cheezen aakarshit karte hain. Jab apne aap ko pyaar karne lagte hain, to wahi purani zindagi nai lagne lagti hain, achi lagne lagti hain. Thank you, mujhe apne aap se pyar karna sikhane ke liye.
Translation: "When you don't like yourself... you tend to dislike everything connected to you. New things seem to be more attractive. When you learn to love yourself... then the same old life... starts looking new... starts looking nice. Thank you... for teaching me... how to love myself! Thank you for making me... feel good about myself.”This perfectly sums up Sashi's relation with Laurent. Laurent represented everything that society failed to give Sashi because she was a woman. Laurent made Sashi realise that it really is an equal world out there- perhaps because they both felt that cooking is an art, or because they both had inadequate knowledge of English, or maybe because he was the first person to make Sashi feel special. Even speaking in their own native languages did not pose a problem for them because they were equal people, despite differences in nationality, language, gender and everything. Equality does not need similarity. It's respect that matters. Thanks to Laurent, Sashi realised that she was in need of respect, not love.

Towards the end of the film, we see Satish finally respecting his wife. People who dominate over other people always have a sense of insecurity that if they give much importance to the other person, the other person will dominate over them. However, when Satish sees that even after her big success with the wedding speech, Sashi loves him, he finally starts respecting her and loving her even more.

"This marriage is a beautiful thing. It is a most special friendship, friendship of two people who are equal. Life is a long journey, Meera, sometimes… you will feel you are less, Kevin sometimes, you will also feel that you are less than Meera. Try to help each other, to feel equal, it will be nice. Sometimes, married couple don’t even know how the other is feeling. So, how they will help the other? Does it mean marriage is over? No. That is the time you have to help yourself. Nobody can help you better than you, if you do that, you will return back feeling equal, your friendship will return back, your life will be beautiful.
Meera… Kevin… Maybe you all very busy, but, have family, son, daughter. In this big world, your small little world, it will make you feel so good. Family… family can never be… never be, umm.. never be judgmental, family will never put you down, will never make you feel… small. Family is the only one who will never laugh at your weaknesses, family is the only place, where you always get love and respect. That’s all Meera and Kevin, I wish you all the best. Thank you."

INSIDE OUT

How well do we know everybody around us? Even our close friends, for instance. Do we really know everything about them? Do we know what goes on inside their head? When we truly understand the thoughts and minds of an individual, can we know the person "inside out".

One thing I love about Pixar animated films is that it sends a very clear message that everyone can relate to. Behind all the cuteness of the romance of WALL-E and EVA, there was the very obvious message of saving the Earth from environmental destruction.

The topic of discussion in this latest Pixar film, "Inside Out" , is emotions. Emotions drive the world. Wars are fought and white dresses are sold because of emotions. Clearly, emotions are not a trifle thing to be set aside only for psychologists to study.

This movie removes the common misconception that emotions lead to weakness as they cloud our judgement and avoid us from thinking rationally. This is the complete opposite of what actually happens.

Emotions are what keep us rational in our decisions. Had it not been for Fear, Riley would have stepped on the wire while playing and injured herself. Had it not been for Anger or Disgust, Riley would have been poisoned- physically and socially. The role of Joy is very obvious. However, it is the role of Sadness which is the main topic discussed in the film and this review.

Sadness garners sympathy, and at times, empathy. Presence of sadness as an emotion is what leads to resonance. Not to get too technical, but resonance means the ability to completely feel the other person's sufferings and pain. Then only can the two people completely trust each other.

There are many examples in the film to support that. When Bing Bong (Riley's imaginary friend) was sad, it was Sadness that cheered him up by letting him know that what he feels is completely normal and understandable. It does not help to cheer up a person by talking about things other than what is actually bothering the person, like Joy was trying to do. When Riley missed the winning shot in the hockey game, she became sad, and that is when her parents came to her and sympathised with her and cheered her up.

This is something that Joy realises towards the end of the film, and that is why she allows Sadness to touch Riley's joyful core memories so that Riley can remember her happy memories with sadness and break down into tears. This helps her parents to empathise with her. This, in turn, gives Riley happiness to know that someone else can also understand her sorrow.

Joy: Do you remember how she used to stick her tongue out when she was colouring?

[Joy continues to fight back tears. She picks up another memory orb, this time of a younger Riley telling a story to her parents]

Joy: I could listen to her stories, all day...

[Joy picks up another memory of Riley playing in her backyard as a toddler. Joy's eyes well up with tears, but she keeps holding back]

Joy: I just wanted Riley to be happy...

[Joy picks up the sad core memory of Riley crying in school. As he looks at it, she begins to sob, and completely breaks down into hopeless tears while Bing Bong sadly looks on. Joy's tears fall onto the happy memory orb of Riley after the Prairie Dog hockey game. As Joy wipes the tear off of it, she scrolls through the memory to see it was previously a sad memory turned happy. The sad portion consists of Riley sitting sadly with her parents on a tree branch. Curiously, Joy "rewinds" the memory to the point where Mom and Dad came to Riley to comfort her. Joy begins to hear Sadness's description of the memory in her head]

Sadness: (voice over) It was the day the Prairie Dogs lost the big playoff game. Riley missed the winning shot, she felt awful. She wanted to quit.

[Joy scrolls through the memory to see the blue sad memory of her and her parents turn a happy yellow when Riley's friends come to cheer her on]

Joy: Sadness... Mom and Dad... the team. They came to help... because of Sadness.

Joy also realises that without Sadness, she is incomplete. Without Sadness, she has no idea of the route to headquarters. Without Sadness, she could not have saved Riley at the end. In real life context, excess of joy is harmful. When there is too much of joy, we cannot differentiate between shortcut and danger, like we see in Bing Bong's case. When Sadness's advice was neglected, Bing Bong and Joy enter the room of Abstract Thoughts, and fall in huge danger. When we are overjoyed, we tend to neglect challenges and dangers in front of us, lest our happiness gets reduced. Our sensitivity gets reduced, and we feel overconfident, which is always fatal.

One thing many of us could not realise while watching the movie, is the role of Anger. It will suffice to say that Anger is the expression of Fear and Disgust. It was right after the actions of Fear and Disgust that Anger did his job. When all three were alone in the headquarters, it was Anger who made all the decisions and did the job, despite counter opinions from Fear and Disgust. Again, in real life's context, whenever we are afraid or feel disgusted, we feel powerless, as we are unable to control the situation and have our way. It is then that we get angry, so that we have a momentary illusion of power and control. Remember when Riley felt fearful of the new thing that was being fed of her, and disgusted when she realised it was broccoli? She felt powerless at that point of time and hence, she became angry. Thus, Anger covers up all negative emotions.

Another aspect of this film is depression. When Riley's core memories were gone, she failed to realise who she really was, and this led to her getting depressed. Depression led to social withdrawal and refusal of any help offered to her by her support system. This, in turn, led to each of the islands (family, friends, honesty) getting destroyed. She became very lonely, and the "train of thoughts" also got destroyed.

Depression is the absence of any kind of feeling or emotion. Sadness is a very important emotion to have during depression, the reason, as said earlier, being that sadness garners resonance. Resonance, in turn, leads to acceptance of help from support systems, and this saves a person from depression.

During depression, a support system is very important. It can be in the form of family, friends, or even our imagination. Whenever toddler Riley felt lonely, she imagined her friend Bing Bong and constantly played with him. When Riley started withdrawing from society, Joy decided to bring back Bing Bong to the headquarters. In times of extreme sadness, an imaginary friend also has the capability to provide us with confidence.

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that occur when we are asleep. Dreams may be a manifestation of  our deepest desires, or experiences in our everyday life that have troubled us, or given us joy. This idea has been wonderfully portrayed in the film. Dreams portray our deepest desires and our darkest fears. Or what we generally worry about in the day. Like the clown, which woke her up. Or the dream where she stood up and her teeth fall and all the kids laugh. It didn't actually happen. But perhaps, that's how embarrassed and lonely she felt when it was happening.

A few lessons I learnt from this film:

•    We can recognise the little successes of the day and be happy about them. So what if we didn't meet the goal? Atleast we have taken a step towards it! Like that time Fear said "Alright, we did not die today. I'd call that an unqualified success!"
•  Expectations can disappoint. When the family was moving to their new house, Riley had mental images of what her house would be like. But then she saw the actual house and it was nothing at all like she had imagined. Sometimes leaders, unknowingly set high expectations and hype up what is about to come. But when the reality hits, everybody gets discouraged and that is not good for the team. Hence, we should set realistic expectations- for ourselves and for others.
• Always make the best of a bad situation and remain optimistic. Riley did get disappointed on seeing the rundown kitchen and her empty bedroom. But she instantly began to imagine what her room would be like when all the goods arrived, and she started playing hockey with her family.                              

All emotions go hand-in-hand. You can't just live on one. The core memories earlier were all of joy. Then later, they were mixed, colourful, bright, and most of all: complete. Riley would remember hugging her parents in that moment with both sadness and joy. All those emotions together will define her, complete her. We have to embrace every moment of our lives. Not just the happy ones. The embarrassing ones, the sad ones, all of them. Then only we can completely be satisfied with ourselves.

P.S.- I would like to thank my dear mother, who helped me a lot with this review. She practically explained the film to me. Loads of love, mom!

The Ron Clark Story

I speak directly to all the "Friends" fan reading this blog. Ever imagined Chandler Bing wearing a cap and rapping about the names of the Presidents of United States? Would be the funniest Chandler has ever been, right? Then you should DEFINITELY watch "The Ron Clark Story."

First off, it is NOT a comedy movie, as you might have thought after reading the first paragraph. It has a serious, yet a very consistently sweet tone to it. Matthew Perry has made us laugh out loud in Friends and made us go 'Aww' in this film. And with excellent acting, I might add.





THE REAL LIFE RON CLARK


Based on true life experiences, it is the story of a white teacher who voluntarily chose to teach a class of rogue students in a school for minorities. To those of you who cannot picture rogue students, imagine a class where children sit on desks, chew gum during class, talk to each other and the teacher with utmost rudeness, do not even bother to face the teacher in the class, and keep throwing books off the desk onto the floor. This is what Mr. Clark had to deal with.

Why did he choose such a class when he had a multitude of options? The answer, perhaps, is because Mr Clark, a true teacher, knew that rudeness in students is a defense mechanism. Even the toughest of students assume a repulsive exterior only to hide the frustrations of their daily life. Ron Clark knew that he could find their hidden innocence and enthuse interest. He believed that his students could work wonders and surprise everyone, even themselves.
Principal Turner: I have an opening in grade 3. If your credentials check out...
Ron Clark: You have an opening right here.
Principal Turner: No. Last year this class went through six different teachers before Christmas.
Ron Clark: Yes. Nobody wants them, and I do. So what's the problem?





The main reason for Clark's success was the fact that he believed in his students. He remained constantly optimistic that his students were very much capable of securing the best grades, despite the fact that the students considered themselves to be failures. He could see the potential of his dear students. All he had to do was create an environment where their self-esteem would increase and they could realise how gifted they were.
Shameika: Everyone thinks we are losers, Mr. Clark.
Clark: No. You are not losers. These rules? They represent everything you have accomplished this year. Discovering new things, believing in each other, believing in yourselves. And I am proud of you. Compared to all that, this test? Pfth!




To do that, he had to be one of them. "We are a family" was his motto. He wanted to convey to his students that they could trust each other and him. He strived to teach his students about respect for themselvesand for others. He became more involved in the lives of his students, to try and understand them. This included meeting their parents, playing dutch swing with them, and of course, the chocolate milkshake challenge! So involved did he become that Mr. Turner even asked him to stop acting like a 12 year old!

What Mr. Clark had to deal with was something people have termed as "occupational hazard". Not only were the students rogue, they received absolutely no encouragement from their families. Why shouldn't they think that they are losers?

Shameika Wallace was a smart little girl who believed that Clark was an intruder in what she saw as her school. She lived at home with her mother, who worked two jobs. She had to take care of her little brothers, so she couldn't do her homework and couldn't be a kid. To cover her feelings about not being able to do anything, she just pretended she didn't want to work. She turned out to be the district topper.





Tayshawn was the worst of all the students Mr. Clark had to teach. He had no father, lived in a foster home, where his foster dad did not care at all about him, and even abused him violently. He had never really built up any social skills, and, as a result, he didn't have any friends. He came together with Mr. Clark and they bonded. There was something about him that let Tayshawn know he really cared, unlike his previous teachers. Tayshawn had failed two grades and was the class bully. But Mr. Clark instilled pride in him and let him know he can succeed.

Badriyah was different than all other students. She liked to read and study. But she came from a patriarchal society, which did not allow her to exploit her talents to the fullest extent. During her new teacher’s visit with her parents, she tries introducing herself to Mr. Clark, but her father shuts her up, saying, “Men are talking.” The fact that she was a nerd also had some role to play. She was constantly teased upon by the other popular stylish girls of her class, and she could not fit in.

Julio was a student who always tried to con his way into getting good grades or getting money, even though he couldn't do math or count. He was one of the troublemakers in Mr. Clark's class - the class clown in the school. But he felt a weird sense of comfort in Mr. Clark's presence. In the presence of Mr. Clark, he had the courage to kick his bad habits and say 'NO' to the bullies who influenced him.




It is said that teachers play a very crucial role in shaping the society. This movie distinguishes between people who are teachers and people who consider teaching as just a job. The latter group of people simply make the students learn the facts, so that they receive good grades. The former group, however, teach more than mere facts. They connect with students and teach them how to face life. They INSPIRE!

A Spoonful of Sugar

I'm a teenager. Seventeen in fact and this review is on Mary Poppins. Before I start though, I would ask you to wonder for a moment, why would I, a girl in my late teens, invest so much time and thought into this extremely childish film?

Well, back to the old adage. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Nor a movie. The childishness of Mary Poppins is skin deep. Trust me. Hidden just behind the facade, is a beautiful story of love, loss and redemption. And today, I'll tell you that story.

Let me start with a little girl called Ginty, who used to live with her father, mother and sisters, Biddy and Moya, in Allora, Australia. Her father was charismatic and loving. He taught Ginty to never stop imagining. Ginty loved him very much and they were the best of friends. He used to work in a bank. A bank which perhaps felt like a cage to him. Life's frustrations gradually pushed him towards alcohol. Time and again this caused him to lose his job and that meant, Ginty and her family had to keep changing their houses. He was gradually demoted from the post of a bank manager to a meager clerk. As expected, it also created a huge rift between her parents. Ginty, being the eldest of her siblings, was the straw which strenuously held them together. Her mother even tried to commit suicide by drowning herself. Fortunately, she survived but was never quite the same again. Alcoholism and disease goes hand in hand and soon after, Ginty's father fell grievously ill. To save the day, came along The Aunt. Ginty's great aunt from her mother's side. She was a very stern, no-nonsense lady who promised to take care of the children and save Ginty's father. No sooner than she arrived, she started putting everything in order, as if, with a touch of magic. She took out an array of strange things from her large carpet bag and put Ginty and Biddy to work immediately. But, at the long last, she couldnt save Ginty's father. He died of influenza leaving the family destitute.

Ginty was the childhood pet name of P L Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, which, we can see, have been deeply affected by her past. The aunt inspired Mary Poppins, the very enemy of sentiment and whimsy. Although the stories talk about Mary Poppins taking care of the two Banks children, the one she really came to save was Mr. Banks. What we can only hope for in reality come true in our imaginations. The aunt fails to save Ginty's father but Mary Poppins does save Mr. Banks!

In the Disney movie based on these books, the portrayal of Mary Poppins is very different. She is stern but sweet, loving, caring and "practically perfect in every way". But more importantly, the Mr Banks we see in the movie is anything but similar to Ginty's father! This leads me on to my second story.

There lived a little boy, about eight years of age, in cold Kansas City, Missouri. His father, Elias, had a local newspaper business. Being a tough businessman, he tried to save a penny wherever he could. So, he used him and his elder brother to deliver the thousands of newspapers twice daily. Winters there, were bitter and cold. The little boys would have to wade through knee high layers of snow. Their father didn't believe in buying new shoes till the old ones had completely worn out. The cold and wet snow seeped through their shoes. After the first round of delivery and school, they would return home frozen and nearly faint from cold. And no sooner than they had completed dinner, it would be time for the evening paper. Elias threatened them with his belt buckle lest they should be late. Yet, the eight year old loved his father beyond words.

The little boy in the above story is none other than the child Walt Disney. He could never reconcile with his father's unbearable cruelty. He was tired of remembering his beloved daddy as someone stony and unloving. Elias was his Mr. Banks. And he had a mustache.

Mr. Banks of the movie is not Ginty's father or Walt's dad, it's a bit of both of them! It was never about the children or their nanny; Mary Poppins existed only to save Mr Banks! We see in the movie how Mr Banks finally succeeds in saying "Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious" and exclaims that Mary Poppins was right! With that one word, Mr Banks' outer covers of a strict disciplinarian falls away magically. He returns jobless yet happy. He mends his children's kite which he had scorned upon earlier. That too with tuppence for string and paper! Tuppence that had caused him to lose his job. No more is the cold and distant father as he takes his children's hands and leads them out in song.
"Let's go fly a kite                    
Up to the highest highs
Up in the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
And send it soaring!"
Finally we see Mrs. Banks attaching her suffragette ribbons as the tail of the kite. She doesn't need an escape from oppression anymore!

Thank you Mary Poppins. I wish I had a nanny like you. And so does my friend Sayak. (Actually he wishes he had Julie Andrews herself for his nanny!)

Well, we all know how Mary Poppins rocked every moment of the movie and of course, she's our hero. But, the one person I'd really like to talk about is, Bert. He is apparently a nobody with no proper job. But he is something that no other character in the film is. He is happy! He does what he likes, when he likes and how he likes. He plays a one man band, paints pictures on the sidewalk and sweeps chimneys. He is not wealthy by any means but he makes the best of everything. Somewhere beneath the layers of materialistic interest and wealth, the aristocrats had lost their happiness. But, not our Bert. He is FREE. Free from social proprieties and obligations. Free enough to realise how frustrated Mr Banks was by the iron bars of the bank. He is the only person who seems to be able to appreciate the integrity of the hardworking father and understand that beneath the strict exterior, Mr Banks was a warm and loving. Mary Poppins could never have saved Mr Banks but for Bert. He made the children love their father again even before Mr Bank mended the kite! Bert compels us, the audience, to sympathize with Mr Banks, to feel weary for his cares and to be joyous when he is finally happy.

Childhood is like soft clay. However much we may credit adolescence to be the forming years of life, childhood is its very foundation. Childhood scars run deep. A child cannot forget loss. Rather the pain piles up and piles up and results in guilt that the child itself had been responsible for its loss. Ginty couldn't forgive herself even when she became P L Travers and Disney couldn't forgive his dad. But, they needed to. They couldn't live happily and in peace till their childhood scars still hurt. So the books and the movie, were attempts to remake the memories through imagination! And, it was all for the redemption of their beloved fathers.

It really wouldn't be fair to end this without talking about the ultimate reason why I watched and loved this movie. JULIE ANDREWS! Those who have watched this movie will know what i mean. She is phenomenal here. She gave Mary Poppins the face that we will always remember, cherish and love. You could think I'm biased as she happens to be my favorite actress. But lo behold! History says that the world was on the same page with me on this. She won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the 1964 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. She and her co-stars also won the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. I could never imagine or believe in a Mary Poppins who is not her. 

What's more, Julie Andrews was expected to play the lead role in the film version of the popular Broadway musical, "My Fair Lady", a role which was the stepping stone in her career at Broadway. But the producer of the film, Jack L. Warner, in an attempt to "sell" the movie, chose Audrey Hepburn, saying that Andrews did not have much experience on the big screen. During her acceptance speech in the Golden Globe awards (which she won against Audrey Hepburn), she thanked Jack L. Warner for giving her the opportunity to participate in Mary Poppins. Sweet revenge it was!

Because this would never have existed without your insistence, perseverance and help. So, thank you Sayak Mitra.