Film Review: Suffragette

If you think you're a feminist, think again. Suffragette is a film that mirrors the very definition of the term "feminism." Inspired by true events that transpired in 1912, England the film summarises the struggle of working women, mothers, and human beings that were earlier branded, discarded, and made to dance to the tune of men. It highlights the sheer determination of women who wanted to be more than just someone's wife or someone's mother; who wanted to be recognised and respected as equal citizens; who wanted to be treated with fairness. 

The film primarily focuses on the lives of four women, that were followers of Emmeline Pankhurst-played by Meryl Streep. Although Streep doesn't get much screen time, she aides a hesitant protagonist to believe in a cause that is larger than she thinks. 

Maud Watts (Carrey Mulligan), is a mother of a young boy no more than five and works as a launderer. Her husband, Sonny Watts (Ben Wishaw) has a cushier job at the same laundromat as a delivery-man and makes six shillings more than her; not that she complains. Watts happily goes about her own life until she's caught amidst a suffragette protest, resulting in her involuntary involvement. She recognises a woman, who is later revealed to be a woman who works at the same laundromat as Watts and is branded to be a troublemaker by their boss- Norman Taylor (Geoff Bell). Violet, and her twelve-year-old daughter, both work at the laundromat. Taylor is a paedophile who assaults the girls that work there and nobody seems to do much about it. 

Watts eventually gets persuaded into reading out a testimony in front of the Parliament to further the cause of voting rights for women. While women in their hundreds eagerly await the verdict, they are terribly disappointed to hear that "due to the lack of evidence the bill cannot be passed." The protest gets violent, resulting in the arrest of Watts, Violet, and Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter)-who is instrumental in leading most of the protests against the government. 

Post their release, Watts gets recruited as a suffragette. Her husband isn't particularly happy with the news and more so considering his wife's arrest has brought on a stigma and her involvement in the movement is looked upon as a disgrace. 

Brendan Gleeson popularly known for his role as Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter series appears as an antagonist in the film and an officer of the law, whose sole purpose is to quash the movement. In an attempt to persuade Watts to become his informant, he offers her freedom after she burns Taylor's hand at the laundromat after he shames and molests her. Watts is only determined more than ever to become a torchbearer for the struggle after she is arrested yet again for helping Pankhurst evade arrest after giving a public speech.
As a result of her actions, Sonny kicks her out of the house and refuses to let her meet her son. Being unable to care for him, he gives his son up to a couple for adoption and completely sears his relationship with his wife. Mind you... during this period, women weren't allowed to divorce their husbands but could be kicked out of the house. Women had no control over their finances or rights over their own children. They were practically "childbearing pretty things" in the higher class and childbearing wage earning playthings in the working class. 

Matters become much worse when Watts, Ellyn and Emily Davison (Natalie Press) blow up and unoccupied Parliamentary residence. Being determined to ensure that they're taken seriously, the women refuse to eat in prison and are force-fed and subjected to terrible brutality. However, the officers of the law maintain a tight grip over the press, resulting in almost no coverage of the event. 

Davison martyrs herself to the cause in order to get attention as she rushes onto a race track where she is trampled by the King's horse. The movement finally gets coverage and more women join the cause. 

It wasn't until 1925 that the English law recognised a mother's right to her children and only in 1928 did women get equal voting rights as men. 

A beautifully directed, produced, and written piece that makes you grateful to all the women who sacrificed so much so that we could enjoy a cushy life. It makes us wonder about all the women who in fact didn't participate and made it harder for those who did and had the courage and dignity to raise a voice and say, "This isn't okay. I want a better life for myself and the future generation of women." It makes you ache for the women who faced atrocities so that we could have what we have. Seeing the film certainly makes me value my position in society more. 

2018

For all of us who thought the world would end in 2012... Ha ha! It's like those moments in life, when you lose all hope and succumb to absolution, and then out of the blue, there presents itself a solution that pretty much solves everything; and that leaves you wondering, 'Why couldn't you have showed up a little earlier, before my dramatic meltdown?" That's just life, I guess... ridiculously bizarre and unpredicatable.

Anyway, like most of you, I've had a rough year. I'm sure a lot of you have had it a lot worse than me... it's all relative, as they say; not really sure who "they" are, but I'm sure you catch my drift. It's been a rough year with all the political angst and surprises and shocks, the global terror attacks, tremendous loss of life, floods in India; it's not been easy. I'm sure most of you are looking forward to 2018 with a lot of hope and anticipation. I know I am. I also know that the older generation, that have a fair idea about how things work, are a little less expectant and simply plan to take things as they come. Who knows what's going to happen?

This isn't a fright post... if it sounds as such at present, don't worry or cringe or twist your face. Shortly I'll be throwing some corny things at you that will make you cringe even more. 

Moving on... I'm really grateful for a lot of things that happened this year. Most of all, I've extremely grateful to all the people who made 2017 bearable. There were quite a few people who were around when I needed them and wanted them the most. There were a few complete strangers who ended up becoming an important part of my life. I grew closer to some and drifted apart from some. All in all, the year was what is what because of these people. 

A lot of people were instrumental in most of the happy moments that transpired this year. Think about it... our lives are what they are because of who's in it. Think about all the people in your life; the ones that make it better, the ones that make it easy. 

If anything at all, I want to be like the people who helped me this year. They helped me see, understand and find meaning when I was running around in circles with a blindfold. It was pertifying and there were moments when I was almost paralysed by fear and uncertainty that stalked me rather diligently. We've all felt this way at some point this year; but there was always someone to gently hold your hand, remove the blindfold and help you find your way again. I don't know if they'll be there in 2018, I don't know how many new faces will become familiar and probably important at some point... I don't know.

2018... bring it on. 

The Ingenius of Modern Poetry

When I say modern poetry, I'm specifically talking about song. Songs that have moving lyrics, melodious music and the capacity to move us.

You see, I've been listening to this particular song on loop since the past few days and I'm going to share it so that you can understand why.

If the video doesn't work on account of some technological glitch, the song is called "Don't Panic" by Clarity. Yes, it happens to be a cover of the brilliant Coldplay song.

I heard this particular song in the trailer of X-Men: Apocalypse and it has left a major imprint on my mind. If you watch the trailer and here the song, it'll make a lot of more sense.

See what I mean? I have loved the original for as long as I can remember, but it never had the same profound effect on me as the combination of the visuals which are so penetrating themselves with the sagacious lyrics and the music. It's the perfect formula for a thought provoking, paralyzing experience that inspires a lengthy blog post.

I am obsessed with dystopia- I shall often display my obsession. And hence, this song has left me so shaken.

 Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
Homes, places we've grown,
All of us are done for.
And we live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world,

 Oh, all that I know,
There's nothing here to run from,
Cos yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on

                                              

In the context of the trailer, the lyrics come across as a plea for mercy. Despite all the destruction,devastation, we do live in a beautiful world where there is hope, life, the capacity to change to become better, to evolve. 

I think it comes across as a wake up call for all the cynics and the people who like to watch the world burn, or simply allow it to burn; we live in a beautiful world- your arguments about all the atrocities and bitterness are futile... nothing/nobody is perfect. We simply have to strive for change and to make this world a better place. This is our world, our home... we can't let it burn, and if you're going to stand still and do nothing, don't become a hindrance to the efforts of others.

Yes, I see how that can be a little didactic... no worries... I'm not preaching, this only an interpretation.

I think we need songs like these in today's day and age. We need music that will give us hope, inspiration and revive our faith in humanity. We are living in tough times and being a literature student I've studied literature, art and music through the ages... it may have been morose and often criticized and condemned the world for what it was, but it still left the reader's hopeful.

I believe that music, visuals and lyrics have to power to bring about change. They can help us feel hopeful. I'm not implying that art has a purpose or that it's completely aesthetic... all that I'm saying is, it has the power to makes us feel, make us think, make us ponder, make us shiver and shudder and as long as we feel those, we will never become effigies that shall stand by while the world burns.

This particular song, for instance has provoked a lot of thinking. If it does the same for you, please share your experiences, I'd love to hear them :)

Have a cookie day :)

                                    

We're Opening Yet Another New Jar...

I really wanted to come up on stage and speak today, but I really didn't want to. Yes, I see how that can be confusing. You see, on the first day of college when we were called up on stage to introduce ourselves, I admitted to being a psychopath... not really the best thing to say when you're in a new place trying to make new friends.
Anyway, I was scared of confessing my undying love for most of the girls in our class and I didn't want them to fight over me... Yes Kalna, Ravisha... I'm talking about you. I think we should notify Oxford Dictionary that "most" now signifies "two"... Brilliant.

Anyway, I want to use this platform as a way of expression(duh).

These three years have been extremely rough and torturous; despite that, I have some lovely memories and friends that I'll carry with me wherever I go... Yes, I am going to kidnap my friends and carry them around in my trunk... I warned everyone of being a psychopath on the first day; if you still chose to stick around, that's pretty much your fault.

Enough of horsing around I guess. Pull out your tissues... It's been a tough three years. There were times when I wished I wasn't born and so did others, I'm sure. Despite all of these hardships and irritants, I had the constant support of wonderful classmates, seniors and mentors who made everything worthwhile and bearable. I've spent hours on the telephone cribbing, counseling, being counseled, gossiping, bitching, crying, fighting, laughing and it all seems extremely important now.

I want to thank my classmates for laughing at most of my jokes, encouraging me to speak on stage when my train of thought simply failed me. I want to thank you all for liking me and thinking I was worth being around... that feeling of acceptance and belonging, to be honest, this is the first time I've felt it. I didn't have a lot of friends in school and people generally avoided me because I am a psychopath. It felt really good mentioning a name and acknowledging  a friendship with the same.

I want to thank my seniors... without your constant support and notes and counsel, I would've gone mad for sure. A special thanks to some of you, you know who you are... thank you for making Xaviers fun and memorable. You are all amazing human beings, do not change unless for the better :P

Lastly, I want to thank my teachers. Yes, we've shared a love-hate relationship; but I've loved you for the most. Thank you for boosting my confidence, and valuing my opinions and thoughts. That truly moved me. I seldom plagiarized assignments from the net, and I still ended up being appreciated... This has never happened before. I truly appreciate the fact that you've molded me into a better person in more ways than one... I know this sounds like a cliche and the proper thing to say, but it's coming straight from the heart.

It's been fun... for the most :P

We're about to start a new chapter in our lives and I hope I come across more people like most of you :P All those of you that I've bickered with or had a spat with, I'd like to thank you as well for keeping things interesting. College life without you would've been extremely monotonous and uninteresting. I'm sorry if I ever hurt you... I meant to, but I hope it wasn't so bad.

Keep in touch with me... if you can/want to. I am always up for a few laughs and lots of catharsis.

I love all of you. I may not have spoken to all of you or been bum chums with you, but you were all an equally important part of this chapter of my life. I wish I could've spent some more time with you... it feels like I've just gotten to know you all and now we've got to go our own ways. I wish you all the best and I hope you are happy wherever you are.

Have a cookie life :)

A Blast From the Past!

OOH LA LA! C'EST QUELLE SUPRISE!


Yes, it's been quite long(diplomatic understatement) since I've blogged and shared my train of thought. Too be honest, I had quit blogging. I picked a specific area which was too specific and quite boring. Also, my blog seemed very didactic and preachy, which wasn't the purpose... or maybe it was, but I've decided to rectify that now.

As you can see my blog is currently under renovation... as is my brain. I've changes the name... no no, I shall impart wisdom. No lessons of life; I'm far too dim for that. As Uncle Ben said," With great power, comes great responsibility"... writing is one of the most powerful tools( Ha Ha, very funny -_-) and I don't think I'm ready for that responsibility,yet.

So, this is a teaser... more like a declaration of my return and the resurrection of my blog...AGAIN.

I'm no longer a self-help, didactic blogger... but, I will be writing about books, TV shows, films, music, art, food, travel, opinions, rants, questions... I'm widening my scope of writing and yours of reading :P

I've just started an Instagram page as well... set it up exactly 15 minutes ago. Yup, I'm putting more effort into this so that it's hard to quit this time.

For those of you who've complained about the background... I'll try changing it, but no promises because I love it and you should love it for what it is as well! If you didn't like my face, I wouldn't spend money on surgically altering it(really stupid metaphor, but it makes complete sense to me)... and if it's a matter of convenience, please squint a bit, my articles take hardly two minutes to read!

I have a few profound and a few slapstick articles coming up, so stay tuned.

I hope you've all been well and happy and are getting along with life just fine. If not... you will sooner or later.

I've got lots of renovating to do, so Imma gonna go and do dat! See you soon!

Have a cookie day :)

A Letter Of Gratitude

Hello Everyone,

I know you're wondering why I blog at such weird intervals of time. Don't worry, I wasn't off taking another vacation. I just came to a conclusion that I want to blog only if I have a lesson of life to share. I'm not going to write only for the sake of writing or in order to keep my blog alive. It'll live as long as it has too.

I learnt a very important lesson of life last night. I learnt several to be honest. My college participated in the 'Youth Festival'. I don't know the reasons but we didn't win a lot this time. I'm sure it wasn't because of lack of effort or because we didn't perform well.
We were extremely disappointed.

I was extremely disappointed. I participated in an event, and everyone thought I had a fairly decent chance at winning. But I didn't.

At the valedictory, there were a lot of my fellow Xavierites who had participated and several who had come to support us. I was sitting on a chair surrounded by all of them because I was extremely anxious and didn't have the strength to stand. When the result of my event was being announced I had an anxiety attack. By the time the first two winners were announced, the anxiety began growing quicker than a cancerous cell and spread all over. There was just one name left to be announced. I went numb....... Turned out I didn't win after all. My knee stopped shaking as the realization sunk in. There was pin drop silence from my surroundings as all the Xavierites realized that their fellow Xavierite had lost.
The silence lasted all of five seconds. They burst into a loud cheer and started cheering for me. Even as I'm writing this I'm fighting back tears because I'm engulfed by an emotion I can't put into words.
They were cheering and congratulating me and telling me that in their eyes I was a true winner. I sat still for all of five minutes and let the feeling sink. I got up and found my best friend and hugged him tightly. We didn't say anything for we knew it wouldn't make a difference because he knew exactly how I was feeling and how vigorously my mind was churning pessimistic and melancholic thoughts.

Our college kept losing. Out of nineteen events that we participated in, we won only seven. It was a terrible night for us, for this had never happened in the history of Xaviers. But it didn't break our spirit. We kept cheering and celebrating despite the fact that we were feeling miserable on the inside. We had to be strong for everyone. There were several third and fifth year Xavierites who were miserable as it was their last 'Youth Fest'. Despite all of this,we followed a tradition and went back to college and celebrated with our Father Principal and other Fathers. It wasn't the usual spirit, but we tried to keep it as enthusiastic as we could. We went to Havmor for ice-cream following yet another Xavier's  tradition.

This was my first 'Youth Fest'. I don't really know my way around it yet or know it's value. But I realized that what Xavierites value more than winning is each other. Even in the face of defeat we kept our spirits up. I'm sure we were extremely upset with the unfairness of it all, but we took a much higher road. People who lose aren't treated the way I and every other participant representing our college was. They cheered us and congratulated us and made us feel valued. This feeling is hard to find. The feeling that you belong somewhere, acceptance, love and support. Sometimes it's hard finding it at home as well.

My respect and love for my college has climbed further than the stairway to heaven. I'm proud to be a part of this college and proud of my fellow Xavierites for being such beautiful human beings. It's hard to find a place where people can give so much of support and love irregardless of who you are and what you do.
Thank you all so much. For the first time I smiled at the face of defeat. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't upset at first, but all of you made me feel something that I can't adequately express but I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to convey.

Yours truly,
A Xavierite till the end.

The Dead Blog's Resurrection

Hello everyone. I know it’s been several months since I last wrote and my IndiBlogger ranking has taken a plummet. I’m not surprised at the consequences of my disappearance as they are quite reasonable and expected.

I sincerely apologize for utter silence for such a prolonged period. I have been busy,tackling a few issues that required my immediate attention. And apart from being occupied, I’ve been catching up on some reading. Quite a lot, actually.

I’m sure you all are wondering what the fantastic lesson that I intend to impart in this "resurrectory" piece is.

The lesson is quite plain and simple, honestly. It’s something so commonly known but so seldom applied to one’s own experiences.

The lesson is called.......

(*DRUM ROLL*)

....

(*SUSPENSE MUSIC*)

A VACATION!

Honestly. How simple is it, but yet so difficult(Wow! Another one of my epic oxymorons!) I was so tired of my monotonous life and the fact that I’m a tiny bit of an introvert doesn’t really help make my life any less monotonous.

 So... I simply cut off. I didn’t do anything that didn’t interest me or simply I didn’t want to do. I read several books, watched a few good films( Fight Club- mind frickin blowing!, Taxi Driver,The Silence Of The Lambs- Anthony Hopkins, You senxy beast!, etc.), met a few friends( 5 to be exact). Yup. That’s all I did.

Sometimes, Life just gets on your nerves. I know I’ve personified Life, I know it’s not a real person or else by now several people would’ve beaten it up or it would’ve been sentenced to public execution by STONING!

When this happens, take a break. You. Need. To.Calm.Down. It’s like wen we fall. We don’t immediately get up. It takes a few seconds for your brain to register the fall and then the damage done before you can finally use the support of your hands to stand up. Same principle here.

Take a break if you’re feeling unhappy. Do things that you like. Eat food you enjoy. Meet those whose company you like. Stay away from that which makes you unhappy. Do this, and you’ll get back on your feet with a lot more balance than you had much before your fall.

Think about it. Act upon it.