July 2005 - Posts
Two nights ago, I organized an outting for my floor to see the movie
'Me and You and Everyone We Know', an independent movie that has received acclaim from many critics and won a number of awards at various film festivals. Knowing very little about the premise of the movie, a point I make for all movies I intend to see, I was curious to know what all the fuss was about. The story, as expected, was strange and seemed like all indie movies I have seen to be disconnected and lacking a coherent theme. I attribute the latter fact to what we, as regular audiences of hollywood movies, have been accustomed to, namely explicit plots that minimize any attempt by the film goer to interpret the work in the context of our own lives. Indie movies, for the most part, pose the questions and let viewers come to their own conclusions. Here is a briefy summary: the story revolves around the lives of two people, Christine and Richard, whose paths cross at a time when both are experiencing difficult times in their lives. Richard is undergoing divorce and starting to lead a separate life with his two small sons while Christine, an aspiring artist, is searching in vain for a soul mate and finds comfort in working part time as a cab driver for the elderly. The many subplots of the story revolve around the characters who surround these two principals and the strange and lascivious world of technology we live in. In fact technology, manifested in the internet, factors greatly to the social relationships of the various characters. Each character in the movie has a different approach to human social interaction, some are only able to express themselves through mediums such as instant messaging or signs posted on walls while others express it by self inflicted pain or video montages. but whatever the medium one chooses to express oneself, the common denominator of the characters is evident, that of longing to be with another human. the feeling of loneliness is what we all experience, but whether it is emotional or physical isolations varies greatly. I thought about this movie a lot after I saw it and tried to put the many pieces of it together when there were seemingly few connections. There is a beautiful dialogue in the movie that I especially enjoyed between Christine and Richard as they are walking down a street to their cars in which they liken the walk to the life cycle of relationships; from crossing the half way point and becoming cognizant of the impending separation to the good memories we all share with each other and even the afterlife. The tone of the movie is rich with drama and comedy and the director/writer uses these techniques quite well. Tender scenes between a father and his sons are juxtaposed with a fish meeting its fatal end while falling from the hood of a car. If you have the opportunity, do see this movie.
maybe it's the way the moonlight dances off the beige victorian homes, the way the Charles undulates with the midsummer breeze, or the way the streets breathe with the youthful enthusiasm of its inhabitants, but there is something about boston that is oh so enchanting. the cobble stone streets of beacon hill, the chique walkways of newbury, the lush green hills of the commons when juxtaposed with the vivacious nightlife of kenmore square, the cramped north end lifestyles that harken back to days long past and the manifest pulse of the intellectual base at the many universities bring together in this small city a set of commonalities that make it not only a most enriching place to study but also one to experience the life and the people in it as never before. whether its the boisterous crowds watching the marathon, a world series Red Sox rally to celebrate the end of an 86 year old curse, or a sparkling 4th of july fireworks with the BSO under the stars, the city will find a way to your heart. boston has soul, a unique character you'll find nowhere else, and she has the special ability to make anyone fall in love with her. she abounds with little treasures in the form of pristine parks, quaint neighborhoods, vintage buildings and a rich democratic tradition that is most conscious of its place in the creation of america. her inhabitants are as diverse as the shapes of the clouds which regularly envelope her horizon and her spirit is as wholly magical as it is accessible. yet to view boston only for her neighborhoods is to sample the most excuisite cuisine but not to taste it.
i once vowed i would never create a blog. i cited a lack of privacy as being the one quality that our technology driven world has begun to deprive us of. that our innermost thoughts and emotions should not be heralded to the world like the headline in a morning paper but instead should exist solely within the vast entanglement of neurons and neurotransmitters in a self contained vault of our skulls. but alas, i no longer subscribe to these views. the reasons will become evident over the course of time, but reflect changes in my perception of myself in the world and the role that technology such as this can afford a single voice. late at night this evening, i decided to read more about the one event in human history that has had the most profounded effect on the trajectory of my life over the course of the past 24 years: the iran-iraq war that lasted from 1980-88. perhaps it was the recent iranian presidential elections, or all the persian friends i had made in my first year at mit, or the rare times in my day where i ask myself how i came to be here at this very moment. while reading about the history and causes of this disastrous armed conflict on wikipedia, i came upon a
picture that moved me greatly. it is a tender picture of an old aged man kissing his new-born grand daughter good-bye prior to departing for the battlefield where he will no doubt be one of the many defenceless soldiers sentenced to certain death by walking the mine fields. the gravity of war and the pain of losing life gripped me. i began to think about all the people that had lost their lives in this manner, almost a million to be sure, and i realized the price that governments make their people pay for their longevity. needless to say i had a nauseous feeling come over me then, and i became very sad. slowly, as i continued to read the article, my melancholy turned into anger as i learned of the vast financial and military assistance that the europeans, americans and arab countries had granted saddam's iraq and the ensuing destruction that had wrought on the many iranians who were exposed to the most vicious forms of chemical warfare. the lives that were lost, the generations upon generations of people who were displaced, the senselessness of it all was a chilling reminder that it is in forums like this where meaningful discussions can be had about the truth of world history and the undocumented suffering that the world is abound in.