Happy Monday!
A fictional documentary I’m watching —
Punishment Park: This American pseudo-documentary, written and directed by Peter Watkins, was released in 1971. The film follows West German and British camera crews that are documenting police and National Guard soldiers’ brutalities as they pursue “anti-American”, “anti-government”, and “anti-war” activists who have been sent to Punishment Park for correction. These naïve and helpless activists are imprisoned on unfair charges, they are stripped off their human rights, provided one-sided, superficial trials, and are unfairly sentenced to either 7–15 years jail time or 3–4 days at the Punishment Park. Unaware of the lies, deceit, lawlessness and cruelty in store for them at Punishment Park, these unsuspecting people choose the latter. Definitely a disturbing film to watch and digest. It leaves you feeling anxious, agitated and hopeless.
A quote I’m pondering —
“It’s no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.”
― Andre Agassi, Open
A song I’m listening to —
Jamala — 1944: This song is written, sung and performed by Ukrainian artist Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova (stage name ― Jamala). The lyrics of the song were inspired by the experiences of Jamala’s great grandmother Nazylkhan, who was one of the thousands of Crimean Tatars deported during World War II (1940s) under the orders of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The English lyrics of the song were written by the poet Art Antonyan. The song’s chorus comprises words from a Crimean Tatar folk song called “Ey Güzel Qırım.” I loved the execution of this Winning Performance by Jamala at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, however, the quality of voice and clarity of recording is much better in the official music video filmed later.
A short film I’m watching —
Umbrella: This 9-minute movie, written and directed by Helena Hilario and Mario Pece, is inspired by true events, and is overflowing with emotions and yearning. The story is about Joseph, a little, lonely boy who lives in an orphanage and wants nothing more than to have a yellow Umbrella. It seems like a simple, childish wish but is loaded with longing and hope. It makes me thankful for having relationships and experiences and knowing when they start and when they are over. To not get closure, be separated from a loved one without ever knowing (if and) whether they are (safe and okay) in this world, be left without knowing if you’d ever see them again…leaves one longing, and hoping, and always feeling incomplete.
A book I’m reading —
The Gambler: This dark novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky is about Alexey Ivanovitch, a young tutor who works for a pompous, old Russian general. The portrayal of Alexey’s gambling addiction, his innumerable wins and insufferable losses at roulette, his complicated and imbalanced relationship with the beautiful, manipulative and seductive Polina (the General’s niece), and his endless hopes and struggles, followed by his emotional despair is beautifully and engagingly captured in the story. Only someone who has ever been an addict (of anything) will really be able to appreciate and understand the psychological depth and emotional breadth of this book.
“Well, what, what new thing can they say to me that I don’t know myself? And is that the point? The point here is that — one turn of the wheel, and everything changes, and these same moralizers will be the first (I’m sure of it) to come with friendly jokes to congratulate me. And they won’t all turn away from me as they do now. Spit on them all! What am I now? Zéro. What may I be tomorrow? Tomorrow I may rise from the dead and begin to live anew! I may find the man in me before he’s lost!”
“Tomorrow” is a mirage. It is one of the worst words in an addict’s dictionary. It gives one an illusion of a better future right around the corner, while excusing them from the responsibilities of ensuring a better today.