Happy Monday!
A movie I’m watching —
Precious: This 2009 film is based on the 1996 novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, an American performance poet and author. The performances by Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique are so powerful and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to see or think of Mo’Nique (who actually won the Oscar for the best supporting actress for her performance) very objectively for quite some time.
I had been procrastinating watching this movie for months now because I had rightly anticipated it to be not just heart-breaking but disturbing. It reminds one of the terrible world we live in and how thankful we must be for a family, friends, a home and everything, even the most little things we take for granted.
Countless people are struggling everyday for their basic rights, needs, and existence. The unluckiest ones are neither safe outside nor inside their homes. How cruel it must be to be so alone to not feel loved and valued, to constantly be made to feel worthless, to be abused physically, mentally, emotionally and in every way possible…and yet to dream, to have hope, to aspire, to be resilient and to find a reason to endure it all and move forward. This movie is truly “For precious girls everywhere.”
A song I’m listening to —
It Took A Long Time: This 1974 song is from the album Nightbirds by LaBelle, an all-female American singing group popular in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a beautiful song with so much weight and depth, especially if you’ve seen the movie Precious.
A short film I’m watching —
Missing Halloween: This short animation is written, directed and provided music for by Mike Inel, a Filipino YouTuber who creates original artwork and animations. This film is about a little boy who goes out with his best friend to trick-or-treat on Halloween. But there’s more than that. There’s friendship, togetherness, imagination, loss and mystery. There’s a lot left to the interpretation about the story and it’s end. An interesting trivia is that a lot of the additional characters such as those handing out candies to the kids or the ones in the background have been designed by supporters of the short via a contest.
A quote I’m pondering —
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
— Elie Wiesel
A book I’m reading —
The Story of My Experiments with Truth: This is the autobiography of Mohandas K. Gandhi (also addressed in India as Mahatma Gandhi / Father of the Nation) written by himself. I never really wanted to read this book because of certain personal biases and baggage, but finally decided to keep those aside and slowly worked my way through it these past few days.
I am quite unsure of how I feel about the book though. I’m still unclear if I understand or can appreciate the man’s way of life, thinking, beliefs and conduct entirely. He came across as someone on the path of enlightenment yet very far from it. A person who was committed to certain ideas and values but lost. As someone who had dedication and commitment but lacked conviction and let his human flaws get the better of him. He sought spirituality but seemed to be caught up in worldliness.
While he managed to succeed in his role as a citizen of the country, he failed to deliver well on his roles as a husband, father, brother and friend. He was resolute, knowledgeable, resourceful, head-strong, and open-minded but not completely in a positive light. There were shades of arrogance, impatience, impulsiveness, ignorance, egotism and hints of rigidness, inflexibility and manipulation. He definitely was the judge, jury and executioner of all his experiments.
However, Gandhi’s description of British India, rural people and poverty, religion and politics, and his experience with people, places and power were detailed, authentic and informative. And the book has a lot of good ideas that resonate especially those relating to man’s search for truth, non-violence, self-reliance, discipline, hygiene and sanitation, simple living and community service, among many others.