“The Syrian Bride” filmed in the valley region of the Golan Heights depicts the struggles of the people living in that region. As part of the Golan Heights is still occupied by Israel and the people living there considering themselves as Syrians, there is a constant hatred brewing among the two parties. The Druze people still view the occupation of Israelis as a threat to their actual identity and ethnicity. When Israel won the 1967 war, they occupied the Syrian border region of Golan Heights and slowly established it as a part of their territory.
The movie creates a picture of the atmosphere in that region and the problems the people face day to day. As Syria and Israel both claim the Golan Heights to be a part of their territory, there is a constant battle and argument between them. Any kind of official procedure is viewed as an attempt to further establish one country’s right on the region. The very idea of being a part of Israel is despicable to the Druze. The conflict intensifies when the idea of someone crossing the border between Israel controlled area and going into Syria arises. Both country’s border control disregards the others procedures and mandates.
The movie also draws attention to the fact that the passports of the Druze people declare their nationalities as “Unidentified”. The identity of one is the most important thing in one’s life and the Druze people are even denied that because of the nature of the conflict. As they consider themselves as “Syrians”, they also do not wish to obtain an Israeli passport which they can get. The sense of losing their own identity and integrating into something they are not is unfathomable to them. Any person who considers such atrocity of obtaining an Israeli passport or is remotely even supporting the Israelis is deemed to be a traitor against their nation and people. They are usually casted out of the community and are called “contributors”.
To negotiate between the two countries border control, there is a strong presence of United Nations representatives. The conflicts can anytime turn into violent bloodshed and massacre and to control that any kind of official business is handled by the United Nations. But the role of the United Nations in that region is highly circumstantial. They cannot control or predict how each and every case will play out and have to fully rely on both countries officials’ level of negotiation.
The Druze people are also against any form of inter-ethnic marriages as they fear it will slowly abolish their ethnicity. They oppose marriage outside of the region or Syria. When the eldest son in the family returns home after eight years with his Russian Wife, the father does not talk to him or even acknowledge his wife. The village elders also threaten the father with “cast out” if he welcomes the son and his Russian wife into the family.
This conflict in particular is not the usual religious conflict that is pictured in the media about the Middle East, but it goes beyond that. It is a fight for justice for the Druze people and their will to be part of a nation. It is a fight for their identity and their culture. The scope of the conflict cannot be resolved by inaction or the passive control of United Nations. Decades of dispute create the atmosphere of hatred in the region between the two parties and can only boil over at certain point resulting in violence.
“A band’s visit” had a different sort of message than “The Syrian Bride”; it was an attempt to endorse diplomacy between Egypt and Israel through culture. After the 1967 war, there is still a sense of contempt among the nations involved in that war. As the band comes to Israel, it introduces us to the life in the southern region of Israel. These regions of Israel are really undeveloped and the living condition just meets minimum level. Hot and dry desert condition exists throughout the region.
The band’s journey comprised of unexpected turns as they are stranded in a different city for a day and are forced to stay there overnight with the locals. The band gets split into groups of twos and threes as the locals arrange for them to stay and their interactions with the locals change their viewpoints. The movie focused on how people in these regions do not possess the similar disgruntled feeling towards each other and they can actually help each other.
Because of the difficult living conditions in that region and the minimum level of development, there are not many offices or large buildings in sight and not even in a busy transportation system. During the day and night, the city roads are empty and no one is visible in the streets. The city’s nightlife is a joke as like 10 or 20 people meet at a small disco roller skating ring. And apart from the apartments and small shops, there is nothing in the city, not even a park. When the band leader and the local girl were sitting on a bench, she described that she just imagines about the beach and parks and it helps her block out the reality.
The movie was very simple with a few dry jokes and situations. But it really depicted the life in that part of Israel and how the people struggle there. It also had that underline message that Arabs are much more acceptable towards the Israelis and there has been progress made in towards reaching a diplomatic understanding between the countries. It also promotes the idea of accepting people regardless of their differences and be open to suggestion by different people as they can turn out to be the very thing you might be looking for.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Cidade De Deus
“City of God” directed by Fernando Meirelles does not create the world of corruption, violence, gangs and poverty which is predominant in Brazil; rather it takes a backstage entry into the slum life. It explores the cruelty of reality in the alleys of city slum through the story of children in the Favela of Rio de Janeiro. These slum areas which grow up on the outskirts of the cities depict the living condition and struggles of people. The story line of the movie is through the eye of the Narrator, who describes how City of God came into existence starting in the 60s. When the poor people in the cities are forced to leave due to poverty, they resort to petty theft in order to survive.
Violence is such a big part of survival in these places. You are either the one putting down competition or being put down. There is no middle ground, no safety, and no sense of value for life. The idea to join a gang is the same as any other place: sense of belonging, temporary protection and the chance to have a better living condition than anyone else. Like any other gang drama, you know what the end result will be: the cycle of violence comes full circle. The narrator is not the hero in the movie, rather is a mere spectator who cannot actually fight against or oppose the idea of such violence. The only thing he is able to do is survive.
The movie also portrays the drugs and corruption which is an integral part of these areas. Police do not interfere or enforce any laws in these regions and turn blind eye to ongoing gang wars and violence. Their incentive is two-folds usually: they get monetary funding to do nothing and also avoid getting killed. The main business which is run in these regions is drugs. In the movie, the narrator mentions about an old lady’s apartment where she used to sell weed later turned into the operational headquarter for cocaine for the gangs.
But as most gang-drug-violence movies go, you expect the rise and fall of the person in power and gang wars break out like epidemics. You can sense that there is already someone waiting in the wings to assume the charge and become the next Godfather. It is a circle of life and however dysfunctional and unfair it may be, it has a way of balancing things out. Either to fight to remain at the top or you just fight to survive.
The movie can be compared to Martin Scorcese’s “Good Fellas” as both movies bring to life the struggles of the forgotten class of people and the evil within humans who do not remorse. Ethics take a back seat to the fight for survival and opportunities are scarce to escape the barbarous reality in these slums.
Violence is such a big part of survival in these places. You are either the one putting down competition or being put down. There is no middle ground, no safety, and no sense of value for life. The idea to join a gang is the same as any other place: sense of belonging, temporary protection and the chance to have a better living condition than anyone else. Like any other gang drama, you know what the end result will be: the cycle of violence comes full circle. The narrator is not the hero in the movie, rather is a mere spectator who cannot actually fight against or oppose the idea of such violence. The only thing he is able to do is survive.
The movie also portrays the drugs and corruption which is an integral part of these areas. Police do not interfere or enforce any laws in these regions and turn blind eye to ongoing gang wars and violence. Their incentive is two-folds usually: they get monetary funding to do nothing and also avoid getting killed. The main business which is run in these regions is drugs. In the movie, the narrator mentions about an old lady’s apartment where she used to sell weed later turned into the operational headquarter for cocaine for the gangs.
But as most gang-drug-violence movies go, you expect the rise and fall of the person in power and gang wars break out like epidemics. You can sense that there is already someone waiting in the wings to assume the charge and become the next Godfather. It is a circle of life and however dysfunctional and unfair it may be, it has a way of balancing things out. Either to fight to remain at the top or you just fight to survive.
The movie can be compared to Martin Scorcese’s “Good Fellas” as both movies bring to life the struggles of the forgotten class of people and the evil within humans who do not remorse. Ethics take a back seat to the fight for survival and opportunities are scarce to escape the barbarous reality in these slums.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Middle of the World
Brazil, one of the largest nations is the only Portuguese speaking country in the South American continent. Brazil was part of the Portuguese colony for more than four centuries. Many aspects beside the language have integrated into the existing culture of the people. The population is also diverse in Brazil as Portuguese settlers brought African people into the country during their colonial era.
“Middle of the World” is based on a true story of a struggling family living in the middle of Brazil take on a six month long, 2000 kilometer journey in search of a better living condition and employment. Wagner Moura stars as Romao, an illiterate truck driver who gets tired of his meager existence in the northeast of Brazil. Together with his wife Rose (Claudia Abreu), Romao concocts a scheme to bring his entire family to Rio de Janeiro on bicycles. Along this long road trip, they experience several life-changing events.
The movie depicts many social and cultural issues that exist in Brazil. When the Portuguese first arrived in the region, they came as missionaries and preached Christianity to the locals and also the Africans in the region. They also established churches and Christianity became the main religion of the people. Religion is a great part of their lives in Brazil. Throughout the movie, it showed how people value Christian teachings. Despite being hungry, the family decides to walk up their patron saints church and seek guidance and pray. The lead character, Romao, tries to lift the table believing that only someone who has not sinned can lift the table believing that it was much more important than feeding his kids or even resting after the whole day of exhausting journey.
The movie also draws attention to how underdeveloped the interior part of Brazil is. Lack of opportunities for employment and meager wages drive people from different regions of the country towards the coastal cities. The transportation network is also not well developed. Non existing transportation system makes it difficult for people with little money to travel. Only meaningful transportation hubs that exist are the gas stations which are located hundreds of kilometers apart. In the movie, the family has to pedal whole day in order to reach the next gas station before nightfall. On the other hand, the cities are developed with rise apartment complexes, highways and transportation system such as buses, trains and cars.
The interior regions of Brazil also have strong gang influence and crime rates and are not regulated by the local police. It makes these regions a safe haven for criminals who deal in cocaine, firearms and many other illegal items. In the movie, when the family stops to rest at an abandoned house, they are confronted by a gang carrying firearms and they slash the older son’s nose with a knife. The gang leader describes that this place is full of thugs and criminals and job opportunities are only related to unlawful activities.
The movie creates and successfully depicts the impoverished condition which many Brazilian families face day to day. It also talks about the human spirit of optimism in the face of adversity. The movie’s focus on Christian teachings resonate the undying nature of human spirit and idea of finding hope. But it leaves an important question in the mind of the viewers. What happens to families who cannot complete such rigorous journeys or never get the opportunity they have been looking for, do they survive or get lost in oblivion?
“Middle of the World” is based on a true story of a struggling family living in the middle of Brazil take on a six month long, 2000 kilometer journey in search of a better living condition and employment. Wagner Moura stars as Romao, an illiterate truck driver who gets tired of his meager existence in the northeast of Brazil. Together with his wife Rose (Claudia Abreu), Romao concocts a scheme to bring his entire family to Rio de Janeiro on bicycles. Along this long road trip, they experience several life-changing events.
The movie depicts many social and cultural issues that exist in Brazil. When the Portuguese first arrived in the region, they came as missionaries and preached Christianity to the locals and also the Africans in the region. They also established churches and Christianity became the main religion of the people. Religion is a great part of their lives in Brazil. Throughout the movie, it showed how people value Christian teachings. Despite being hungry, the family decides to walk up their patron saints church and seek guidance and pray. The lead character, Romao, tries to lift the table believing that only someone who has not sinned can lift the table believing that it was much more important than feeding his kids or even resting after the whole day of exhausting journey.
The movie also draws attention to how underdeveloped the interior part of Brazil is. Lack of opportunities for employment and meager wages drive people from different regions of the country towards the coastal cities. The transportation network is also not well developed. Non existing transportation system makes it difficult for people with little money to travel. Only meaningful transportation hubs that exist are the gas stations which are located hundreds of kilometers apart. In the movie, the family has to pedal whole day in order to reach the next gas station before nightfall. On the other hand, the cities are developed with rise apartment complexes, highways and transportation system such as buses, trains and cars.
The interior regions of Brazil also have strong gang influence and crime rates and are not regulated by the local police. It makes these regions a safe haven for criminals who deal in cocaine, firearms and many other illegal items. In the movie, when the family stops to rest at an abandoned house, they are confronted by a gang carrying firearms and they slash the older son’s nose with a knife. The gang leader describes that this place is full of thugs and criminals and job opportunities are only related to unlawful activities.
The movie creates and successfully depicts the impoverished condition which many Brazilian families face day to day. It also talks about the human spirit of optimism in the face of adversity. The movie’s focus on Christian teachings resonate the undying nature of human spirit and idea of finding hope. But it leaves an important question in the mind of the viewers. What happens to families who cannot complete such rigorous journeys or never get the opportunity they have been looking for, do they survive or get lost in oblivion?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tsotsi
After the post –apartheid era, the landscape of South Africa changed. But still many forms of social dysfunction and crimes within ethnic groups took center stage. It continues to plague the lower class people and draws them to different criminal activities. “Tsotsi” is a story of a young gangster who grows up in the streets after running away from the domestic violence. Living in the outskirts of Johannesburg, he stays above the poverty line by assaulting rich people at gunpoint. In such a brutal environment, he develops a remorseless persona. But as events unfold later in the movie, his remorseless persona takes a jolt in the stomach and turns him from a menacing criminal who does not have any chance for redemption to well, human.
After the post apartheid time, even though the racial discrimination which existed had ceased, people still are struggling in South Africa to surface above the intransigent poverty. Millions of people live in the outskirts of big cities like Johannesburg. To get away from the reality of the condition of life in those slumps, people resort to drinking. The “Teacher” in the movie, portrays the struggle of an educated yet poor person who resorts to drinking to forget the reality.
Violence is also another aspect which breeds out of poverty. Use of violence in the streets is a way of survival for the people living in the slumps. Starting from threatening people on gunpoint to extort money to carjacking and even murdering someone is evident and prominent in the society. These forms of violence contribute largely towards increasing crime rates in the country and deteriorate living conditions. But many people living under the poverty line see them as opportunities. The character of Lena, the car parts dealer, buys stolen cars from gang members and runs a successful organized business employing wannabe gang members in his crew.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV/AIDS infected people in the world. The growing number of infected people is a huge concern for the government. To enhance knowledge about the deadly disease and protect the citizens, large billboard can be seen at public locations encouraging people to get tested. Despite governmental efforts to raise awareness, there is a “taboo” associated with the disease itself and people infected of the disease. Any kind of association with infected people is considered by many as a threat and staying away is the only way to avoid the risk of being transmitted.
The movie “Tsotsi” focused on the black of people in Johannesburg and portrayed both ends of social spectrum. In one hand, there is a wealthy family who can afford the very best in terms of living conditions, luxury while the people living in the outskirts of Johannesburg feature the worst living condition. The director used such contrasting situation to portray how even after the apartheid era and economical development, the social condition and poverty has not declined in South Africa.
After the post apartheid time, even though the racial discrimination which existed had ceased, people still are struggling in South Africa to surface above the intransigent poverty. Millions of people live in the outskirts of big cities like Johannesburg. To get away from the reality of the condition of life in those slumps, people resort to drinking. The “Teacher” in the movie, portrays the struggle of an educated yet poor person who resorts to drinking to forget the reality.
Violence is also another aspect which breeds out of poverty. Use of violence in the streets is a way of survival for the people living in the slumps. Starting from threatening people on gunpoint to extort money to carjacking and even murdering someone is evident and prominent in the society. These forms of violence contribute largely towards increasing crime rates in the country and deteriorate living conditions. But many people living under the poverty line see them as opportunities. The character of Lena, the car parts dealer, buys stolen cars from gang members and runs a successful organized business employing wannabe gang members in his crew.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV/AIDS infected people in the world. The growing number of infected people is a huge concern for the government. To enhance knowledge about the deadly disease and protect the citizens, large billboard can be seen at public locations encouraging people to get tested. Despite governmental efforts to raise awareness, there is a “taboo” associated with the disease itself and people infected of the disease. Any kind of association with infected people is considered by many as a threat and staying away is the only way to avoid the risk of being transmitted.
The movie “Tsotsi” focused on the black of people in Johannesburg and portrayed both ends of social spectrum. In one hand, there is a wealthy family who can afford the very best in terms of living conditions, luxury while the people living in the outskirts of Johannesburg feature the worst living condition. The director used such contrasting situation to portray how even after the apartheid era and economical development, the social condition and poverty has not declined in South Africa.
Yesterday
“Yesterday” is the first international drama movie made in the local Zulu language at the rolling foothills of Zululand in the eastern Kwazulu-Natal province. The movie showed the charming yet harsh desolate location of South Africa. Dry, arid conditions throughout the region make it difficult to even do day to day activities in the region. People rely on forms of agriculture to support themselves in those areas.
The movie depicts the journey of an AIDS- infected woman named Yesterday in the Zulu province and her struggles. It is about how she reacts to the news that she has contracted AIDS from her migrant husband who works in Johannesburg and tries to manage her family even though all her day to day activities get harder for her to do.
South Africa has the highest number of AIDS infected people in the world and one out of every four women is HIV positive. This widespread disease is the reason that South Africa is the only country in the world forecasting a decline in their population.
To add to the misery of the infected people, there are inadequate facilities to take care of infected people throughout the country. Most of the people either do not know or cannot get required medical treatment even to ease their pain or sufferings. When Yesterday visits a regional AIDS patient facility in order to get her husband admitted, the hospital administration tells her to get her husband’s name in the waitlist due to limited capabilities at the hospital.
When one in every nine people in the country is infected by HIV, there needs to be education about how the virus is transmitted, what to do in order to protect oneself from contracting the virus. It is surprising that still people do not know about the facts about the disease. Lack of education system throughout different regions in the country contributes to the increasing number of HIV-infected people in the regions. As the movie showed, when the village people learn about Yesterday and her husband’s HIV, they want to cast them out of the village. They believed that just being in close proximity with the infected people can make them HIV positive too. Yesterday also told about a girl, who contracted HIV in another village and was stoned to death by the villagers.
South Africa is a highly developed country based on its natural resources such as Gold, Coal and Diamond mines. It provides employment to huge influx of people from all over the country who migrate to cities. Despite of the developments, the country is only developed in the cities. Villages and different regions still lack basic transportation network. Dirt roads are the main transportation channel throughout these regions. They also lack medical facilities for people in those regions. People have to stand in lines to get to see a doctor once a week as the government does not provide sufficient funding to employ more than one doctor in one region. People commuting for hours can be turned away from the clinics.
Even though the movie is a fiction and also can be a masterpiece in its story telling and the performances by the actors, it is the harsh reality people face in South Africa. The fear and ignorance associated with HIV/AIDS is deep-rooted in the regions and something the poverty-stricken countryside people face every day. The end scene in the movie when yesterday’s daughter Beauty, goes to school serves as the underlying message of the movie. The way to fight the fear and ignorance associated with HIV/AIDS is to educate the young generation.
The movie depicts the journey of an AIDS- infected woman named Yesterday in the Zulu province and her struggles. It is about how she reacts to the news that she has contracted AIDS from her migrant husband who works in Johannesburg and tries to manage her family even though all her day to day activities get harder for her to do.
South Africa has the highest number of AIDS infected people in the world and one out of every four women is HIV positive. This widespread disease is the reason that South Africa is the only country in the world forecasting a decline in their population.
To add to the misery of the infected people, there are inadequate facilities to take care of infected people throughout the country. Most of the people either do not know or cannot get required medical treatment even to ease their pain or sufferings. When Yesterday visits a regional AIDS patient facility in order to get her husband admitted, the hospital administration tells her to get her husband’s name in the waitlist due to limited capabilities at the hospital.
When one in every nine people in the country is infected by HIV, there needs to be education about how the virus is transmitted, what to do in order to protect oneself from contracting the virus. It is surprising that still people do not know about the facts about the disease. Lack of education system throughout different regions in the country contributes to the increasing number of HIV-infected people in the regions. As the movie showed, when the village people learn about Yesterday and her husband’s HIV, they want to cast them out of the village. They believed that just being in close proximity with the infected people can make them HIV positive too. Yesterday also told about a girl, who contracted HIV in another village and was stoned to death by the villagers.
South Africa is a highly developed country based on its natural resources such as Gold, Coal and Diamond mines. It provides employment to huge influx of people from all over the country who migrate to cities. Despite of the developments, the country is only developed in the cities. Villages and different regions still lack basic transportation network. Dirt roads are the main transportation channel throughout these regions. They also lack medical facilities for people in those regions. People have to stand in lines to get to see a doctor once a week as the government does not provide sufficient funding to employ more than one doctor in one region. People commuting for hours can be turned away from the clinics.
Even though the movie is a fiction and also can be a masterpiece in its story telling and the performances by the actors, it is the harsh reality people face in South Africa. The fear and ignorance associated with HIV/AIDS is deep-rooted in the regions and something the poverty-stricken countryside people face every day. The end scene in the movie when yesterday’s daughter Beauty, goes to school serves as the underlying message of the movie. The way to fight the fear and ignorance associated with HIV/AIDS is to educate the young generation.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Singapore Dreaming
Singapore, a small island in the Southeast Asia, is an important financial center of the world economy. The people living in the island nation have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. The movie” Singapore Dreaming” follows a patriarchal working class family’s dream and the harsh reality they face in terms of fulfilling those dreams. The movie depicts the growing obsession of success in a capitalistic economy and the hardships faced by people.
The movie addresses many social issues in the day to day life of a Singaporean family. The movie depicts a gender discrimination that exists in the society. The father and mother have high aspirations for their son and sends him to United States to study while their elder daughter is neglected despite the fact that the son failed even to get admission in a local university. The daughter complains about the parents caring for their son more than her through out the movie. A son is viewed as an asset who will contribute to the family and thus viewed as a security investment for the future.
Most of the Singaporean working class people live in Government apartments through out the country. For most, it is the dream to move out of those apartments to a better remote high profile area. The father buys lottery tickets in the view that the money will enable him to fulfill his desire. When his son returns from United States, he believes that it will take him one step closer to fulfilling his dreams. Even though most Singaporeans live in these apartments, they dislike the strict government rules and regulations. The scene where the sign shows “No urination in the elevators, violators will be prosecuted” and the Irene’s husband urinates anyways in the elevator just to show his disregards to the law.
The movie is made from the viewpoint of a Singaporean and the way they think of success. As it is true for all capitalistic nations, the opportunities are highly competitive. When Ck goes in for an interview, his degree is viewed useless as the employer mentions that they cannot afford take the risk to hire him as his degree is not from MIT, Stanford. In one scene where Ck explains his new car to his fiancé, his words summarize the way people think in the society. “If you want to make it big, you have to show you already made it”.
Singapore Dreaming also portrays how employers treat sub ordinates in the society. Irene, who works as a secretary is called into the office during her father’s funeral on an emergency to photocopy a few papers and get her boss a cup of coffee. The boss’s behavior resonates that he owns the employees and can treat him as he pleases. In another scene, when Irene rushes to help the boss’s wife despite being pregnant, the boss’s wife orders her to clean up the apartment. The successful people in the society treat their subordinates like their personal property.
The Taoism funeral ceremonies, where they create replicas of everything that was important to the deceased and at the end incinerate everything served as a metaphor. The dreams and aspirations of the father turned to dust along with him and accompanied him to the next life.
The movie draws attention to the fact that success in life is more than mere material possessions one owns. Running after materialistic dreams often blurs the importance of family ties, emotions of people surrounding one. After the funeral of the father, the dysfunctions and tensions among the family members become more apparent.
The movie addresses many social issues in the day to day life of a Singaporean family. The movie depicts a gender discrimination that exists in the society. The father and mother have high aspirations for their son and sends him to United States to study while their elder daughter is neglected despite the fact that the son failed even to get admission in a local university. The daughter complains about the parents caring for their son more than her through out the movie. A son is viewed as an asset who will contribute to the family and thus viewed as a security investment for the future.
Most of the Singaporean working class people live in Government apartments through out the country. For most, it is the dream to move out of those apartments to a better remote high profile area. The father buys lottery tickets in the view that the money will enable him to fulfill his desire. When his son returns from United States, he believes that it will take him one step closer to fulfilling his dreams. Even though most Singaporeans live in these apartments, they dislike the strict government rules and regulations. The scene where the sign shows “No urination in the elevators, violators will be prosecuted” and the Irene’s husband urinates anyways in the elevator just to show his disregards to the law.
The movie is made from the viewpoint of a Singaporean and the way they think of success. As it is true for all capitalistic nations, the opportunities are highly competitive. When Ck goes in for an interview, his degree is viewed useless as the employer mentions that they cannot afford take the risk to hire him as his degree is not from MIT, Stanford. In one scene where Ck explains his new car to his fiancé, his words summarize the way people think in the society. “If you want to make it big, you have to show you already made it”.
Singapore Dreaming also portrays how employers treat sub ordinates in the society. Irene, who works as a secretary is called into the office during her father’s funeral on an emergency to photocopy a few papers and get her boss a cup of coffee. The boss’s behavior resonates that he owns the employees and can treat him as he pleases. In another scene, when Irene rushes to help the boss’s wife despite being pregnant, the boss’s wife orders her to clean up the apartment. The successful people in the society treat their subordinates like their personal property.
The Taoism funeral ceremonies, where they create replicas of everything that was important to the deceased and at the end incinerate everything served as a metaphor. The dreams and aspirations of the father turned to dust along with him and accompanied him to the next life.
The movie draws attention to the fact that success in life is more than mere material possessions one owns. Running after materialistic dreams often blurs the importance of family ties, emotions of people surrounding one. After the funeral of the father, the dysfunctions and tensions among the family members become more apparent.
Crying Ladies
Philippines, the multi-island nation had been under the rule of the Spanish monarchy for over three centuries and as a result, the culture and language absorbed some Spanish features. Philippines were under the rule of United States following the Spanish-American War of 1898. So the country’s culture has infused Spanish, American and local customs together. Because of that reason, English is prominently used in the country and many Spanish words have made their place into the language. Because of the Spanish and American influence, almost 86% of the country’s populations belong to different sects of Christianity where majority of them are Roman Catholics.
“Crying Ladies” is a story of three working class women who get hired by the Chua Family to cry at the wake ceremony for the deceased. It is a Chinese ritual to bid farewell and they believe that the more people mourn for the deceased, the more the Gods will be pleased with that deceased. Stella, the lead character in the movie, is a second generation mourner and divorcee mother. Choleng is a character torn between her religious beliefs and her affair with her friend’s husband. Aling is a shopkeeper holding onto her fading memory of a movie career. As all three of them get hired by the Chu family, they all deal with their problems throughout the movie. Stella struggles to find a better job in order to keep her son close to her and weighs the pros and cons of keeping her son, Bong, with her rather than sending him away with his dad and step mom to another far away city. Choleng seeks refuge in confession in her church and tries to obtain peace of mind by doing charity. Aling seeks to make her daughter a model in order to hold on to her memory of movie fame.
The movie depicts that more and more people are moving away from their ancient beliefs and rituals in the society. When the Chua family starts looking for criers for the funeral, they face that situation. Once a prominent feature for families with Chinese heritage has now slowly faded away in the face of modern day lifestyle.
The movie addresses many social norms or activities people are involved in.
Gambling is a one such activity which people indulge in to try and win. The shop owner who sells caskets runs a gambling place behind the store and invites all his friends to gamble. It serves as a getaway for them for the reality and provides them with a sense of achievement.
Bribery is a norm people face every day in the society. Starting from small to big, everything involves bribe. Two scenes in the movie depict how people accept bribes to make jobs easier for people and at the same time earn some cash on the side. First, the traffic police stop a driver entering a one way street and then accept an “Oakley” sunglass as bribe and let the driver leaves without a ticket. Second, Wilson gives money to two different persons so that the funeral procession can take a shorter route on the streets and not face the difficulty of going all the way around couple blocks.
The radio, television and different agencies create and promote different game shows to attract people and most of the time, prey on people’s dreams. Reality shows and game shows attract huge number to participants and audiences. Hundreds of people show up to participate in the game shows to win or just appear on TV and some of these game shows are designed to embarrass the participants. The game show Stella decided to join asks them to appear in funny getups in order to just get into the audience. On the contrary, they also have some talent agencies which actually provide opportunities to people with talents.
Karaoke is a huge part of Philippine culture. Almost every bar or social gathering has a karaoke machine and people really enjoy karaoke. At the end of the movie, at every bar, club, party Stella appears on all the Karaoke channels or machines as she is the star of the karaoke videos.
The movie portrays basic principle that rather than pretending to be something else, it is much better to recognize your own potential. Also changing different behavioral aspects of own character can serve to create better opportunity for personal growth.
“Crying Ladies” is a story of three working class women who get hired by the Chua Family to cry at the wake ceremony for the deceased. It is a Chinese ritual to bid farewell and they believe that the more people mourn for the deceased, the more the Gods will be pleased with that deceased. Stella, the lead character in the movie, is a second generation mourner and divorcee mother. Choleng is a character torn between her religious beliefs and her affair with her friend’s husband. Aling is a shopkeeper holding onto her fading memory of a movie career. As all three of them get hired by the Chu family, they all deal with their problems throughout the movie. Stella struggles to find a better job in order to keep her son close to her and weighs the pros and cons of keeping her son, Bong, with her rather than sending him away with his dad and step mom to another far away city. Choleng seeks refuge in confession in her church and tries to obtain peace of mind by doing charity. Aling seeks to make her daughter a model in order to hold on to her memory of movie fame.
The movie depicts that more and more people are moving away from their ancient beliefs and rituals in the society. When the Chua family starts looking for criers for the funeral, they face that situation. Once a prominent feature for families with Chinese heritage has now slowly faded away in the face of modern day lifestyle.
The movie addresses many social norms or activities people are involved in.
Gambling is a one such activity which people indulge in to try and win. The shop owner who sells caskets runs a gambling place behind the store and invites all his friends to gamble. It serves as a getaway for them for the reality and provides them with a sense of achievement.
Bribery is a norm people face every day in the society. Starting from small to big, everything involves bribe. Two scenes in the movie depict how people accept bribes to make jobs easier for people and at the same time earn some cash on the side. First, the traffic police stop a driver entering a one way street and then accept an “Oakley” sunglass as bribe and let the driver leaves without a ticket. Second, Wilson gives money to two different persons so that the funeral procession can take a shorter route on the streets and not face the difficulty of going all the way around couple blocks.
The radio, television and different agencies create and promote different game shows to attract people and most of the time, prey on people’s dreams. Reality shows and game shows attract huge number to participants and audiences. Hundreds of people show up to participate in the game shows to win or just appear on TV and some of these game shows are designed to embarrass the participants. The game show Stella decided to join asks them to appear in funny getups in order to just get into the audience. On the contrary, they also have some talent agencies which actually provide opportunities to people with talents.
Karaoke is a huge part of Philippine culture. Almost every bar or social gathering has a karaoke machine and people really enjoy karaoke. At the end of the movie, at every bar, club, party Stella appears on all the Karaoke channels or machines as she is the star of the karaoke videos.
The movie portrays basic principle that rather than pretending to be something else, it is much better to recognize your own potential. Also changing different behavioral aspects of own character can serve to create better opportunity for personal growth.
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