“The human race is an unfair and stupid competition. A lot of the runners don’t even get decent sneakers or clean drinking water. Some people are born with a massive head start, every possible help along the way and still the referees seem to be on their side. It’s not surprising some people have given up competing altogether and gone to sit in the grandstand, eat junk food and shout abuse.
What we need in this race is a lot more streakers.”
- Banksy in Cut it Out
“I’m sorry. I dont want to be an emperor.That’s not my business. I dont want to rule or conquer anyone. I shall like to help everyone if possible. Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there’s room for everyone and the good Earth is rich. And can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful but we have lost the way.
Greed has poison men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind.
We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men. Cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all.
Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world. Millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed. The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will past and dictators die. And the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
Soldiers, don’t give yourselves to brutes. Men who despise you and slave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do what to think and what to feel. Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and with machine hearts. You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have a love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate, only the unloved hate. The unloved and the unnatural.
Soldiers, don’t fight for slavery. Fight for liberty. In the 17th chapter of St.Lucas it is written, the kingdom of God is within men, not in one man, nor a group of men, but in all men, in you. You the people have the power. The power to create machines. The power to create happiness. You, the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful. To make this life a wonderful adventure. Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power, let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world. That will give men a chance, to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie. They do not fulfill, their promise, they never will.
Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people.
Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world.
To do away with national barriers. To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.
Let us fight for a world with reason.
A world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!”
- Charlie Chaplin in his film “The Great Dictator” / “Look up Hannah”
Islamabad – Pakistan. A shoopkeeper performing his prayers.
Photo by Anjum Naveed
She’s 47, unemployed, single and never been kissed. She’s Susan Boyle.
I am currently taking a subject called Sociology of Emotions. And to date, this has been the most riveting subject I have taken yet. It grabs me by my collar and shakes me up. It tells me I am a human. It tells me that as a human, I am in my very nature, emotional. Whether we like it or not, whether we suppress our emotions or deny it, it is what makes us humans. And this is one of the things that makes this subject so special. Because it accepts the fact that there is such a thing as human nature, unlike most other sociological enquiries that starts from the point of “there is no human nature.” It also does not deny the possibility of things such as souls and a multiple self and that these are important elements of our emotions.
For those of us who are not sociologically trained, then you may wonder what exactly is so special about saying there is human nature? Well, besides this standpoint, sociology of emotions being a sociological enquiry, also tells you that social and cultural factors play an important role in shaping how you feel towards certain objects, towards certain people, towards certain events.
Sociology of emotions also tells you that not everyone values the same emotions equally. Anger is natural. But whether or not we see the value of anger depends on what our culture has to say about it. This subject also tells you that emotions in today’s world are being bought and sold. Happiness is bought. Bought by airline companies. And in this highly corporatised world, this is all that emotions is good for – profit. Hate this very idea?
Then come let’s get emotional. Get angry, get happy. Cry and laugh. Appreciate all the emotions that are innate in us! But as with all other matters, please, do not overdo it. Moderation is key.
Muallaf was a nice watch. The title and the trailer suggested a story of a boy who would embrace Islam. That never happen in the film.
Today I watched Muallaf at The Picturehouse. My first time there. It was small, cozy and comfy. Excellent for films! Venue aside, the film started with a young man named Brian. He is a school teacher and lives alone. His mother always calls and checks up on him but he never speaks nicely to her. Indeed, Brian hardly puts on a smile. One of his students, Rohani, deemed him “miserable.” And it probably had to do with the fact that he was angry with with his father – a rather devout Christian – for punishing him on an ‘extreme’ level when Brian was young. And this inadvertently made Brian abandon his Christian faith. But that looked set to change when his relationship with a student, Rohani and her sister Rohana, became closer.
The overall mood of the film is generally tense. The music throughout the film gave a mellow feel to it too. But all that changed nicely towards the end. Yes, a rather nice, calm and pleasant ending! But I think some viewers may not realize this fully. This is evident during a Q&A session with the director and cast after the film. At least two viewers commented that there was no “closure” to the movie. But the director, Yasmin Ahmad argued that there was indeed a closure and in fact, compared to her other films, this film had a complete ending.
I think viewers (including myself) may fail to realize that the story is about Brian. And this is perhaps because a large bulk of the film centered on the story of the two sisters (Rohani and Rohana) too. And to this effect, I think viewers would have expected that the relationship between Brian and the two sisters be concluded – that perhaps Brian and Rohana would fall in love with each other or something. And so, when the film ended without this expectation appearing explicitly on screen, some were somewhat left wanting more. But this was the only thing that was sort of a disappointment for me. Overall, though, the movie was excellent. The short humor and “what was that all about?” scenes that broke away from the main storyline is also clever, I think. It allowed viewers to escape for a while, from the tense storyline. And indeed, this has much to do with the character, especially Brian.
When Brian (the actor’s real name is also Brian) first appeared on screen. I thought, “Ohh man, this actor’s not so good. He’s too stiff and corky.” But as the story developed, I eventually realized that he was excellent! That was who the character was! A corky, stiff guy. A miserable young man who lives alone! Young Brian (played by Haris Zakaria, Yasmin’s nephew) was excellent too, despite his small airtime. That boy’s got a salute from me! The other casts were great too, including Yeo Yann Yann, Singapore-based actress who played Cindy, a young woman who works in the pub and is Rohana’s colleague. Though she has complains towards Rohana, she is highly considerate and protective to her fellow worker, even willing to take a hard beating. A trait that is perhaps sadly uncommon today. And indeed, this film shows a lot about personal traits, including and especially about loving others. Not romantic love, but the sort of forgiving others and not holding a grudge against anyone, not even to those who have hurt us. And that was what I find most beautiful about this film.
Sorry for not posting anything new for a long while now. And so, in this video, we’ll see a small group of anti-Islam McCain supporters pwned by other McCain supporters. Amusing I think.
“If you can read this, thank your teacher.”
OOO yeh! Matt is at it again! Truly inspirational!
Matt’s official website: http://www.wherethehellismatt.com
The video shows a then 23-months old girl pointing out numerous countries including Zimbabwe, Chile, Greece, Egypt, Malaysia and Taiwan on the map. Definitely puts a lot of adults to shame – including me!