Come December, the year-end lists start everywhere and I think they’re great fun. In that spirit, this is the first of a series of posts looking back at the year 2007. First, let me point you to Guardian’s list of 2007’s best films. The list includes Sarah Polley’s poignant drama Away From Her , Clint Eastwood’s war film Letter’s from Iwo Jima and John Curran’s very moving love story The Painted Veil, which is a personal favourite as well. I do have one huge nit to pick though. The list includes Apocalypto, Mel Gibson’s over-the-top period film about the downfall of the Mayan civilisation.
In case, you missed the movie, plot details are here. My beef with Apocalypto was not so much in terms of filmmaking technique. Vivid cinematography, nail-biting action including one exciting chase scene involving Jaguar Paw (the man) and a real jaguar, a hero you care about — it’s all there. And if lots of blood and gore and naked people chanting to the sun or tearing out animal innards is your thing, you probably enjoyed it. Although, the Newsweek review did point out that “the relentless pileup of atrocities becomes self-defeating” and “the harder Apocalypto works to shock and excite you, the less shocked and excited you become”, which I tend to agree with.
But what I was really upset about was the one-dimensional representation of an ancient civilization. By all reports, not all Mayan habits were pleasant but Mel Gibson’s portrayal of them as relentlessly and stupidly savage was off the mark. This article by Traci Arden, a scholar of classic Maya society, pointed out many of the things that were wrong with the film.
The fact that this film was made in Mexico and filmed in the Yucatec Maya language coupled with its visual appeal makes it all the more dangerous. It looks authentic; viewers will be captivated by the crazy, exotic mess of the city and the howler monkeys in the jungle. And who really cares that the Maya were not living in cities when the Spanish arrived?…. The message? The end is near and the savior has come. Gibson’s efforts at authenticity of location and language might, for some viewers, mask his blatantly colonial message that the Maya needed saving because they were rotten at the core. Using the decline of Classic urbanism as his backdrop, Gibson communicates that there was absolutely nothing redeemable about Maya culture, especially elite culture which is depicted as a disgusting feast of blood and excess.
More on this here and here. That they did commit certain brutal acts is not in doubt, but which civilisation including modern ones can escape this accusation? You only need to look at what’s happening in Iraq, Darfur, Burma, Pakistan and some parts of India (and this is just a sampling) to realise that the savage instincts of control and violence are still intact. We’ve just become more sophisticated about the methods. The fact that Gibson chose to showcase the brutality of the Mayans in exaggerated technicolour form without any nuances is problematic.
At the time, many reacted to the accusations saying that they did not see anything overtly racist about the film or that “it was just a film” and people should get off their politically correct high horses. The thing is that a lot of the time, racist messaging is clever, subtle, well-packaged or entertaining. None of this takes away from the long-term impact, unfortunately.
The other issue, of course, is creative freedom. This is a hotly debated topic in many parts of the world today with censorship rules and fatwas zipping around our heads and self-appointed moral guardians brandishing swords at the drop of a pen. I, for one, don’t think that legislation has any place in this arena. Because once you lay down laws about what a person can say, write or show, where do you draw the line? Who decides what is more offensive and what is less? Nor does anyone have the right to burn, beat up or generally act like a savage idiot because they don’t agree with something.
At the same time, it is up to artists to exercise some responsibility while delineating between truth and history, fantasy and fiction, fact and opinion. When these lines blur beyond a point, as they tend to when it comes to genres like historical fiction, it is important to be even more careful. After all, these are the records and documents we are leaving behind for future generations. And over time, the truth may be wiped out altogether and replaced by the imaginations of people like Gibson. It is also important to speak up and voice dissent when someone creates something inauthentic. Just to balance the score or set the record straight.
More on the Mayans here and take a look at this video showing the excavation of an ancient Mayan mural in San Bartolo, Guatemala.
district 9 peter jackson District 9 trailers District 9 halo district 9 myspace 265.
On the night of December 2, 1984, the world’s worst chemical disaster devastated a small town in India. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy has gone down in history and few people are unaware of the facts. Of how 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas came swooping out of a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Of how the lethal fumes engulfed a sleeping town. Of how, by the time, people woke up and realised what was happening, it was too late for many of them. The gas had killed 3800 people and maimed another 11,000. The death toll continues to rise with 15,000 dead and 20 years on, tens of thousands still suffer serious symptoms from contact with the gas.
Twenty-three years later, the people of Bhopal are still battling diseases such as paralysis, partial blindness and impaired immune systems and waiting for justice. Dow Chemicals, the company that merged with Union Carbide, washed its hands off the Bhopal tragedy even though it was clearly proven that negligence had caused the disaster. After much fighting, they finally agreed to give survivors, who have to live with chronic illnesses or brain damage their whole lives, an average of $500 dollars each. In a press release, Dow spokesperson said that “$500 is plenty good for an Indian.” Splendid, isn’t it?
Here is a snapshot of how methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas affects the body.
To date, the abandoned factory continues to pollute the environment. Effluents poison the ground water. Lead and mercury float in the breast milk of mothers. Greenpeace has a detailed timeline. They don’t seem to have updated it after 2003 but it gives a snapshot of events until then. Read and weep.
Meanwhile look at Dow’s tremendous PR efforts here. Frankly, there’s something revolting about the public relations (or ‘crisis management’ as it is called) machinery that kicks into action at such times like a pack of well-trained hyenas. All laughing to the tune of lies.
We are part of an ever-evolving global society - one that values organizations such as Dow not only for our products and services, but also for the distinctive image we present to our world and its people. We don’t want people to think “chemicals” when they hear “Dow” — we want them to hear “Living. Improved Daily.” We don’t want them to think of a corporation striving to maximize profits, we want them to think of a good neighbor.
Therefore, our contributions must extend beyond profit performance. We strongly believe that if we are to be successful in the 21st Century, we must simultaneously excel in all three elements of development: economic prosperity, corporate responsibility and shareholder stewardship. And unless we’re frequently and visibly expressing a deep concern about Sustainable Development, we’re missing opportunities to position Dow as the caring, concerned global citizen our customers must believe us to be.
Yesterday, survivors marked the anniversary by going on protest marches to demand justice and holding a torchlight rally to remember the dead. They need all the voice they can muster because their own government is certainly not going to shout, or even whimper, for them. In October, a news article reported:
The centre is all set to pave the way for Dow Chemicals to invest in India, by removing all “legal hurdles” related to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, one of the world’s biggest industrial disasters that claimed thousands of lives.
The Department of Industries has moved a Cabinet note asking the government to absolve Dow Chemicals of all legal liabilities.…. The note provides for withdrawal of the affidavit and out-of-court settlement. It is based on the Law Ministry’s opinion that the government can opt to settle out of court with Dow Chemicals as the latter does not own the financial liabilities of Union Carbide, the main accused in the case. The Chemicals Ministry has opposed this view.
Tomorrow, it will be six years since terrorists crashed two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The New York Times blog has information about the 9/11 Commemoration with a list of events at the different places. Also, here is a photo essay of the event.
As frightening as 9/11 was, its aftermath has been even more terrifying. The event spawned countless conspiracy theories and ostensibly led to Bush’s “War on Terror” which has devastated Iraq. Both forces have unleashed a tidal wave of fear and insecurity in most of the world. People, communities
and governments have all come under suspicion. The lies, deceit and horror continue to haunt.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq has lasted till date and the civilian death toll stands at 650,000 people according to a Lancet survey. Over 4.2 million Iraqis, more than 16% of the Iraqi population, have lost their homes and become refugees since 2003. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 2.2 million Iraqis have been displaced to neighboring countries, and 2 million were displaced internally, with nearly 100,000 Iraqis fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month. Among them was Riverbend, who is famous for her blog on wartime Iraq, Baghdad Burning, and for her subsequent book by the same name.
On the eve of 9/11, it’s interesting to see what people are talking about. I visited some of the more prominent sites and this is what I found.
If correct – IF – the immediate reaction is like a cosmic big bang. It would have taken considerable effort by a number of people with expertise and access to the buildings to rig them so that they could be intentionally collapsed when the two jets hit the towers. Tough questions flood in: Who could have engineered all this? Could foreign agents accomplish such complex actions – and if they did, why not take credit for it? If Americans did it, why would they intentionally inflict inevitable mass death and devastation? Worse, they seemingly knew about the plan to fly the jets into the towers.
Post-9/11, why have the government and official investigations not come to the same controlled demolition conclusion? This might be explained if the government was involved.
And this one ponders why post 9/11, Europe has suffered from far more terrorists attacks than the United States.
In response, Europeans for the most part are looking inward to explain why Islamic extremists have made the Continent a favored target, while the United States has been spared - despite its leadership and the anger it has stirred waging wars in two Muslim countries.
In that setting, questions about how minority populations of Muslims are integrated into the mainstream are coming to the fore, along with basic questions about Islam itself. Less attention is being focused on finger pointing at the United States, analysts say.
But no matter what came after, nothing can take away the importance of the loss of those who suffered on 9/11. Those who lost children, siblings, friends. The suddenly orphaned. The unexpectedly widowed. The men and women who frequent graveyards and remember, and on remembering, cry. And the ones they cry for. RIP.
UPDATE: It wasbrought to my notice that my linking to one of the articles above is tantamount to endorsing it. I would like to clarify that it is not. I am merely pointing to the lead article on Counter Currents in order to provide information and not because I subscribe to the views expressed in it.
A vast sprawl of 2711 stone slabs near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin marks Germany’s tribute to victims of the Holocaust. The slabs are nameless, faceless, relentlessly grey and built on undulating ground to produce a disorienting effect on visitors. When this memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe was built in 2005, many criticized Germany for having taken so long to honour its victims. There were other controversies as well — the lack of religious symbolism, inadequate representation of all the victims, whether to use anti-graffiti agent or not and even, the fact that the anti-graffiti agent came from the same company that had once supplied poison gas to Nazi troops.
According to this site, which also has pictures of the memorial, at the opening ceremony on May 10, 2005, Paul Spiegel, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, sharply criticized the new Holocaust memorial, saying that it was too abstract and that it failed to confront the issue of German guilt.
In his speech, Spiegel said that the Memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe honors the victims of Nazism, but the Memorial does not refer directly to the perpetrators. According to Spiegel, viewers are not confronted with questions of guilt and responsibility. Spiegel complained that the Memorial leaves an “incomplete message” and merely shows the Jews “as a nation of victims poured into 2,711 concrete pillars.” Spiegel said that the Monument fails to ask the question “Why?”
The field of stele first appeared small and insignificant and I did not see how this city block of rectangular concrete slabs could possibly impress me. But as I entered the memorial my perception began to change. At first, the stele were barely inches in height, but as I continued to walk the concrete paths between the slabs, suddenly the ground plunged down and the steles were soon well over my head a fact I could not know or see from where I first stood when I looked over the site. As I continued to walk paths without any forethought as to where I would end up, the ground rose and fell in a random undulation, and the stele towered above me and cut off my vision of the horizon and the sounds of life in the city.
Facing up to history is always tough for nations. It was only a few months ago that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized for the Japanese Army’s use of “comfort women” as sexual slaves in World War II very grudgingly and after being pushed to the wall multiple times on this issue. Earlier, he had spent a considerable amount of time denying that the estimated 400,000 women were kidnapped or forcibly coerced in any way. Experts say that the comfort women program “was the largest, most methodical and most deadly mass rape of women in recorded history”. More information on this here.
Our history is checkered with examples of human cruelty, depravity and barbarism. Acknowledging this is always hard, sometimes horrifying. But we cannot — must not — ignore, cover up or stop remembering. We must remember often and retell the horror again and again. Only in this lies the faint hope that such acts may not be repeated.
Two days from now, India will celebrate sixty years of independence and the world’s largest democracy is talking about little else these days. While Bollywood movies like this one tickle the patriotic nerve and young boys eagerly push cloth flags into the faces of car drivers at traffic junctions, the newspapers are flooded with retrospective columns and reports. You can read about the sixty momentous events that made India including historic landmarks like the India-Pakistan wars, Indira Gandhi’s ascension to power and the IT revolution. There’s also the sixty most successful men and women and sixty years of filmmaking. Yes, the ’sixty’ theme will be done to death in the next few days.
Landmark dates are usually accompanied by a host of chronicles, report cards, and nostalgic reveries. And why not? It’s as good a time as any to look back and see what a country has achieved–and what it hasn’t. This columnist points to some of the hard-won successes that dot India’s trajectory.
Culturally, there isn’t (thank god) a “national culture” in place, but there’s a confidence amongst the citizens of the republic that being “Indian” is easy. The film industries that dot every part of the country are vulgarly healthy, our upmarket discos play bhangra, our haute couture is hideous but popular, our art has invented a market for itself, our television industry proliferates and Indian audiences remain relatively indifferent to foreign programming.
Our newspapers continue to expand and prosper and compete: Unlike America, where the newspaper readership of whole cities is virtually owned by single papers—The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, etc. Our writers are better paid now, their books better produced and their publishing houses more entrepreneurial. Which Indian writer would be nostalgic for the bad old days when being published meant Hind Pocket Books or Jaico?
Intellectually and academically, India has a sense of self that Pakistan or Malaysia or Indonesia don’t. Academic publishing for an Indian market has struck roots and while its quality is variable, it has the great merit of creating a body of work that examines aspects of Indian society and history that might be of little interest to foreign readers but are vitally important for us.
While the tone is relentlessly gung-ho for the most part, there are some dissenters who point towards India’s problems–corruption in its government, poverty among its millions and lack of personal freedoms–and ask the question “whence freedom?”
At a time when we measure the quality of justice on the basis of a Bollywood star being sentenced for an acknowledged misdemeanor, and the media continues to obsess about Sanjay Dutt, how he feels, what he eats, how he sleeps in Yeravada jail even as thousands of undertrials rot in our jails for years, even decades, without anyone hearing about them leave alone worrying about the conditions under which they survive, we have to ask ourselves whether we have deliberately chosen to ignore reality. Growing older should not mean becoming blind, even if myopia is a physical condition that sometimes increases with age.
Across the country, law and order is a joke, and our government fattens itself on the sweat of a billion people. Free speech is endangered and censorship thrives. Honest men wishing to start a business that will fulfil the needs of others—as all businesses must in order to survive—find themselves having to deal with licences and inspectors.
The price of freedom, it is often said, is eternal vigilance. We let our guard down 60 years ago. Perhaps it’s time to fight back?
Meanwhile, even amid the celebrations, violence mars the landscape. In the north-eastern state of Assam, rebels have killed 13 people and wounded another 15. But this is unlikely to dampen the spirit in the rest of this vast country. Despite all the frustration and cynicism, most Indians still feel an immense amount of pride at their nationhood and much of this will be on glorious tri-coloured display in the next few days.
On the night of December 2, 1984, the world’s worst chemical disaster devastated a small town in India. 