Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Out of time


Yes, I know this is not going to be evaluated, but I needed to post this amazing video. I just love how he reads his poem, is magnificent.

Awesome. And if you got time, please watch this.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Bollywood: The magic of India.

Bollywood is the film industry of India. This name is the mixing between Bombay (the city where it's located)
and Hollywood (film industry in the USA)

Bollywood is a place where magic happens. It's not just a way of entertaiment it's also a way of expression for the Indian people and the Indian culture.


In 1913 the first movie Raja Harishchandra was released in India. In the 30's the Industry made 200 movies per year. It was a total success and it made emerge the movie business. 


The best time for Bollywood was between 40's and 60's and two of the best directors were  Guru Dutt and Raj Kapoor 




On 70's the action movies became popular, with the influence from America, but always keeping their traditions. 

Between 80's and 90's, the romantic movies became the most important on cinemas, with unforgettable productions. The most important was the musical romantic comedy, The most important couple of actor of this time were  Sha Rukh and Kajol and the movies Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham y Dilwale Dulhania, are the most memorable.

I like how their movies are traditionals. They have the influence of all the technology, kind of movies, and art of America and the British culture, but the always will but always prevail they life styles, dances, stories, clothing, and their point of view of life.

Their common topics will be, their way to see love, marriage, religion, and family, because this is part of their daily life, and they feel identified with the characters and the situations in a movie.

Unlike our culture, where we took everything that came from outside, in India they were able to maintain their culture and bring it to modern times.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

     They are not Human :

"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days." -Nelson Mandela-

A brilliant science fiction movie, adapted from a adapted from Alive in Joburg, a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen; produced by the renowned director Peter Jackson, comes one of the most astonishing aliens' film.

"The year is 1982, a giant spaceship from the outter space overshadows a sunny day in Jahannesburg.  During months people from earth became afraid and paranoid, and after months of setup, humans decide to make the first move and make their way into this "mothership".   What they find it's fairly stunning, an ill and starved bunch of shrimp-shaped aliens who claimed to be lost and disoriented; they also confesed not to have any warlike intention but just want to leave..."
Everything seems alright up to this point, after months of international agreements the nations of the world let a Multi-National United enterprise to take care of the aliens in a "humanitarian" way. Then aliens are "forced" to settle down in the district 9 close to the district inhabited by Nigerians refuegees.  But conflicts don't take long to come on the scene, and the african population complains about having to share their country and resources to these "outter space strangers", under this pressure the government decided to move in the aliens further away, where they'd live in better conditions"..  

What does human truly mean?:


The magnificence of this fantastic film it's found in the concept of "intergalactic racism";  although aliens mean no harm to humans (like other films have suggested), humans exert an extreme supremacy over them.  Local population quickly name these creatures derogatorily "prawns", because of their crustacean features and  their need to look for food in trash cans.  It's very absorbing, how a social segregation was born upon another, as quickly as "white people" from Johannesburg determined places restricted for "white people" only, also assigned the places forbidden for "Non-humans".   Based on the constant argument they're not human "prawns" are treated roughly in despite of their show of emotions, conscience and pacific behavior.     The movie shows an excellent instant to reflect about questions like:

*Is it human nature to exert power and feel superior by simply emphasizing external differences?
*If someone or something doesn't show human standard features does it make it Non-human?
*Is humanity a physical condition or is it related to moral and conscience behavior?
*Does a creature need only of conscience and feelings to be accepted and consider as human?
*What makes us human and what does not?

The widening gyre of events starts when one of the unconcerned humans who works for MNU it's turned into one of these "scabby" aliens, and starts being chased by the people he loved most, just like in the "Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka.   Now thanks to things have turned out against him, he'll understand the real pain and suffering the humanity has caused to this extraterretrial civilization.

It's ironic how the word "human" or "humanitarian" changes by the progress of the movie, because beyond the Apartheid metaphorical effect, there's an undertone about how easy humans loose their values and remorse when they're told someone/something it's unlike them and therefore doesn't deserve to be treated justly.

*If it's hard for humans to adapt and accept to their skin color and cultural diversity, my question for you is.
How would they deal with an alien visitor?




 



A place that I love

India... How to describe it?

Even though I haven't travelled to India, I can imagine how India is by News, or pictures. I don't want to fall into stereotypes, but this is what I know.
There's a big Income gap, I've talk with many people that says that they wouldn't go to India because there is too much differences between those who have a lot and those who don't have. That already makes India a country difficult to comprehend. How is that is such a big difference? It's a pitty. 


Kochi, India

But I'm amazed. India is still very colorful, they have big weddings celebrations. If you search on the internet you can see a lot of people wearing cheerful clothes. 



 Another issue that caught my eye, was the religion. Most of Indian are hindu. Hinduism is the third biggest religion in the world. I love how hindu are devoted to their religion. They're respectful, and they have a lot of rituals. I think Oriental religions, are more peaceful than western. A word that I love is Namaste... 

I found this on the internet. 



To me it means that we have to respect each other not because we like each other, it's because we all have some of divinity within us, and we have to bow to all people, because we have the same essence. And because of that we have to forgive, to love and to try to make the world a beautiful place.

Hope someday I could travel there. 
Hope someday things get better for India.
All good vibes to them!

And here you have a short video of India


Saturday, August 10, 2013

TRADITIONS IN INDIA

I was searching information about the Indian culture and there are two topics that I found very interesting about the culture, one is the point that women use between her eyes and the other topic is the tattoos that women use in her hands.


There are a lot of point that the indian people make between the eyebrows:

The first one is made in women and men, it is called "tilaka" this can be done in many forms and in many occasions, as a for of blessing, for example: after attend to an offering to a temple, the priest usually mark the forehead of the devote. 


The second one it's called "bindi", there was a custom that the groom draw a mark on the bride's foreheads with his blood, as a symbol marriage commitment. Nowadays the blood has been replaced for an ink or a kind of sticker, this mark is red in married women, widow women use yellow dye.
This mark apart to "label women relationships", is appreciated as a sign of beauty and decoration, so this point is also used for girls and young ladies, who use it in different color and materials, even matching with her clothes.  


The other topic that called my attention was the tattos that the women use.

The tattoos are called "Mehandi", this type of body decoration is usually used as a ritual before marriage. This ritual is for promote luck, hapiness and fertility, is also used as a protection from evil spirits and the "evil eye", because a new bride or future mother is more vulnerable to be attack. Apart from weddings, when the women paint her hands and feets with this tattoos made with henna, the women also use the mehandi for celebrations or festivals, in the 8th month of pregnancy, births and naming ceremonies. 




Without a doubt this culture is very different to ours and I think that Indian customs deserve more respect maybe than ours, because their traditions are very sacrificed and very old too. They don't steal customs according to what is on fashion. 







A MULTICULTURAL PLACE




In relation to British Indians, it doesn’t stop to impress me how two very different cultures can live healthily in the same place.



United Kingdom has been a very attractive place for immigrants, but certainly -London is the city with more non-British population of the state.

London is a multicultural city that has received for many years, hundreds of immigrants from various countries, mainly from those that were colony of the British Empire. India was one of them, and that is why some Indians migrated to United Kingdom, due to ancient colonial links.

The Indians correspond to the majority of foreign people that are living in the British capital, reaching the 3% of the population (of a total 8 million 174 thousand according to the last census). Then follow the citizens from Poland, whose percentage correspond to the 2% approximately.


The British of asian race suppose the 18.4% of London's population and British of black race, the 13.3%.


Today is possible to see that Indian culture is respected and appreciated for its colorful clothes and beautiful traditions, and also is possible to see that Indians respect London life, this as a kind of balance.

It is also possible to see a fusion of cultures, for example, in meals- and in this case, the fusion of two cultures in the marriage.





~


~


~



Here we can see two weddings: on the one hand an indian wedding and on the other a common wedding by the same couple.

This shows that respecting the cultures and traditions we can live in an atmosphere of peace and love.

Why don't do the same with other cultures?

It's time to change and learn to respect