The Prestidigitator

I stand here naked before you. Judge me, you bitch.

I can see how John Krasinski’s debut feature can come across as shallow and pretentious to some. It’s ambitious and slightly uneven but it’s also one of the most honest interpretations of the male psyche I’ve seen in a long time. The thing about cinema is that while it can convey emotions, it’s also severely limited by the director’s aesthetic. And that’s why this film works; because technically, it’s a lot like Before Sunset or even, Tape. Frames are sparse and apart from the characters, little else fills the screen.

Julianne Nicholson’s character, reeling from a breakup, decides to study the effect of the feminist movement on men, or so she says. She sets up interviews with various men and they open up about relationships, women and sex. Do men really know what today’s women want? The film is funny, repulsive and mostly, insightful. A friend of mine referred to it as ‘Vagina Monologues for Men – Penis Monologues’, which when you think about it, is quite accurate. One scene that really stood out was that of a college professor reflecting on 21 years of being married. After an awkward pause, he muses, “Is it shallow? Does it sound shallow? Or do you think the truth behind this kind of thing will always sound kind of shallow? Everybody’s real reasons?”

Granted, the film is an exercise in vanity and it does have an inherently convoluted logic but I loved it and intend on seeking out and reading more of David Wallace Foster’s works.

PS: Ben Gibbard, from Death Cab for Cutie appears in the film.

I really don’t want to contribute to the hyperbole that this debate has already created but I can safely say that this is the finest one hour of debate, one-sided as it is, I’ve seen in a very long time. Two amazingly articulate intellectuals take on Catholicism and religious hypocrisy. To be fair, I do wish that the two proponents of the Catholic church would have been a little more, I don’t know, Christlike instead of pretending that (institutional) child abuse and homophobia are urban myths.

Stephen Fry makes an especially brilliant case against the so called ‘force for good’. Nod along or throw stuff at your computer but this is what good television is all about.

Go watch. Now.

This Valentine’s Day, the Law Commission of India is thinking of all you hormonal, barely out of school, socially challenged 18 year old boys. As if board exams and sparse facial hair weren’t problems enough, the government of India may very well grant you the right to finally propose to that girl you’ve had your eyes on.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/law-panels-knotty-idea-let-boys-marry-at-18/58277-3.html

”There is no rational, scientific basis to why boys who may vote or take other decisions after 18 must wait to be 21 to marry,” commission member Kirti Singh told UNI.

So rejoice all ye who have been waiting to turn 21. Women however have it tougher; the age of consent is now 16 instead of 15.

How does the Law Commission decide on what laws to change? Aren’t there more important amendments to be made like, say, I don’t know…banning urban ‘gunda’-ism?

To fuel my current fascination for all things medical, I’ve been on a House marathon of sorts. In less than a week, I’ve managed to watch over 35 episodes of the 45 minute medical drama. Sure most of the jargon manages to fly by but I’ve come to a point where I can tell the difference between Vasculitis and Pericardiitis. Not really, but still.

But the episode Skin Deep from Season 2 had me utterly speechless for a couple of hours. A 15 year old female supermodel gets admitted after blacking out on the ramp. After a series of differential diagnoses, the doctors think she may have a psychological condition resulting from abuse. However, after an MRI of her pelvic area, House concludes she has a tumor on her testes.

Yes, testes. Apparently the patient had male Pseudohermaphroditism.

Genital and gonadal sex determinations are discordant in cases of pseudohermaphroditism e.g. an apparently female individual may have testes (a male pseudohermaphrodite).

There are two main causes of pseudohermaphroditism:

• genetic causes e.g. testicular feminisation
• teratogenic e.g. in utero exposure of a female to androgens

House goes on to explain that the she was really supposed to be a he whose genitals just didn’t drop. According to our man House, this actually happens to about 1 in 150,000 fetuses.

So next time you see a pretty girl, mull this over.

What exactly are these so called ‘Moral Values’ that so many self righteous pretentious hypocrites of our country keep touting? Really?

This is a long due post. It will not  arrive at any conclusions and it will not do anything about the ’situation at hand’. Like most passive youngsters (!), I cannot do anything about it and if given the opportunity, I would prefer apathy over any sort of activism. But sometimes, the things you see around simply get far too depressing and not to mention plain annoying!

Do I like the media? No. Do their justifications on sensationalizing news make sense? Yes, to an extent. Are right wing protests (read Shiv Sena and the likes) against the media justified? Are you bloody kidding me?

1. Shilpa Shetty/Richard Gere: An over enthusiastic ‘peck’ suddenly becomes prime time news material and in no time the ”moral brigade” of our country go on a rampage. The absurdity of the situation lies not only in the fact that the media hyped a somewhat not so innocent kiss, but that the protesters actually thought it was ‘offensive’! Now, haven’t they really noticed the sleaze (thinly disguised as entertainment) invading Cinema halls and homes?

2. Banning Sex Education in Maharashtra:  Now, forgive me when I say this…but sex really isn’t that much of a secret as we think. I mean…we have over a billion people in the country, it’s not like NOBODY’S thinking about it! And if you manage to peek it to our rich culture, you’ll agree that sex was very much a part of it. I will not elaborate but it baffles my mind that some of these idiots think that sex shouldn’t be discussed in schools. Won’t kids go looking for other sources? Isn’t that bad? Why is it that this bothers so many people, educated teachers and parents even?

3.  Star News Office Damaged: A Muslim boy(22) elopes with a Hindu girl(16) and become ‘news’ on Star News. Hours later, the Hindu Rashtra Sena ransack the office, smash furniture and vehicles. Where does this end?

Sometimes, I think the root cause for all this is religion itself. Man has fought ever since the concept of God was discussed and debated. Maybe what we really need is a Brave New World kind of scenario where religion is banned, children are created not born and the bounds of ethics and morals are clearly defined.

This is but a tip of the iceberg. Our country is in more of a mess that you and I think and unfortunately, most people are slight variants of myself; commentators.