I
am not a big fan of the movies... I seldom attend movie theaters... I
cannot focus on them for more than 15-20 minutes and then I lose
interest in them... The plot is repetitive... One of my teachers used
to say; "Let me tell you the story about any movie... They meet,
they kiss, they get into a conflict... and they the conflict is
resolved and they live happily ever after..." and what can I
hide...? He was correct...
When
I studied English Literature at the university... This happened when
I was teaching math at my school, one of the courses was the analysis
of the structure and composition of novels and the instructor had
resorted to graphs indicating the starting point... rising up the the
apex... and building up of the conflict... and then falling down
while the conflict is resolved slowly... and plateaued at its
conclusion when the conflict is resolved... which is essentially the
same as the vision of my teacher...
I
watch them when I am obliged to with family and friends... But I
rather not...
Ross
knew my preferences... We had discussed them so many times... and he
had listened carefully to my analysis of movies and novels... The
conflict between good and evil... The clash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde... The emergence of grey areas... and the integration of black
and white... The witch and the Snow White... and all the rest of
them... All seasoned with blood and violence... peppered with
swearing and drugs... and all the rest of them...
At
one time I told Ross that after James Joyce there was nothing new to
write... It's all repetitive and most of the time boring...
At a year end lunch, Ross told what I had said to the Principal...
She was also an English major... She got upset and began to explain
to me... She embarked on a mission to re-educate me... Ross was happy
and smiling... Ross realized that the Principal will be
upset... Rossie had
imagined the game and introduced the mischief... and hence
after disappeared... He essentially had dumped the Principal on me...
to "entertain"...
But
every now and then Ross attempted to entice me with a movie... and I
agreed to join him in his quest...
Once
I remember we saw a Denys Arcand movie... It was a small theater near
the university... I guess only students were interested in it... It
was not a money making... "commercial" movie... It was more
like a visual art... and I enjoyed it...
On
another occasion he insisted we have to attend The
Pianist... He had already seen it... But he wanted to see it
a second time with we... We did... It was about the Jews in Poland...
It was depressing... but good... I think his intention was to take me
to the movie and afterwards have a discussion on few glasses of
drinks... and we did too...
***
Ararat, the movie, is Atom Egoyan's way of dealing with the Armenian Genocide... He had written and directed it... Egoyan, being of Armenian origin, felt compelled to deal with the Armenian Genocide in a movie...
So he wrote a script and directed it...
I am not sure about the merits of the movie...
Movies for me have an intrinsic entertainment to them... and I find mixing entertainment with education a failure...
Docudramas and documentaries are not the same... They are not for entertainment... But telling a story is essentially for entertainment...
The Armenian Genocide committed by the Turkish-Ottoman regimes... was an integral part of my upbringing... It is part of me... Ross knew about it... and insisted that we have to attend Ararat together...
despite all the hoopla in the community, I had avoided to attend it... I did not want to attend it... It would have been a depressing affair and it would have altered NOTHING...
Even the poster invites the public for a "good" time... for a sexy affair... just an entertainment...! The Armenian Genocide is not for entertainment... The Holocaust... The Holodomor... The other genocides... are not for entertainment...
They are not for a buck or two...!
They say movies and videos are educational... But Ross always emphasized their intrinsic entertainment value... So Ararat, besides being depressing for me, had a vulgar dimension to... How can the pain of others... How can the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Holodomor, the Rewandan and Cambodian Genocides... be entertainment...?
So I had a twin reason to avoid it... The topic of Armenian Genocide is depressing and also movies are essentially entertainment and Genocides are not for entertaining... Ross comprehended my objections... He appreciated my sensitivities... But after all was said and done, he still wanted to attend Ararat with me... A contradiction which I was unable to resolve...
Reluctantly I agreed... and after the movie we had the usual... a nightcap with few glasses and a discussion...
A consolation which did not amount to anything... and later, on our next outing, when we were having our happy hour drinks... Ross agreed with me that movies are essentially for entertainment... This was his way of saying "I am sorry..." I did not want that... I did not need that... and now he is not around to make the world a better place... Wars are still brutal... people are still being slaughtered everywhere... An appalling degeneration of human beings... and Ross is nowhere to be found...
***
... And the Diogenes Moments...
A spectacular... beautiful bridge...
New York-based, Uruguayan architect, Rafael Vinoly, designed the ring-shaped structure called Laguna Garzon Bridge...
People need a harness to stop their adventurous idiocy...
Maybe one day a smart kid will invent a "circular bridge" in order to slow down the war mongering leaders...
...And also,
Footballers in Greece staged a sit-in protest at the start of a game over the death toll of migrants trying to reach the country by sea.
Greek footballers have GOOD intentions, but wrong focus...
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