The film “A Beautiful Mind” pushes to break a stigma that unfortunately has yet to be broken by even the most powerful of movies (as also seen in the film “The Imitation Game” and “Pi”). The film follows the storyline of math genius John Nash and his rise to fame because of his brilliant mind, while he also struggles painfully with schizophrenia. To understand Nash is to try and understand what it is like to have to fight against yourself between what is going to bring you success (his math fame) and what will you peace (his admitting his schizophrenia and getting help and losing fame). Mental illness, especially those as complex as schizophrenia, were and are stigmatized heavily and seem to become seen as more of the person than the person themselves. Nash’s brilliance would have taken a backseat to the fear of his mental health–he would have gone from “Nash the genius” to “Nash the schizophrenic” . This movie graciously tries to reveal a respected man for all he is in the hopes that audiences will still see him , and others like him, as a respected complex, brilliant, regular humans with a mental illness, and not as a monster. I hope that many people were humbled, as I was, by this film and were challenged to think more carefully about how to treat people.
Author Archives: Neno Belsoi
US & UK: Sports Culture
Last week I attended the talk led by Paul Wilcox. Though I had no direct interest in sports, my younger brother runs track very seriously so I decided to sit in on this presentation. I found it very interesting how the athletic culture in the U.S. and U.K. were so drastically different in ways I had never thought about before. For example, in the U.S., former athletes are encouraged, and even honored, by large donations to their Alma mater. However, in the U.K., such a practice was not as encouraged. In addition, I found the discussion of the athletes dedication to travel such long, and likely uncomfortable at times, distance was very inspiring to see. I admired the passion of the athletes and through their dedication I gained an appreciation for the culture of sports that I had not previously had. I will definitely look forward to more events like this in the future.
La La Land is artistic gold
Though I really enjoyed the plot and songs of La La Land, what fascinated me the most was the overall layered artistic composition of the whole film. At first glance, the movie seems to have a typical and digestible front. The story-line is simple: boy and girl meet and fall in love. The main characters are simple: girl wants to be an actress, boy wants to be a jazz musician. The color scheme was focused around the 3 primary colors: red, yellow, blue. The songs are fun and catchy, the scenery is bright and everything is really sweet and perfect like a typical rom-com musical would be. However, this seemingly simple base is what allows for the director, the artist, to attract audiences to what looks like will be a fun and enticing dream-like experience, while setting the foundation to create something much more complex.
To start, the movie seems to be set in two worlds–one in which there is real life, and one which is a fantasy of real life. Being a musical, random cuts to perfectly choreographed song and dance all seem to happen in the dream-like part of the reality, when moments are happiest and seem so perfect and happy or exciting that they almost couldn’t be real (think: “pinch me I must be dreaming” kind of effect). In contrast, the parts of the movie in which conflict or less-amicable feelings arise are usually more quiet, almost no music in the background. In addition they happen more often through the “winter” and “fall” chapters of the film (identifiers which seem to represent emotional seasons, not just natural ones).
The music and the colors in the film all help to set different moods in less obvious ways that also seem to sway the audience in more subtle ways–kind of like experiencing a feeling in a dream, where you can’t necessarily pinpoint your feelings because you do not have total control over what might happen next. La La Land really does a great job of artistically composing the film to create a brilliant effect on the plot and the audiences.
Individuality over the Masses?
The film “Gattaca” depicts a perfect society created through the manipulation of genetic expression in humans. However, the ending of the film seems to share a message of encouraging the audience to accept their individuality. Though I think that most people might agree that it is extremely controversial and perhaps ‘wrong’ to use science to create a whole society of genetically uniform and ‘perfect’ people, social media pushes for the opposite affect. Many celebrities and Internet influences and societies feature the same ‘ideal’ body types, and this idea of perfection is only further spread when even celebs who push for the “#beyourself” or “#nofilter#nomakeup” trends also have had body altercations or have socially acceptable flawless skin or body types. I am not critiquing anyone who uses makeup or has had plastic surgery, but I think that there is a deeper paradox in society about ‘perfection and standards’ and soon a world like the one in Gattaca might very well exist.
Hatred and Hypocrisy
The film “They Call Me Muslim” centers around the “controversy” of a Muslim woman’s hijab, particularly in France. In recent media, France, like many countries, has become notorious for the discrimination shown towards Muslim women, in particular, who choose to wear a hijab. The conflict can be traced back to the larger conflicting ideals of “liberal” culture vs “conservative” culture trying to push each’s respective ideals through control of a woman’s body. Instead of just allowing each individual to choose the way they feel most comfortable expressing themselves and their cultural identity, women are being caught in the middle of an external conflict, only intensifying and silencing any conflict within herself.
City of Children
“City of God” follows the choices and challenges faced by a group of kids growing up in a very tough time in a very rough circumstance. This movie felt unique to me because instead of feeling like watching a movie with clear “good” and “bad” paths, I felt like I was watching an unraveling of childhood innocence and the development of “anti-heroes”. This film reminds of another I have seen called “Beasts of No Nation”, which also dramatizes the situations that many children living in violent areas face. The striping of childhood creates a void in a child which will feel the need to be filled by a means of reclaiming a sense of ‘authority’ or ‘identity’–usually through some kind of a control over a ‘power dynamic’ , as seen in “City of God”. Watching this film really saddened me, and also gave me a sense to evaluate myself and introspect on my own life in relation to others to ensure that before I ever pass judgment on someone, that I ensure I understand their being in the context of their own life, not just from the perspective of mine.
What Did I Just Watch…
So I actually do not really like cats, but I am curious with cat-obsessed culture. I came into college really wanting to challenge myself to learn new things and to try harmless and enlightening things that at first I might have been really opposed to. Because of that aspiration, I decided to check out this cat-video fest and make observation not only of the video, but also of how others would react to it. I must admit, that I actually enjoyed the video-fest quite a bit and I was glad to try something new and very culturally disconnected from what I am used to.
Hero Syndrome
First, I just want to begin by saying I really like this film! “The Matrix” is a like an older psychological thriller that gets more and more relevant as time passes. It focuses on the story of Neo, a hacker, and his insane experiences as he comes to realize his dual existence in the world around him and the world that “is”. When asked if I would take the red or blue pill in Neo’s situation, I honestly am not sure what I would choose. I think that my curiosity would drive me to take the red pill, but I am not sure how much I would do with the expose I would have received afterwards. Which leaves me to ponder about the message of the film and the greater general human desire for knowledge. So much of society’s driving force for creating knowledge comes from just “wanting to know”, but how much does this really matter?
*SIGH*
So, I am not really the greatest fan of Shakespeare. Oddly enough though, “Romeo and Juliet” is one of my favorite stories because of its extreme absurdity and corny-ness. (Fun fact: I own about 7 different versions of the play, including one written almost entirely in emojis!) I think that, like “Romeo and Juliet”, “Shakespeare in Love” also does not really do much to bring justice to the the intricate complexities of “love” and instead just takes a one-sided static viewpoint of “love” and exaggerates it to a point that is almost comical. Even with that being said, I enjoyed the film , for that reason, and I can understand why it sold so well with many audiences.
Black-less and Blackness in America
The film “I am Not Your Negro” was a painful and powerful film for me to witness. I really enjoy learning about the Civil Rights era and studying race relations in the US. I am a first-generation US citizen, with most of my family being from, and still living in, Kenya. Growing up, I lived in calm, safe, white suburbia. My family pretty much made up the entire integration for our town in Maryland. I really liked my neighborhood, but I did not realize how the shelter it proved actually blinded me. When I went to high school, I went to a pre-dominantly Black school in a pre-dominantly Black neighborhood (located near Southeast DC) for the first time, and experienced a culture shock I never imagined I would ever experience. At first, the culture of my own people frightened and confused me, and I was taunted for being “not black enough” quite often. I really appreciate the intimacy of the pain and visions shared in “I am Not Your Negro” because it reminds me and encourages me to love the people that look like me more deeply and to love myself and my intersectional identities–to be proud of where my history has brought me and to not be ashamed to move forward.