Author Archives: Reshma

The Martial Arts

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The film “The Professor: Tai Chi’s Journey West” was interesting to watch. It was nice to know Professor Cheng Man-Ching’s journey and the struggles he faced. I always thought of Tai Chi as a fascinating type of martial arts used for defense and good health. It’s a way to meditate and exercise to maintain a healthy life. In India, people do yoga to relax themselves. I see Tai Chi as a type of yoga that relaxes people. Tai Chi has make people do some extraordinary things like break a wooden board. It can give one powers that otherwise would not be possible.

As Professor Cheng Man-Ching started teaching his students in New York, there was a special bond formed. Despite language barriers, he could connect with his students and teach them well. There are very few things that could be universally understood. Certain body language is understood throughout all cultures, and it was pretty evident in this documentary. Overall, I thought it was a good and an informative documentary to watch.

Current Resemblance

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When I watched Dr. Strangelove, it kind of reminded me of our current situation in the US. We are almost at the verge of having a war with either Syria or North Korea. This movie seemed relevant in these times. Dr. Strangelove made me think how an incorrect interpretation of a military order could create irreversible consequences. At the meeting with the US president and military generals, there were different opinions and some arguments, particularly of what is legal and what is not. One general tried to justify his actions by claiming that in certain circumstances, there are exceptions to seeking permission from the commander-in-chief. That can be very dangerous. Countries have to be diplomatic to maintain peace in the world. If an irrational and impulsive decision is being made, it can affect the whole world and destroy many lives. Innocent civilians are killed as a result of choices made by a few. This movie reminds us to be rational about our decisions, especially those considering national security.

Our current world

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The movie Mad Max was one of the most interesting movies I have watched thus far in the Flora’s Film collection. One of the main points of the movie was to acknowledge the presence of technology in our lives. The children were stranded on the island. They wanted to go back to the civilized world with technology and modern devices. Technology has made our lives easier by making information more accessible. Sometimes we take our access to technology such as personal computers and smartphones granted. We do not realize the tremendous importance it has in our lives. In addition, there was no religion in Mad Max, although there were a set of principles people seem to follow. People followed a “leader.” Similarly to God, the leader was someone who people laid expectations on. Overall, I think the movie was decent.

Not impressed…

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Last Friday, I watched the movie Gattaca. I did not enjoy the movie because there were some unrealistic things going on. Vincent faked his identity in order to get a job at Gattaca, which he would not have gotten otherwise due to his inferior genes. In order to bypass the system, he used an alternative route to fulfill his dreams. What I found a bit odd was that despite his brother’s “superior” genes, Vincent still beat him in swimming. In addition, there was no climax to grasp my attention. Vincent basically joined Gattaca by faking his identity, and as soon as he was about to start his space mission, the mission director was killed. Later on, the culprit was found, someone who was considered “valid.” I wanted to see what would’ve happened if Vincent was caught. Would he be punished or let go? If he were to be punished, what punishment would there be for this?  The movie ended on Vincent fulfilling his dream of going to space. The movie also ended my expectations of the movie.

Choices

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City of God was probably one of the most violent and R rated movies I have ever seen. Usually, the R rated movies are overly dramatic and violent, with little authenticity. As the movie progressed, I realized these are real choices people, often young people, make due to lack of mentorship and financial stability. These young men decided to turn to violence and crime in order to survive. Even good and righteous men like Knockout Ned turned to violence due to circumstances. I felt Li’l Dice was in control when his friend Benny was around him. After Benny passed away, Li’l Dice turned to even more violence and ended up raping Knockout Ned’s girlfriend, which I thought was against the gang’s rules. Nevertheless, that showed how important it is to have a positive mentor to watch over individuals stuck in these situations, surrounded by crime, gangs, and violence.

Which pill?

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In the movie the Matrix, Morpheus explained to Neo that the Matrix is a world where humans are unknown to external influence on them. He then gave Neo an option to pick one out of two pills: a red pill and a blue pill. The blue pill makes you believe whatever you want in the Matrix world.  The red pill brings you back into reality. If I had to choose between the two, I would perhaps choose the blue pill. I want to see how life would play out in the Matrix world, the world where I can live a happy life. I would rather be happy in a fake world than be unsatisfied in the real world. As we realize that there are external influences affecting our daily lives, we wish to take control of them. However, that is very hard to do. But in the Matrix world, you are unknown to the external influences on you, therefore you lead a happy life.

 

Hidden Oppression

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In the film “They Call Me Muslim,” I found very interesting perspectives. In a western country, a young teen wanted to wear a hijab as a choice. In another country where women aren’t given the freedom and rights western countries give, a mother didn’t want to wear it. What I found hard to comprehend was that France, being a “free” country, oppresses a woman’s right to wear a hijab by calling it oppression of women. I see this in itself as a type of oppression. We have fought for women’s rights for years and are still continuing to do so. It is a women’s choice if she wants to wear a headscarf as respect for her religion. This is called freedom of religion,  a right many western countries seem to be proud of.  It is ridiculous that in the 21st century, women still have to fight for their rights. For a country to call itself a democracy, it needs to respect every person, not just the ones who comply with societal norms.

Doing The HW

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Cover letters are a really important aspect when applying for jobs and internships. It speaks about you as a person and things that are not listed in the resume. Often times, resumes are similar throughout different candidates. There are similar leadership positions and extracurricular activities in the resume, but the cover letter goes beyond that. It provides employers a sense of who the person applying for the position is. The event reiterated some things I already knew. But one thing I learned was creating different resumes for different positions. Some roles and activities on the resume might be irrelevant for some positions. It’s good to have different sets of resumes.

A Fight

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The movie was very disturbing in some ways. I thought that there was too much violence depicted in the movie, some which was unnecessary. But the protagonist felt that he was ignored and created an imaginary character which he wished to be. All of actions by the imaginary character was what the protagonist wanted. This made me remember the group of people who felt neglected this past election season, and who thought of Trump as the savior. They felt as if the establishment was ignoring them and their problems, and there came this “miracle” who would save their miseries. Just like the main actor in the movie, they wanted to show the world their individual power.