Holla back. I particularly never thought that we could study the patterns of the evolving culture in the various films, ethnology, anthropology, basic human behaviour or even visual anthropology from films. I swear I never thought. So imagine my shock when I read through Kumz's Facebook statuses on film critiques. He used to rarely update his Facebook statuses but then recently he had been updating so much and I personally LOVE reading his statuses because I always learn something new. I love that.

For an instance, most of us would have watched "World War Z". How many of us would have thought that the notion of racism is peppered throughout the movie ? I never knew zombie films evolved in their political significance throughout history. Or how zombie invasions were known as allegories of a communist mass movement that seek to wipe off individual liberty ?. Or that the anarchy of the undead would be seen as the metaphor for failed states, globalisation or be used as an allegory for AIDS ?. I never thought our Gerry Lane was portrayed as "Christ" and how a plethora of Christological references can be made from the sequences that surrounds him. Like how his blood was used as a panacea (the idea of the White Messiah). I never thought Gerry Lane's name had such significance as well. Apparently, 'Gerry' is an ideal name for a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Hero, a Germanic title that implies 'bearer of the spear'. There were some scenes that reminded many Historians of the political and epistemic violence that the European colonialism unleashed on Africa and Asia. Or maybe, let alone the kind of information you can derive from "The Man of Steel". I particularly never knew 'Superman' was influenced by Judeo-Christian religion. Or how his Clark Kent's complex relationship with his parents be seen as a Protestant interpretation of Jesus Christ. Such Christological references. Hahaha, did anyone even notice that Kent actually had an epiphany in a church and apparently there was a stained-glass painting of the 'Garden of Gethsemane' scene from 'The New Testament' in the backdrop ? Or how the producers of the film apparently promoted the flick to the Protestant clergy ?.

That was thought-out well by our Kumz. Basically I love to acquire new knowledge and so I asked him to 'teach me' to analyse and critic a movie using Historical references, ethnology and of course, anthropology. I mean to be honest, it is very important to know alot. I mean, information is wealth and I don't wish to die a beggar. So he taught me ! HAHAHA. We started off from Tamil flicks. He was telling me how he actually observed a certain trend in the 'masala flicks'. We had to watch 'Singam 2' for it and he told me that we can only confirm the evolving pattern (that we had identified) when we watch subsequent 'masala flicks' to see if that same pattern is being repeated. I am not going to mention the pattern here because I want to analyse it before I make it certain. So I have to start watching 'ethnographic films' as well. The shit is, I can't quite understand the language they use in Tamil ethnographic films but then again, I need to learn. So yes. I'm all geared up yo ! Plus, I had been reading a well-known critic's account of movies and just like Kumz, he loves to observe the patterns and etc. Hmmm, hopefully I would become a better movie critic. Hahaha.


Kumzy

I have hardly taken pictures with him because he needs to be low-key. I mean at 29, sir is actually a History teacher at a well-known, top JC in Singapore. Trust me man, it is fucking hard to be a teacher of a graduating class of a top-notch JC as this young an age ! What I love about him is how he actually came to where he is due to sheer hardwork. I mean he was from an 'Anjadi' secondary school where he did badly for his O levels but managed to do well enough to go to SRJC and then his realisation hit him real hard (I know this but I am not going to reveal it) and how he went on to NUS and did History and graduated with 1st class Honours degree. Seriously ! He wants to do his Masters on a very interesting field and fucking hell, I am so going to read his Master's thesis and even learn how he came up with the 'topic'. 

So what I love best about him is how humble he is despite all these achievements. Also, he told me something - a motivating factor that drove him to his successes and you know, I felt like I was looking into the mirror. I swear man. I had always believed in something and I did work hard due to that reason alone but yea, life had to fuck me up but then again, I am not going to give up. I am going to use that very last energy from within me to make this happen. And the best thing is, he believes in me. He celebrates my successes and always manages to motivate me even when I am so down. I swear. Like he calls me "Vetri Vitz" and when I asked him why he calls me "Vetri Vitz", he mentions that because I am capable of achieving so much in life. When I have an intellectual conversations with him, he always praises my thoughts before we start to discuss about it. Like very recently, I was doing an assignment with regards to the 'New Media' and I had a certain thought. The thought really distracted me so much that I had to direct it to a few people. Hahaha. I couldn't even focus on my assignment because I was really thinking so much about it and its probable repercussions. I did direct it to him as well and his answer was "its a very good question. A good thinker you are. We got to meet for drinks and discuss this". I tell you, I am excited because meeting him = learning things ! HAHAHA. 


R.M

So recently I got to know R.M and we have a shared history. We used to play Floorball for the same club back then. He was a senior from school as well. He completed his degree in Sociology from NUS and went on to do his Masters in the field of 'Anthropology' in Sweden and he actually played Floorball at a professional level in Sweden. Firstly I am so damn envious that he played Floorball at a professional level in Sweden. I mean seriously, not many people are lucky to do that. I am really jealous. I told him that I am turning green with jealousy and he just laughed it off. So we went on to talk about his Masters. Anthropology is a very interesting field and due to his mastery of that field, he managed to make many deductions about my life just like that. So initially I told him that his deductions can be the tainted with alot of prejudicial thoughts. I mean a colossal knowledge about human behaviour would allow you to make stereotypical deductions, right ?. But yea, he explained his reasons and I thought it was quite valid and I told him how good he was at certain deductions and yea. Haha. So right now, I told him that I would want to listen to his POV. Really excited. 


Pravin Prakash

A good friend I got to know while I was in MI. I had been jealous with the fact that he got into my favourite course - Political Science in NUS ! Haha. I have alot of respect for him because I know how he came up too. A guy from a top-notch secondary school and he did badly for his Os and he ended up in PJC and got retained and then he headed to NUS where he started doing so well. He did so well in his course that he was invited to lecturer his juniors and right now, he is doing his Masters in Political Science. He had always favoured my inputs for his essays and articles and he loves to promote his blog posts to me and make sure I read it. Sometimes we have our own sharing my opinions session. So what really made me feel so so damn proud was when his article was given by my lecturer to the whole class to do an analysis. I swear I felt so fucking proud when I saw his name and face ! Really proud of him. So I snapped a picture of his article, tagged him and posted it on Facebook and he was apparently so touched. Hahhaa. Sweet. Well, he deserves this man. Hardwork really pays :) ! The best part was, my lecturer called him "an intelligent writer" - especially for the way he played with the words in the title. To the lay person, it may seem like a harmless title but if you look closely, you would realise ;)





The bottom line is, it is important to accumulate the positive energy from your surroundings. It increases your calibre and it strengthens you as a person. 




 
The Conjuring


 I did a simple review of 'The Conjuring' (not a critique ah) on Facebook. So let me just post it out here.
 
"The Conjuring" is definitely not a typical horror film that is replete with scare tactics. A decent plot that incorporated true events that occurred in the 18th century with (the real) Lorraine Warren acting as the consultant in this flick (Ed Warren passed away in 2006) and relived her experiences to add the accuracy and consistency to the scenes that were covered in this flick. The cast were really good and I have to add that Lili Taylor and Vera Farmiga were outstanding.

It's a relief to note that "The Conjuring" was indeed a shift away from ridiculous horror flicks that kept using lame scare tactics to scare the viewers. But then again, I think Facebook users over-hyped about the degree of horror in this flick. Yes it was spooky (and sentimental) but I don't think viewers would be traumatised for life.

 
Last but not least, I loved the take away message. Never let the devils from the external surroundings and/or the devil that reside within you to consume your spirit. Never let anything (or anyone) oppress or suppress you. You may be paralysed with fear but never let them weaken you. When you're at your weakest, it is way too easier to reach out to your soul"


 And the best part is, Mr Lord Sivaram is irritating the fuck out of me. I swear I can't stand stupidity or stupid people who think they're too smart to be in a human skin. Gosh.





There will come a time when you have to stop walking to turn around to see who were really there. I think I have a much clearer image of the silhouettes. Like I said, I will NEVER tolerate backstabbings, betrayals, 'jing jaks' and so on. If you think you can make a good character assessment then go ahead. I am definitely not that Indian girl whom you can dream of subjugating. NEVER. I have always been vocal with my thoughts and my own principles. So don't dream of tying me up with your preconceived notions. You can use your preconceived notions to wipe that shit off your ass. Even when I make my mistakes, I know I am "man" enough to admit and retract it, not dwell in self-pity and fuck my life up nor shiver bottom down in fear of societal repercussions.I will stand tall even if I walk alone. I would always carry my head up high even when I do walk alone.

See that smile ? - That's a very genuine smile. 

Vithiya 'Vitz'

11 Jan 1987

Undergrad (Psychology)

Manchester United

vithiyakumar11@gmail.com

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