Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts

Friday, March 28, 2014

"The Great Beauty" After "The Great Dictator"

"The Great Beauty" is a well-known movie but some circles in Italy preferred to refrain from any comments on the movie and to allow not this movie to take a higher place than an artwork by remaining silent. 
The aim of this article is not to review the movie, but to investigate the filmmaker's claim and finally to present a proper response to it.
The heroes of the movie are those characters who are introduced as losers by the filmmaker.
But who are they?
They are rich but not famous, they have key to all part of the city but they are unknown, they are associated with religious dignitaries, they have special rules for some ceremonies like funerals and etc. 
Obviously, the movie is a critical work. Thus it's funny if we accept the filmmaker just aimed to criticize a group of unknown Italian authors.
Some of the movie's dialogues also implicitly confirm this fact. Including:

Jep Gambardella: I only wrote one novel, 40 years ago.

And

Jep Gambardella: What job you do?
The Woman: Me? I’m rich

And also the monologue:

Jep Gambardella: I didn’t just want to live the high life; I wanted to be the king of the high life.

Probably the small but powerful and influential Italian group in the fields of Italian culture and politics is the movie's subject and target of criticism.
Some may think that the filmmaker has presented a real and honest image of this group.
To realize how far this presentation is from reality, just consider the images of religion presented by the filmmaker; A caricature! Presenting an unfair image of the character who reminds Mother Teresa's face, itself, is a sufficient reason to accept that we are dealing with a radical filmmaker. Thus this filmmaker's show is more fantasy than real.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Anti Backwardism; Why?

Training against an ideology, religion or nationality; why?
Certainly, ill will for doing any action isn't acceptable and those who have violent view against a religion, ideology or nationality are convict because it's all against social democracy and liberalism. But when an ideology, religion or nationality becomes a weapon for war, expansionism or creation of fascism and totalitarianism, there's no way except putting down the practical weapon. 
When Marxism becomes an ideology in order to war and conquest other countries, is there any other solution except attack to their weapon?! Or the same in Islam with Taliban or Arabs with Pan-Arabism and Turks with Pan-Turkism were going to create fascism!
International community are damaged by Fascism, so it's inevitable they resist against all forms of fascism including extremist nationalism, ideology or an  religion that may lead to the fascism. 
However, the author believes religion support the public order because many crimes and indecent acts considered as sin in religious books and actually prohibited. So, making decision on any religion isn't easy until it's not against the society.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sexual Stunting

The advent of exhibitionism as one of the components of the New Wave cinema started from the 60s and continues to the present. As the scenes of nudity is the supplier of the audiences’ demands, it has also become one of the most important demands of the producers. However, the producers have often raised their demands to film producers in an obligatory way. The actors must realize these demands. This isn't the case that what some actors have told about their first experiences of scenes including nudity in their interviews; Nervous or any exertion to prepare themselves to play such a role. All these feelings can be count on their first experience. The subject of this discussion is about the social and cultural bases that these actors appear from. An actor is not a person who has worked in a restaurant before or has been performing non-specialized and common place tasks and has suddenly entered cinema. Expecting this group to play roles and scenes of nudity is a counter-cultural expectation. Public nudity is not something that a citizen (or in other word member) of pop culture can accept. The director or anyone else who enters cinema can't ask for the changes in the general policies of cinema. But there is always the possibility of changes within each system. So that both producers and audiences’ demands are fulfilled. As there are stuntmen for dangerous cinema activities, it is possible to consider models for sexual activities and nudity. Thus, not only the social and cultural bases from which most actors usually arise from would not be damaged and expose them to cultural exchange with which they have lived and have grown, but also the needs of both producers and cinema is provided. Unfortunately we can't ignore the obstacles in the way of reforming approaches. Because there are always some people working in a restaurant who have transferred to cinema and accept the reality of cinematic exhibitionism aren't willing to make an effort to reform the system. This group has always reminded me of Mao's Red Army. A number of young people in the community that couldn't succeed started to defend Mao's dictatorship in the harshest way possible, so that they can be benefited in this way.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Destructive Minority

Economical and cultural criterion and standards cause some minority groups to avoid entering social competitions automatically. These groups are divided into two: (1) Groups which don't join social competitions because of free choice e.g. cultural and conscience minorities which cannot participate in this cultural competitions because of not accepting pop culture. (2) Groups which lose their chance to join because of not having necessary abilities in being matched with social and cultural standards, while they believe in pop culture of society. Such as those who tend to have educational degrees but won't have it because of current economic conditions and can't enter social competitions. Accepting this fact will be difficult for second minority group when the state gives the same facilities to foreign and non-local members who can match with this economic and cultural system. So this minority will feel out by the society. This will make them follow their benefits non-legally, some ways which are definitely non-legal and perhaps in conflict with public ethics. No doubt that we can't expect this minority to be the same as others. Because they don't have an equal opportunity with others to join social competitions and have a positive impact on society. Or they have paid more than others to have such an opportunity. But it does not mean to accept them as destructive and anti-social minority. So it is necessary to have a little society in the heart of a big one for this minority same as small societies made for non-local or religious minorities such as Chinese people. So this minority will follow the rules of that small society in which it is a member. And also there is no need for it to break the rules and public ethics for its own benefit.