The Currency of the Imagination

“Are there gonna be strobe lights?”
“Yeah… in their hearts!”

This review is a bit delayed, but I attended a poetry reading by Suheir Hammad and the Palestinian Audiovisual group Tashweesh recently on the Southbank Centre’s “Imagining Peace” Poetry International 2010 event.

The introduction to Suheir Hammad, renowned Palestinian-American poet, and Tashweesh, audiovisual Palestinian group mentioned something about poetry being the currency of the imagination.  A very nice description I think… in a philosophical kind of way which can mean very different things to different people, but that’s what poetry is right?

Anyway… I’ve always loved Suheir’s poetry and the way the event was sold regarding Tashweesh, the audiovisual elements, etc. I was expecting something great.  The DJ of the group, MC Boikutt, is known to me too where a few years back I downloaded mp3′s of his work and his group, Ramallah Underground.  Well… I got something I really didn’t expect… you know the weird artsy thing some artists do where they use static and weird sounds as music, well this was something like that. With an added visual element, the images were jittery, incoherent and sometimes really scary.  I got a few pictures in my head which made sense… riding between two huge walls which looked like the Apartheid Wall in Palestine, and the other being a silhouette of flying birds against the backdrop of a picture of a leaky, dingy sewer.

The sounds also had the heavy constant bass in the background with the front notes being the scratchy static, which gave the unmistakable impression and feeling of oppression and anxiety. I think that is what they were going for but it went on a bit too long and later on in the set there was some elements showing of Boikutt’s previous work which actually had some beat to it before falling back into what eventually just became really irritating sounds and images lacking any further meaning.

Unfortunately in this context I feel that Suheir’s poetry suffered as well in terms of having that dark edge to them instead of the usual meaning.  Suheir, however, did save the show with her humour and personalising the event,,, “Yo London, make some noise! Thanks for your rainy Friday and the river”. The added element of randomly choosing her poetry did work in a way with Tashweesh and some of the audience picking random numbers which she then used to choose poems from her books.

It’s not just her words… but the way she delivers the poetry which makes the impact all the more potent.  The meaning becomes much clearer with her presentation than from plainly reading her work.

Review/Perspective: “Eat, Pray, Love”

Straight off, I was not totally impressed with the book. That is not to say I do not share an empathy with the subject matter. I see a lot of myself in the search Elizabeth goes through.

I am all for being open-minded, we will never know everything and there are many who know much more than we do. We do need to let go of all the petty things we cling to, what is really important? If you haven’t figured it out, what’s important to you right now? Nobody is ever fully right or fully wrong, there’s good and bad in everything and sometimes it’s only a matter of how you are looking at things.

I still can’t figure out why the book did not gel with me very well. I have read many self-help, zen, search/journey for the truth books and this one does not particularly stand out for me as one of the top ten. Maybe it’s only because of relevance, but I also feel there was something in the story which just does not click with me. I imagine it would with women, and especially women living in western societies, a whole lot. There may be oceans of relevance and mirrored reflections of thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Given all that, I love the journey itself. The intent behind it, the search for the truth, for something greater and the realisation that it starts with one’s self. Only one’s self, and it can not begin anywhere else. Outside holds no answers if the inside has not been reconciled. Elizabeth’s journey is just one of those journey’s and I can say it is one of many, by countless citizens of earth with varying resources who will suck up meaning from the greatness of mountains to the simplicity of children playing with marbles on a street corner.

The movie is coming out in the last third of this year , and it looks pretty good. I do think Julia Roberts is a great choice to play Elizabeth in the role and I suspect I will feel better about the movie than the book. Which would be the second time for me ( I always thought the Godfather movie trumped the book).

Above all, I love how the book left me with a feeling of confusion within myself, and that is ALWAYS a great place to start. Never doubt that. Go read the book for yourself, and when it comes out, watch the movie. There is a nugget of something great and personal in all of it.

Movie Review: Daybreakers

The Placebo soundtrack on the trailer really drew me in.  That and the tag line "The Matrix meets 28 Days Later." Overall, it was following the recent trend i.e. normal vampire movie with a twist.  Not very engaging. The only link to the Matrix was tehir se of humans to survive… for blood this time, obviously.. not being used as batteries.  The Matrix had it done better though… they had a plan in place to replace dead humans… here the dead humans just die… leaving a blood shortage.

Anyway… it was a filler movie. something you can waste your time with and would be just as good if you got it on DVD or waited for it come on TV.

What was great about it was the colouring and the cinematography. It was noir in a  modern way and the soundtrack fit the movie really well.  Also, Ethan Hawke makes a really good vampire. On the plot… I like how they put in all the normal stuff that happens after being a vampire becomes normalised.  Things like the economy, class systems, food shortages, etc. start to take over the agenda.

I’d give the movie a 6/10 :) Enjoy.

Scar 3D

Please don’t waste your time with this movie… to be nice to it would say it’s “fuckin’ retarded.” Which is a quote from the movie itself by the way.  With the advent of the 3D Cinema, some really good movies have been made which fit the new technology brilliantly… this movie is not one of them.

It is one of those really bad horror movies you know is bad when you see the movie poster, but are somehow intrigued to go and watch it anyway because of the “3D” tag to the whole thing.  Please do not be fooled by this.  After going through the whole schpiel and having some gory scenes displayed, in all their 3D glory, by the time you get to the climax of the movie, the 3D doesn’t factor into anything conciously… you’re mostly being gored out of your mind.

The most irritating of all though, is the extremely bad screenplay, predictable story-line and absolutely atrocious acting.

From a 3D Cinema perspective… I learnt something.  I think the technology is just a tool and another cool way to bring the entertainment to life.  The core still matters though, so if the story-line is shit, the rest will not make up for it.  It’s sugar coated excrement.
Link

Review: “Behind the Rainbow” Documentary by Jihan El-Tahri

Coming from the World Premiere of “Behind the Rainbow“, which was held last night at Maponya Mall in Soweto, one can’t shake the feeling of how the media has actually shaped the perceptions of the man on the street with regards to South African politics and especially with regard to the personalities behind the politics.

Behind the Rainbow, directed by the seminal Jihan El-Tahri, covers South Africa’s political history focusing on the internal struggles and challenges faced by the ruling party, the ANC.  One can’t help being moved by the understanding of the conflicts within the party as we see very different personalities coming up against each other; each with their own way of working and their own visions of the future of their organisation and their country, even though they subscribe to the same Charter.

Of particular interest to me was the focus on the very recent events in which Thabo Mbeki (ex-President of South Africa) went up against his life-long friend and fellow comrade in the struggle for th ANC, Jacob Zuma.  Two very different personalities by all accounts and the events which lead up to these two going up against each other at the Polokwane conference in 2007 and the recent “re-calling” of Thabo Mbeki by the ANC.  Everything is covered… Corruption, The arms deal, Jacob Zuma’s Rape Accusation, the un-wielding support of Jacob Zuma by ANC members, the mindset behind the ANC Supporters and the Youth of the ANC in general, Black Economic Empowerment, etc. All of which give you a holistic understanding of what the ANC faced as they were put into power.

Many members of the ANC were present at the premiere itself… Mac Maharaj, Andrew Feinstein and some others who were featured in the documentary as well.  The personal interviews with both Mbeki and Zuma, as well as personal perspectives of Members within the ANC make the documentary more personable than any other recent documentary done on the ANC and its internal workings.  The fact that the documentary covers aspects right up until the recent appointment of current President Kgalema Motlanthe (who is also featured prominently in the documentary), shows its relevance to the here and now.

Overall, it was a very well researched documentary on the current state of South African Politics and the direction was nothing short of brilliant.  It doesn’t slow and make you lose interest in any way and keeps you hooked onto pertinent topics without straying or becoming boring.  The points hit home hard, everything we’ve read in newspapers, seen on tV and analysed among friends is covered and criticised by the ANC members themselves.

A definite must-see for any South African interested in the past, present and future of the country they live in.

Directed by: Jihan El-Tahri

Produced by: Steven Markovitz

Behind the Rainbow – Trailer

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Jihan el-Tahri, Behind the Rainbow, Documentary, South Africa, Politics, Jacob Zuma, Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Andrew Feinstein, Mac Maharaj, ANC, African National Congress, Polokwane, Steve Markovitz