Movie Links & A Giveaway

And so we begin anew! Another cycle of birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, gray hair. >grin<

First: if you don't have a copy of Jazz in Love, Edi over at Crazy Quilts is giving away two copies, so if you'd like to enter your name in the draw, go on over and comment!

Second, here are a couple of films I watched over the holidays that I really liked -



The main criticism of the film seems to be that it was not an accurate depiction of the horrors of Partition. But honestly? I've read, watched, and heard enough about the carnage of Partition to last me a looong time. This was a love story by Kashmiri-born director, Vic Sarin, and for that, it was quite beautiful. Yes, they got a lot of it wrong (the accents, some of the details), but for the love story (for which I am, admittedly, a sucker), it was well worth watching.

And this one -



I got worried about this one partway through, but then it righted itself and ended up pretty good.

Happy viewing, all!

Food, Freedom, Control, and Profit

This link was posted on Facebook and I had to share it here. Jason Taylor is over on Vimeo with a video series about food, freedom, control and farming (hence, the title of this post - clever, huh?). I saw three of the short pieces and was duly impressed. Unfortunately, my connection slowed, so I was frustrated and couldn't watch the rest, but I'll be sure to be back on Jason's channel as soon as I get another chance. Check out the videos - they're really interesting.

Here's one that shows the Golden Temple's langar ritual. Langar is the communal meal served at all Sikh temples. Anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, whatever is given a free meal - it's one of the basic tenets of Sikhism, and one I whole-heartedly agree with. No one should go hungry.

Links for This Week

Love this Sandip Roy piece on Alternet about Eat, Pray, Love:

Now, I don’t want to deny Gilbert her “journey.” She is herself honest, edifying and moving. I don’t want to deny her Italian carbs, her Indian Om’s or her Bali Hai beach romance. We all need that sabbatical from the rut of our lives.

But as her character complained that she had “no passion, no spark, no faith” and needed to go away for one year, I couldn’t help wondering where do people in Indonesia and India go away to when they lose their passion, spark and faith? I don’t think they come to Manhattan. Usually third-worlders come to America to find education, jobs and to save enough money to send for their families to join them, not work out their kinks.

On the other end of the film spectrum, here's an interesting tidbit--megastar Bollywood actor, Amir Khan, who starred in and co-produced the Oscar-nominated Lagaan some years back, has produced a political film about farmer suicides in India. It's a satire that cuts very close to the truth:

Khan knows that he's taking a risk by producing such an explicitly political film in a country where reasonable expectations say it'll find a niche audience, at best. But he's come to believe it's his job to make movies with a message.
"I don't know who else will do it," he says. "When I come across material which excites me — which not only is engaging and entertaining, but also has something to say, or hopefully sensitizes people or makes you think — I'd like to be a part of that." 

And in publishing industry news, Barnes & Noble is for sale:

I know exactly when B&N lost me as a customer. Some years ago, to compete with Amazon, B&N began offering free same-day delivery in Manhattan if you placed your order over the Internet by 11 a.m. I did so several times -- and not once did the books arrive when promised. Everything I have ordered from Amazon has arrived on time or earlier. Then came Amazon's game-changing Kindle, and instant delivery. Nothing I've read about B&N's belated rival Nook has tempted me to try it.

Summer Radio Silence

I can't believe how quickly this summer has blown by. August is around the corner and I feel like I've been doing a zillion-and-one things, but it seems I have nothing to show for it.

I've been keeping an eye on what's going on with Arizona's immigration bill, also known as SB1070; I'm waiting for romance number two to release (next month), and revising romance number three; I've written a few short pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, which should be out and about soon; been keeping up with Hell's Kitchen and SYTYCD (both Fox shows, which I am loathe to acknowledge. Sadly, though not surprisingly, the latter has been on a downward spiral); planning school visits and conferences I'm scheduled for in the fall; and I've been run ragged by the kids.

In between all that, I'm trying to enjoy the summer. The pool is a huge blessing (uh, that we *pay* for) and a refreshing jumpstart on those soupy humid days in the ninety-degree-and-above regions. So I've been trying to get as much solitude by the water as possible before Labour Day sneaks up, and re-reading as much Marion Zimmer Bradley novels as I can.

Also saw an interesting film, featuring time travel, called Happy Accidents. I streamed it through Netflix and was pleasantly surprised. I love Marisa Tomei (since My Cousin Vinny, which I also loved) and the film's premise piqued my interest. It lagged at points, but I was ultimately glad I watched it. I'll probably go back and watch it again, just to see what I might have missed the first time around. If you get a chance to see it, let me know what you think.

Giving Back

I'm snowed under with revisions, but I wanted to pop in to share a couple of links and related thoughts. The topic of this post is Giving Back, but not in the way I've come to think of it--as in volunteering, or giving back to your community. I'm referring to giving back, or sharing profits when you've taken something that doesn't belong to you. When you've profited from something (or someone) that was not yours to profit from.

When I visited India over twenty years ago, I remember sitting in the courtyard of an elderly neighbor.  I know she was related to us somehow, somewhere in the long chain of ancestry--an ancestry that, for the most part, could be traced to the very land we had laid our cots out on in the heat of a Punjabi noonday sun. My family has been living in the same part of the world, likely in the same 50-mile radius, for centuries. There are streets named after my father's forefathers.

And yet, when the British came, they changed the names of many of those streets, instantly erasing hundreds of years worth of story and struggle and memory, and rewriting history. The names the streets were given were now names of British men. Men who had histories and ancestral homes thousands of miles away and had shed not a single drop of blood or sweat to nurture the land they now claimed.

I thought of all that as my elderly neighbor sighed and said, "Things were much better when the British were here."

Boi-oing! (That's my eyes bugging out.) "Excuse me?"

She nodded emphatically. "The streets were swept regularly. They built roads. There was some civility."

Because she was an elder, it would have been disrespectful for me to mention that the only streets that were swept were where the wealthy British lived, and that they were swept by Indians. It would have seemed like a challenge, and one does not challenge their elders. So I also didn't mention that the only roads that were built were ones that would take all of India's natural, precious resources to Britain and to the British elite. And I definitely wasn't going to mention anything about civility.

I bring this up because I read this post by Zetta about gentrification in Brooklyn, and remembered that the phenomenon is not just local; it has a historical blueprint. And that, often, when folks come into a neighborhood/country/culture with the grand idea of "taming", "settling" or "borrowing", there is usually no thought to giving back to the community that is already there--that already has its sacred spots, its cultures, its language, its spirituality. The main impetus is taking from the community.

The other link I want to share along these lines is to this NY Times article. Here are a few quotes:

"Just last month, MSN.com issued an apology to the Quileute for intruding on its territory while videotaping a 'Twilight' virtual tour in September. MSN.com sought permission from the Chamber of Commerce in nearby Forks, Wash., but didn’t pay the same courtesy to the Quileute. The video team trespassed onto a reservation cemetery and taped Quileute graves, including those of esteemed tribal leaders. These images were then set to macabre music and, in November, posted on MSN.com. The tribe quickly persuaded MSN.com to remove the Quileute images."

And this:

"'Twilight' has made all things Quileute wildly popular: Nordstrom.com sells items from Quileute hoodies to charms bearing a supposed Quileute werewolf tattoo. And a tour company hauls busloads of fans onto the Quileute reservation daily. Yet the tribe has received no payment for this commercial activity. Meanwhile, half of Quileute families still live in poverty."

Then this:

"Going forward, the Quileute should be engaged in the 'Twilight' phenomenon. They should be able, first, to welcome Ms. Meyer to the reservation and introduce her to the Tribal Council and all the Quileute people. They should be consulted on projects where the Quileute name and culture are used to market products. And Quileute elders should be able to share with the world the true Quileute creation story, in which tribal members were transformed into humans from wolves (not vampire-fighting wolves)."

Check out both those links and see what connections you come up with. Are there similarities? What are the common threads?

More from me later! Off to bury myself in revisions now...

The Power of Art and Story

This is fantastic; truly a testament to the power of art and story. Do watch it through to the end:

Water: Commodity or Birthright?

Some friends I went to college with are now big time documentary-makers (documentarians?) in Toronto. Here is the trailer for their latest--it's sure to get you thinking about the future...for ALL of us:

Thoughts on Avatar

I wasn't sure I wanted to go, really, and fought feelings of not wanting to support another Dances With Wolves type of film that exalted the redemption of White Male Saviour. And Avatar certainly had that. I went fully expecting to hate it because of everything I'd read from respected colleagues and friends. And I'm far from being a Cameron fan -- though my guess is that, as usual, he had tons of input from plenty of other creative minds (who will, most likely, never get credit for it).

Could be that my expectations were so low, but I came out of the theater loving the movie. That's right, I said it: "loving." The movie was visually stunning--which I expected. After all, a budget of four hundred million dollars and a shooting location in Hawaii should buy you some pretty shots, shouldn't it?

[**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD** ]

But I found the film to be slightly more than the racial cow-patty it has been in some discourses. It absolutely has that element--I'm not disputing it. That part DID annoy me. And maybe if I had gone in not knowing I'd encounter that, I'd be more enraged. But as it was, I went in expecting to be offended. But I was far less offended than I thought I'd be.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not excusing the inherent white male fantasy in the film. There was a most gag-worthy scene where these gorgeous, neon, jelly-fish type of "seeds" from a sacred soul-tree drifted onto the main character, Jake Sully, and settled on his skin, covering his arms, face, and torso and creating a very Jesus-like image. And of course, it was the white male channeled through the Na'vi who rode the biggest dragon in to save the day. So, if you go, DO be prepared for that. And the argument that all the main PoC characters are painted in blue throughout the entire film is totally valid. But, again, I went in knowing all this, so I wasn't surprised and didn't feel the need to retch as soon as I got out of the theater.

So, having said all that... there were some things I was truly impressed with -- not just because my expectations were significantly lowered, but because no one has really touched on these in a lot of the conversations I've been privy to:

1) The women were kickass. Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) was FIERCE. If this was a film I could take my girls to (can't, they're too young), I would LOVE for them to see Neytiri. Why can't we have more Neytiris on celluloid? On covers of books? On television? She was strong, full of integrity, beautiful, sensual, confident, protective, nurturing, and did I mention FIERCE? Her number one priority was her people. She didn't just see this exotic white boy and fall madly, deeply in love; completely and utterly giving up her own destiny and her people. Her allegiance was clear from the first moment she met the outsider -- who, for the record, looked *exactly* like her people because he was a hybrid, an inter-species mix of human and Na'vi. Neytiri is totally my shero. She could fight. She knew how to tame and ride a horse AND a dragon. And she didn't need anyone to save her. In fact, she was the saviour, in the end. NOT the white male.

In fact, I'm trying to remember if there was a negative female portrayal at all, and my mind is drawing a blank. The scientist, the pilot, Neytiri, her mother . . . all intense, powerful, principaled women.

2) The spiritual sensibility woven throughout the film. The idea of ancestral connection really resonated with me. This is a concept I grew up with as an Indian woman, a Sikh woman. It's a concept indigenous peoples all over the world are intimately familiar with. And it's a basic Truth of life that the west is only now, perhaps, beginning to embrace. But nonetheless, it's an important concept that should, in my opinion, be incorporated into daily life.

All of the spiritual threads hit home for me. The idea of real, biological connections between the earth, animals, plants, and humans; the concept of Earth as mother (there is an old Bollywood film called Mother India in which Dharti Maa -- Mother Earth -- is repetitively enforced throughout); the idea of energy flow among all living things.

And the fact that all of the spiritual elements were led and upheld by women were another point of resonance. Something I rarely see in mainstream media in any form. In fact, spirituality that is not reduced to a tool of capitalism is something not often portrayed in mainstream media.

3) The exalting of collaborative effort over individual gain. This was a value of the Navi (who seemed to be a mix of indigenous cultures from all over the globe, but a most identifiable similarity was with the Maasai of Eastern Africa--the dress, body type, jewelry, etc.). Connection was a sacred belief. That we are all a connected, bonded network, and what happens to one, affects us all.

5) There was some obvious critique of colonization. Those of us who are aware of the horrors of colonization and imperialism were, in all likelihood, not shocked by the destruction of Pandora at the hands of the colonizers. But for people who never have to face these realities, it very likely was a revelation. And there were clear references to the Bush agenda and approach to foreign relations throughout.

When I left the theater, I caught an older white woman's conversation on her cell phone: "Oh, my gawd, it was horrible. SO depressing, I can't even talk about it." [think Long Island accent]

I wracked my brain to find where the depressing part was, and the only thing I could come up with was the devastation of colonization. Because to me, the end was somewhat inspiring. And the whole film was about resistance--relentless, unceasing resistance which culminates in ultimate victory for those under siege. How unusual to see that in a Hollywood film--particularly when the enemy is a depiction of the American military (for contrast, see this site for a detailed timeline of Paramount's casting decisions for the upcoming film, Airbender. The villains are all PoC, and the heroes are all white).

In the end, this is the way I see it: if we want films (books) to truly and accurately represent us, we need to own our own production houses (publishing houses). There are enough of us out there who are gainfully employed that getting together and starting something could be a reality. But, instead of doing that, we spend all of our energy elbowing our way into the Big House.

This is one film from the Big House that actually got some things right. It got some things wrong, too, but that is to be expected when we are not at the reins, no? It wasn't an independent production. Its aim was to appeal to the masses. And yet, it still portrayed some unpopular ways of looking at life, women, spirituality, American militarism, the Bush agenda, colonization and imperialism. When we're looking to others to represent us, then we have to keep fighting for them to get it right. OR, we can say, "You know what? Fark you. You keep screwing up, so I'm doing my own sh*t."

And since none of us have done that yet (on the scale of Twentienth Century Fox), I'm going to say that I loved this film for what it did get right. Plus, I am a serious sucker for awesome special effects. I was able to get over Keanu's gawd-awful acting and the White Male Saviour concept for the Matrix trilogy for similar reasons.

But the stuff that Avatar did get right is now being viewed by the masses--teenagers who are addicted to female heroines like Bella from Twilight (please don't let my daughters ever try to emulate her), construction workers and wall street types who couldn't give two craps about spirituality, waitresses and lawyers who spend more money on their fingernails and hair than they do on healthy food. All kinds of people are going to see this movie, and it is showing some important perspectives not normally portrayed on the big screen. Or any screen, for that matter. And I, for one, think that is pretty cool.

There is so much more to say on this film and the issues it raises, or doesn't raise, and I'd love to engage in dialogue with others who've seen it. Feel free to comment or email.

Oh--one more thing: if you're going to see it, you MUST see it in 3D. The cinematography is something to be experienced.

Links: Twilight Essay; Awesome Editor Interview

A couple of links for your holiday reading:

1) If you want to read my thoughts on how Twilight, Bollywood, and Disney capitalize on the sexuality of young girls (and their mothers), check out this essay on Racialicious:

"But after seeing [Twilight], I have a whole new understanding of why this film has banked as much revenue as it has. And how closely it resembles Bollywood romance films. The success of Bollywood romance films and novels like Twilight are a huge reflection of their consumers’ needs and wants, as well as the accepted social context within which these stories thrive.
Now, this is nothing new — the budding sexuality and innocence of young girls has been exploited historically by media giants like the Disney corporation for years. Disney princesses have been swooning over their prince saviours and waiting for rescue for decades. These are stories little girls grow up reading and hearing at bedtime and many know by heart..."

2) Zetta has an amazing interview up with former children's book editor, Laura Atkins. If you are interested in publishing, multicultural children's books, and issues of race and representation, do check it out. Here is one of my favourite bits--how to go about actively seeking voices from writers of colour:

"·      seek out published authors for adults (fiction and non-fiction) who I thought could write for young readers;
·      contact editors of anthologies (especially those featuring diverse authors, or, for instance, Native American stories) and ask for suggestions of new talent;
·      post on listservs and bulletin boards for writing groups featuring authors of color – sometimes saying I was looking for something in particular (such as contemporary Native American or Filipino American stories – anywhere I saw a hole in the market)
·      contact journalists who wrote in relevant areas to see if they had considered writing for young people
·      talk to curators from museums representing diverse communities to have them tell me about artists or concepts that might work for children’s books.

These days, you could post on blogs saying you are actively seeking diverse new authors and illustrators and the word would certainly spread.  I get frustrated when I hear editors say they would love to publish more diverse authors if their stories would only come across their desks.  Getting through all the steps it takes to get published is a huge obstacle, so this really needs intentional efforts from editors..."

The rest of the interview is fantastic, as well.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, all!

Ripples To Waves

The other night, the hubs and I watched Sin Nombre. We'd heard great things about this film and were excited to see it. We were very disappointed. The film is about two young adults trying to escape their life circumstances. One is trying to cross into the US through Mexico, the other is trying to outrun a life of gang violence. I kept hoping throughout the film for some...hope. There was certainly some redemption, but it was not nearly enough.

I kept wondering what the story would have been if the camera had been put in the hands of Mexicans, or Hondurans. Would the characters have had the same arcs? Would the ending have been the same?

I think about one of my favorite films of all time, Favela Rising, and how different that film was from this one. It dealt with some of the same issues: poverty, the slums of South America, gang violence, trying to find a way out of despair. But the crew of that film put cameras in the hands of Brazilians. The kids and young men and women of the slum told their own story through their own eyes. And the picture was SO vastly different from what was depicted in Sin Nombre. Favela Rising was a story of empowerment, hope, of love for one's own people and community, of the beauty and unbreakable spirit of a people. It was about the power of music, art, and creativity to heal, to transform, and to help people transcend their circumstances. And, even though the film was "created" by two "regular," US dudes, they gave cameras to the people who lived in the community they wanted to tell a story about. These two regular, US dudes then took the proceeds from the movie and invested ALL of the money back into the community that opened itself up to their cameras.

Granted, SN was fiction and FR non-fiction. But as crafters of story, we are the ones who edit and revise, and decide what the ultimate plot or arc will be. We are the ones who decide what the story is, whose story it is, and what the characters learn, discover, or accomplish.

Here's a quick snippet from Jeff Zimbalist, one of the directors of FR from his Director's Statement:

"It seems most people’s image of global harmony or disharmony is predominantly shaped by the media. When I find myself surrounded by stories of the world falling apart, naturally I imagine the world as a place falling apart. The more access I have to stories of communities that work, the more I imagine a world in which people are also realizing change and breaking the odds stacked against them. I am attracted to these vital and inspiring stories because it is in them that I find myself the most activated and alive."

Whenever people talk about not knowing what to do in their lives to change the way things are, I think about these kinds of simple, ordinary things people do all the time--in whatever capacity they can. Something as seemingly-minor as putting a camera in the hands of someone whose story has never been heard--you don't have to be a Spielberg or a Tarantino. Or giving voice to someone whose voice is usually not considered important/valuable/newsworthy/marketable. These small things are what it takes to make real, lasting changes. These are the things that inspire, spark a chain reaction, and create ripples that turn into large waves.