It's been awhile now since the last post and so many things have happened that I should say something before I'm thrown to even deeper levels of work. Since the wedding, there have been two events that just swamped me to high levels of work. One are the assignments. Painful for one of them as stuff keeps changing and not to mention how annoying it is to implement some algorithms, the amount of debugging time, the test cases and stress testing our programs. Not fun. But, the other event is one where I've invested a lot of man-in-the-middle energy to, the first ever Singapore Film Fest in Melbourne. Just the week before the event, everyone was kicked into overdrive, tying up loose ends, making sure that we have all (if not most) of the components for the fest. A friend and I help cater a food item for the fest and just general setting up for the event have been my primary roles albeit off the record. Even though I'm not directly a part of the team that organizes the fest itself, it's quite hard to not feel a sense of pride in not only that your friends who are doing this for the whole year and that they have done an excellent job but also for yourself for having to be a part of this inaugural event.
It's a shame that I couldn't get to watch the films that I really wanted to watch. For example, Singapore Dreaming was the film on the opening night but that I was clearing up from the opening event. The short films on Monday and Tuesday were a miss because I had class on those days. The ones that I did manage to watch were the ones on the last day. One was an experimental film and the other were a series of short films by Boo Junfeng. It was great to see some fairly insightful films from Singaporean filmmakers on various scenarios and topics on friendship, hardship, oppression and many others.
That said however, I don't think a lot of people share how I thought about some of the films despite me not being an avid film buff (indie or mainstream). Just because one doesn't see a point, doesn't mean that the director doesn't have one when he/she made the film. And I think some of us tend to be overly critical about it that we treat the director and his film as though we were playing poker. If we realize, by reading the cards, that a player has got nothing, we punish him severely for it. Similiarly, if we read that the film has nothing to offer, we will release all hell in the form of reviews, complaints and sometimes crude spoofs. Unlike poker though where it is probably more clear cut on whether you have good cards or not, films are gray. Makes it even harder that behind every film, there are possibly several ideas that give rise to film and is most likely presented in one form or another. Does that classify as offering substance to a film? Maybe. Can a grotesque film offer insights about the world? Perhaps. Can a 5 minute silence offer more than 5 seconds of speech/action? Point being is that while it is great that we form our own opinions about why we like a film or not, there is such a thing as going overboard with the negativity and to go as far as having "call the director's bluff". Reading too much into things goes both ways.
Alright, time to off load tabs here:
Great idea! Should do this some time.
Who or what is to blame here? Lack of teaching or lack of understanding?
Melancholy. Powerful force that if harnessed correctly makes great thinkers.
Is that seriously what the Australian Iron Chefs are wearing? Sorry, you've lost my vote there.
We guys suck. And I tend to agree because I suck too.
Many people have suggested or try to implant the idea that I should work in Singapore. But I feel bad that I will be contributing to the existing problems of Singapore. Plus I will need to own a boat sometime in the future.
Scott Pilgrim may not be for everyone, but like this film critic says "What is wrong with you people?". For the record, pretty much any film that I've watched that he has reviewed, he's spot on. For me at least.
I've posted this 10 page article in the last entry and since reading it, it has been quite insightful. I am soon-to-be a 26-year-old adolescent.
What this means is that I can now shape my daughters (if any) to my ulterior motives. *evil snicker*
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