tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post3395379406421683064..comments2024-03-29T15:45:04.867+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: A short rant about the Moonlight-La La Land fracasJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-22897334852708538782017-03-07T16:16:04.121+05:302017-03-07T16:16:04.121+05:30Good wishes from me too Jai. I have long enjoyed y...Good wishes from me too Jai. I have long enjoyed your articles and look upon you as an ideal in terms of film journalism and your general views. Recently my mother passed away from cancer which crept upon her silently and I missed all the signs that she was withering away. So I can totally understand the article you had written about your Mum. Also my last conversation with her at home was a fight with her which will haunt me forever. It's great that you and your Mum have a great relationship and I wish you all the strength to cope with whatever is on the way. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3780048162614530782017-03-04T11:36:08.052+05:302017-03-04T11:36:08.052+05:30Yes, I get that, and there are good reasons to fee...Yes, I get that, and there are good reasons to feel glad about Moonlight getting the award (among them that it is such an unusual best picture Oscar winner - a friend and I were looking at the full list of winners and discussing this - that it might just herald the awards becoming more interesting and wide-ranging in future). I do feel though that while Moonlight is a hot-button film in a very direct way, La La Land also tangentially addresses a subject that is of great relevance in today's times, in the US and around the world: the undermining of art and culture, the "soft" topics, in favour of hardline politics. One reason why there is something so appropriate about Emma Stone's tremulous, vulnerable voice singing "the painters and poets and plays".Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-24971343718353779102017-03-04T11:24:25.760+05:302017-03-04T11:24:25.760+05:30Thanks a lot, Arun. That Toblerone comment was jus...Thanks a lot, Arun. That Toblerone comment was just a little facetious, but yes, things have been quite bad on the personal front for a while now, and it gets hard to stay sane. (I have never been a "stay optimistic" sort anyway, even in good times, so that isn't a big issue.)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-18845475970577009292017-03-04T11:22:39.274+05:302017-03-04T11:22:39.274+05:30Radhika: oh yes. I remember all the bemusement whe...Radhika: oh yes. I remember all the bemusement when those nominations were announced - and having seen none of the supporting actress performances yet, but being a bit of a Redgrave-Plowright snob myself, I think I bought the narrative that Tomei was nominated just because they had to have a token young American. When I finally did see her performance, I had no doubt about its worthiness. (Experienced something similar with Mira Sorvino and Mighty Aphrodite.)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-30880531083414655192017-03-04T11:05:26.067+05:302017-03-04T11:05:26.067+05:30For the lovers of 'serious cinema', I imag...For the lovers of 'serious cinema', I imagine a fantasy. They should be put in a theatre and made to watch all Aamir Khan's message oriented movies (the way the lead of A Clockwork Orange was made to watch). Or, they should be made to listen to that song from TZP - dekho inhe aus ki boondein (pretty much the way a character in ACO was made to listen Beethoven). If they get affected, they should then be made to watch any Kadar Khan movie :)Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-66960507230746513062017-03-04T03:40:15.349+05:302017-03-04T03:40:15.349+05:30I believe Moonlight is being considered all the mo...I believe Moonlight is being considered all the more relevant because of what is happening in US or rather, what is finally being highlighted as happening in US (it was always there, but it is only recently that the discrimination has gotten so much spotlight). It is not as if "La la Land" was less deserving, but really giving Moonlight the Oscar was sort of sending out a message.<br />Sorry if I sound too simplistic or come across as stating the obvious. <br />FWIW I agree about escapist cinema getting the short shrift. But in this case, the Moonlight vs La la Land thing underlines something slightly different.Aparnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17465535925292456208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-63973799970551266472017-03-04T00:29:36.149+05:302017-03-04T00:29:36.149+05:30Hi Jai:
I am making a comment unrelated to your r...Hi Jai:<br /><br />I am making a comment unrelated to your review. Reading some of the subtext, as well as other posts, I gather that some of your personal battles are, well, weighing you down. From a random stranger: hang in there. I don't know if *it* will get better, but you do come across as kind, honest and sensitive, and I'd like to send some good wishes your way.<br /><br />Cheers.Arun Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21278585658456695312017-03-03T23:02:40.092+05:302017-03-03T23:02:40.092+05:30On the topic of escapist candy not being worth an ...On the topic of escapist candy not being worth an Oscar - I found this very interesting : <br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/27/one-unexpected-outcome-of-the-oscars-best-picture-blunder-vindication-for-marisa-tomei/<br /><br />I loved Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny - she was like a breath of fresh air in a bunch of stuffy/serious performances that competed for the Oscar - and I remember responding with some surprise and pleasure that the powers-that-be felt the same. I had no idea that people had actually whispered that her name had been called out by mistake. If I were passing by a TV with a rerun of MCV and her scenes in it, I would definitely stop to watch - I doubt I would do the same for many of the movies that the other candidates for the award acted in.Radhikanoreply@blogger.com