Afghan Star reflections

Afghan Star reflections

Pre-film thoughts: There was simply no way Afghanistan and Entertainment Stars would go well together because the culture so conservative and traditional!

Thoughts during the film: Either Setara or one of the crew members would be harassed or harmed as tension escalates and the “brazen” dance of Setara reached conservative political leaders and activist of the Islamic religion. When I saw 3 females amongst the 2000 odd males contesting for the title, I was appalled but somehow unsurprised---for it was a traditionally Islamic culture that pre-dominated the region.

What stuck the back of my mind was that there was not the slightest chance that a female would win the show. Period.

Post-film thoughts: I enjoyed the honesty portrayed in this film, in that it really pried open the truth from the contestants and people involved in the talent show. Including the fans and families of the contestants (at least they did try).

It was a controversial film that touched on many pertinent topics like religion, conservatism and politics in Afghanistan, which was particularly made more interesting with such a bold and head-strong director/host. He was a strong and creative talent that was prepared to speak his mind and did not conform to the oppressive rule of the Taliban.



What struck me in particular was the stark and somewhat uncomfortable lack of sponsors! Whereas American idol had several large Coke cups in front of every judges, and commercials plagued the broadcasting stations, banners and advertisements, Afghan Idol was completely stark naked, devoid of any form of sponsorship! This was exceptionally surprising for me, especially when I have so indoctrinated by commercials and its effects over the years. Could it be that no companies were brave enough to be seen overtly supporting such a daring and novel concept that deviated so strongly from Islamic culture and the conservative teachings of the religion?

Well, clearly we can see from Afghan Star, that passion exudes in many different form, regardless of culture, backgrounds and people. Take 9-months old Imron for example. He may be young, of a different culture and grew up in such a different environment from us, but like many, his passion for music can be felt by any other Idol-wannabes alike.

And the Oscars is finally over...

Wow. The King's Speech. Not surprising, but surely delighting.
The breakdown of the winners in the Oscars 2011.
For those without time, check out the fast report on who's who in the Oscars 2011.

With regards to the Oscars hosts:

Anne, Nice Dress!




















James, smiles won't hide your disinterest!

Natalie Portman, who won the Oscars Best Actress Award 2011, looking bright and beautiful at the Oscars.

=)

Oscar "Bad Boy"

Will Banksy is invited to the Oscars, but his appearance on such a mega social event commanding nearly 500 million views is highly questionable as he very secretive and private.
Full details are available right here.

Response to Hairspray

Lensing Question 1:

How does Street’s claim that sponsors / stakeholders have a major influence on the prizes, allow us to understand the actions of Mr Harriman F. Spritzer, owner of Ultra clutch Hairspray in Hairspray.

Lensing Question 2:

How does McDonald’s claim that the growth of mass culture is the result of democracy, technology and profiteering, able to explain the success of the Corny Collins Show in Hairspray.

=)

My Reflections on Hairspray

My oh my, Hairspray actually made me (a typical, fervent anti-musical dissenter) appreciate a good Musical film when I see one. It had a certain flavor to it, which sparked my initial interest (after thinking to myself: Wow, that exuberant, obese, fashionable babe can actually dance and sing like a jewel!) and kept the fire going with all its whimsical humor and delectable melodies that fit the scenes perfectly like a glove.


Frankly, between me and you, the sheer number of Musicals in the film borders on the obscene, and the characters are quite unbelievably cherub (everyone smiles and perks up with an uncomfortable, unnatural Mickey Mouse Can-do attitude!).


However, I must say, it was the outbursts of torrential musicals and the flamboyance of the characters that were poignant, striking and added dimensions to an otherwise, trite film. Many deep cultural dynamics were interplaying throughout the film, like the most obvious Black Racism, the American Dream, Teenage Idolatry, the omnipotence of the Mass Media in the early 1960s, which was brilliantly depicted and well-orchestrated by the cast.


What really interest me, however, was what/who the real “prize/winner” really was in this film. Was it the prize of being a “regular” on the Corny Collins’ show? Or the celebration of America (or Baltimore) embracing the black community at last, when Seaweed’s (Elijah Kelley) sister Little Inez (Taylor Parks) won Miss Teenage Hairspray Pageant Queen with a surprising twist at the end? Or the blossoming of true, unadulterated, unrestricted love broadcasted with Penny’s (Amanda Bynes) beautiful lip-locking session with Seaweed live on National Television?





My favorite quotes from the film:


“More people are breathing Aerosol than oxygen!”


“This adventure is a little too BIG for me…”




Enjoy


=)

Scripted or not, it worked for me...

For the better part of the discussion we had in class over American Idol and how scripted it was, how the "prize" was just for money and fame, that the contestants were all pre-planned and acted, I felt I had to share this video I stumbled upon.
It was touching, Duh!
It was heart-melting, Absolutely.
It was scripted, Possibly.
BUT who cares? It worked for me, at least for this guy, it showcased, be it true or not, that mankind still has a Bijou like this fella.
Amazing story of strength, conviction and love.
Who cares if it's scripted? It worked in the getting millions to understand that American Idol not only being the best in what it does, can also bring out the best in people, and it need not be singing/or looking good.

For better or worse, Chris Medina in American Idol made me understand that such a person do exist in this world. I won't be a prick by denying that there maybe the slightest chance that this is totally phony, but for what it's worth, it proved to me that we still have the capacity to do good.

I lost faith in American Idol after Chris Daughtry lost in season 5, but this guy right here, might be that little spark for me to start stalking American Idol once more (that is if my overwhelming schoolwork don't get to me first!).

=)

Elections coming!

Elections coming!

Hard Truths by mrbrown, the lovable blogger whose notoriety outlasts his charm.
On the lines of Prizes and popular culture, I do believe that the gov will be rethinking its strategies and how it plays its cards this time round, with so much controversy brewing before the elections. There will be the good and the bad, but we all know who is breaking into cold sweat now, with carrots and new "goodies" thrown out as knee-jerk reactions.



Bottom-line: Who the "Prize" really is? The elections or the Singapore people?

Sharing mrbrown's Hard truths:


Hard Truths (mrbrown edition)[Image]

Hard Truths 1. You may never get to vote in this lifetime.

Hard Truths 2. Those who CAN vote will complain & complain about the Govt but when elections come, will end up voting them back in.

Hard Truths 3. People want an opposition in parliament but not in THEIR estate please.

Hard Truths 4. Singaporeans will forget all their grievances if you dangle a carrot just before elections.

Hard Truths 5. Some things are not forgivable. Like the S-League.

Hard Truths 6. The year of the rabbit may be a good year for carrots to work.

Hard Truths 7. Foreigners are the solution to economic growth, low fertility rates and just about everything.

Hard Truths 8. No matter how right your argument is, They are more right.

Hard Truths 9. When elections are around the corner, every minister, president and their mother will publish a book.

Hard Truths 10. When elections are around the corner, the newspaper will print pages and pages of excerpts of these books, saving you the convenience of buying the books.

Hard Truths 11. When the Minister Mentor says, "We can integrate all religions and races except Islam" and that Muslims can integrate better if they were "less strict on Islamic observances", it is a hard truth. When anyone else says it publicily, it is probably going to be an invitation to drink kopi and get to know the Religious Harmony Act better.

Hard Truths 12. Before election: Gahmen will give us chicken leg. After election: Gahmen will collect one chicken from us. (via @aromacookery)

Hard Truths 13. F1 can make noise at Marina Bay/Civic District for 3 days; Thaipusam cannot make noise between Serangoon Road & Clemenceau Ave for 1 day. (via @bubblevicious)

Hard Truths 14.You may lose your home so that the govt can build an expressway. (via @bubblevicious)

Hard Truths 15. No choice… No other better player… Wat to do? (via@packetron)

hahaha

Why can’t the world encourage the worst?

The world needs to wake up. To see things from a new perspective and not allow “doctrines of precedents” to rule our visions for tomorrow. To be the remarkable, knowledgeable and worthy denizens of mighty earth we should be. To not only congratulate the winners and celebrate elitism, but open our minds to the losers of yesterday’s conscience.

We all know how humanity carefully selects, congratulate and celebrate the best of the best, the crème de la crème, the essence of the best, the cream of the crop…and it goes on. I mean, the tedious selection processes, the millions spent yearly simply to tell someone he is better than his contemporaries, the effort spent marketing the entire fiasco and the industry churned out from such a lucrative business is astounding. 

From the realm of sports, films, books, fashion .etc, humanity has been eyeing only the best, to sieve out the top of the crop and to encourage betterment each time. There is some truth in that. See the Oscars, the Turner Prize, the MTV awards, The NBA Championships, the Olympics, the Heisman Trophy, the Naismith Award, just to name a few.

My contention is that we, as an intelligent sodality, should focus and reinforce the encouragement of the worst. That is not to say we neglect the best though, we should be prudent enough to know that encouraging the best won’t make them better, in relative terms! Conversely, encouraging and motivating the weak or the worst in this case, will have a higher chance in pushing them to succeed for better results, creating more competitions and advancing the entire industry as a whole. It works both ways and naysayers, however staunch their stand may be, cannot contend with this point raised. Funds, hype, attention, efforts and opportunities should be given to the worst, to grow, to encourage diversity; to sow the seeds of what could be, tomorrow’s beautiful forest!

Kudos to John Wilson and the Golden Raspberry Award, the Golden Turkey Awards, Ig Nobel Prize, who dared to see things differently and followed their gut. Haters may call it the remnants of dignity distilled to the “loser”, while I see it as the remnants of hype and stardom shared by the “winner”.

I can already hear the discontentment creeping out to me and I do not deny that simply awarding the worst each time may not promote betterment, I am simply saying this: today’s worst could be tomorrow’s best, because criteria, people and even times are ever-changing and protean – we have to be open and admit to these rapid changes or risk suffocating true talents and misjudged hopes.

We, as sentient beings, the sole species that has dominated all other species on earth, should not put on blinkers like race-horses do in a prime-time race. We should be open to new changes, accept and understand new concepts that could re-engineer our very perception of the world itself.

The best, being the best, will only be the best if there the worst, and the reverse is axiomatic. We should commemorate the efforts, not all, of the worst for what their worth, at least to a considerable extent that will make the worst feel appreciated.

Then again, it’s just a thought, nothing more.

 

=)

Durwin

Response to Boon Chan's Article on "Asia Spin-offs wins" !

“Asian spin-offs win” 

My Response

Boon Chan makes a good case as to why Asian versions of American reality shows are doing much better in Asia, as he was effective with his factual derivations and statistics. The quote “a lot of potential for reality TV in Asia” really summarizes the main intention of the article, effectively telling the reader that despite its tremendous success in the region, Asian spin-offs really have so much more to proffer.

After a through reading, I arrived at a rather bizarre but axiomatic conclusion: that this article was more of a bland report heavily seasoned with the voices of related people interviewed for comments. It was a “he thought”, “he added”, “he cited”, but an awkward absence of Boon Chan’s own perspective, which could have added a fresh breath of life and more fuel to the “fiery” narration going on.  It was strange how giving the microphone to too many people will in fact dilute the main goals, and distance the writer away from the reader subtly, yet inexorably.

To extend our lens and view it from a greater perimeter, I would say that this article reflects essentially two points, which are contradicting in nature, depending on the extent of your judgments and perspectives:

1.      Asians loves the concept of reality shows motivated by large cash and prizes! At least from what we can observe, with the remarkable success of the Asian spin-offs of The Amazing Race, The Contender and Idol shows, where prize money are worth more than a million dollars at best.

It is not too hard to see that Asians are rather motivated by prizes, or more importantly, the money that is awaiting them, should they win the reality show. For that, they are willing to put themselves in the line of trauma, humiliation, discomfort and other ungodly, unnatural behaviors, while several cameras are trained on them constantly, just to “keep it real “!

Or are they genuinely doing it for the love of their passion, the sake of instant glamour and fame, or even for the needy (some reality shows were of charitable nature)?

2.      Naysayers would also argue that what is a reality show without the Prizes? Where will the drama, action, suspense, thrilling moments, genuine excitement and angst be?

You see, there might be some sense in this perspective, as Reality Shows are all about the true, inexorable emotions that is experienced by the participants filmed on camera, the cloud-nine highs and the hell-deep lows, the true struggles, quarrels, misery and even celebrations that is not quite the same when portrayed by even the best Hollywood superstars!

We must admit that Reality shows have to be real, to find a universal trigger that will tug at the very hearts of each and every participants, regardless of where, how and who they are --- and that happens to be some really attractive Prizes.

That may be the only actual reason why we cannot eliminate Prizes totally from the equation just yet.

Despite the different facades it took over the years, from talent-time competitions to races around the globe, we can see why Prizes and reality shows are intrinsically bonded for eternity, and have perpetuated after all this time.

In any case, it would be difficult to pinpoint the ultimate motives and uncover true intentions in both the participants and the producers. If we tried, we would most probably get lost within the multifarious layers of camera lens, censorships (what each reality show chooses to show and what they do not) and the contentious storylines (what is real and what is fabricated).

Lets just enjoy the show! =)

Durwin

A Reality Show where Islam is the Biggest Star

There seems to be no easy way to put it, so I will just simply say it as it is: Who would have thought anyone could pull off such a beautiful Marriage between two seemingly incompatible couple?  

Trendy, flamboyant and widely-publicized Reality Show has duly wedded itself to the conservative, low-profile and deeply respectful Religion?

Strange but true.

Trust the Malaysians to come up with something so ostentatious and wonderful, with all the hype, attention and media frenzy, almost screaming the text of the Qu'ran in our faces. 

With the various controversies brewing in the distant, and the many love-kisses blown to the young Stars of the show, or should I say, Imam Muda, I believe this brilliant reality show shows one of two important things.

Firstly, it did not try to traumatise its audience with the holiest text of the Qu'ran, nor did it slap Islamic propaganda all over our naivety. What the organisers did was to wed Islam with reality, the reality that technology and the youth are the very essence of the future, one that we cannot ignore any further.

Secondly, it embraces that very fact and created love / hype for not only previously or otherwise unknown adolescents, but sowed the seeds of Islamism within the hearts of the future generation; the generation that will determine the death or prosperity of Islamism itself. A wise masterstroke guised in the wrapping of idolatry and teenage dreams, as Katy Perry would put it!

After reading the comments and responses thrown out by Elliot, Yiping and from the previous course, I do agree that Religion is a pretty hard pill to swallow, and it always has been. What we see here is merely the beginning, and I do not believe it will be the last of it. All around the world, people, religion and politics and waking up to the fact that we can no longer ignore the voices and power of the youth, the very generation that will carry the tides of our future.

Taking a step back, it does seem to question the real purpose of the reality show and cast a little shade of duplicity over it. Are the organisers pushing the limits of Islamism’s once all-too-conservative front? Or are they twisting the very social and religious fabric that had held a nation strong and secure for years?

America came up with American Idol, the rest of the world followed in awe and marinated the rest of the sodality in utter idolatry. Malaysia is merely innovating what was supposedly a marketing stroke of genius, but as it turns out, it did more good for the publicity and preservation of Islamism in the modern context, than it did for merely creating idols for craved fans.

There are probably so much more to raise and prick about this "Juicy" topic, but I think this shall suffice, for now, at least. Whatever the case, I am sure it is a fantastic marketing concept that triumphed resoundingly and urged religious conservationists a little more to the edge, which is a win-win situation, whichever way you choose to look at the coin!

=)

Durwin

Another Day, Another Dawn --- A New Year Found

Wow. 2011.

Just imagine what a year 2010 was, and now believe me when I say 2011 will be so much more.

My second semester in NUS Business School and I am loving every step of the way. With new friends, new challenges and a fresh perspective of life, I am looking forward to the trails and tribulations that will hone my skills and tickle my passion affectionately.

I wanted a fresh breath of air and a new perspective from the trite of "common mugging" and same old faces. I wanted to write with pure latitude, to explore new boundaries of a writer's acumen and to shape my thinking into a more robust and stoic machine.

WP2201J allows me the unique opportunity to venture into the deepest recesses of our reasons and ambitions behind Prizes and Popular Culture. To understand the Science of what really motivates us, our interaction with the notion of prizes and the gamut of perplexing ideas enveloping people's inner / ulterior motives.

Hopefully, this module will allow me to broaden my thinking and provide me with a keener pair of glasses, not only to magnify pertinent issues surrounding the world of prizes / popular culture, but to comprehend and discern the many layers behind each and every layer of any given issue --- a skill, as Ms Coleen mentioned, that we shall keep with us throughout our University education!

Well, a blog being a blog, will inextricably be littered once in a while with my own personal musings, gripes, snippets of life's misfortunes and brash strokes of luck! So be sure to comment and share what you like or don't like with me and my readers too.

But, with the occasional miscarriages of thoughts and contortion of reality, what I will be focussed on would be the "Juice" of the Module, which is why I titled my blog "Juicyness!". Stay tuned for all the Juicy bits and bites my friends and I will be commenting, discussing and debating about in time to come!

For all of my shortcomings, I must apologize if I do say something a little off-beat, but I promise to make it intellectual and casual as much as the content allows.

=)

Its better to fail than to regret not trying.