Goodbye Lenin

Goodbye Lenin: a masterpiece of a familial history against the backdrop of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The core message, as I interpret it, is that each individual try their best to adapt to the colossal social change that results from the uneasy interaction of the discrepant political ideologies. Alex made tremendous efforts to create fictional representations of the capitalized East Germany so as not to upset his socialist-bent mother who was in coma during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some of the fabricated news he produced with his friends are simply hilarious!

Yet the film is also full of meticulous symbolism and metaphors to contrast the deceptive exposures and uncomfortable experiences of people trying to make sense of the two political systems.Wolfgang Becker is very skillful in using different representations of signs at different critical moments to deliver the changing conceptions and understandings of these signs. One good example to illustrate this point is the two-timed blindfolding of Alex’s mother. She was blindfolded at the beginning of the film after she was discharged from the hospital. She lied to her children about their father’s departure and was “married to the socialist fatherland” after that. She was blindfolded again toward the end of the film on the drive way to the garden house. This time she confessed to her children about the truth of their father’s escape, which unequivocally debunked the cruel socialist regime. She “lied” again by pretending to believe in the fabricated news Alex prepared for her the last time even though she was already briefed by Alex’s girlfriend about the truth. The message the director wants to get across through showing the different reactions of Alex’s mother towards the blindfolding plot––a sign symbolizing the disguise of truth–––is the continuous construction of deception for different purposes. In a way, her mother came clean about her propagandized feeling about idealized socialist goods because her husband was forced to leave the country for his non-affiliation to the party. However, the deception continues after her confession for protecting her son’s dignity and feeling. Alex was convicted that his mother “never learned the truth” in her coffin, thanks to his hardwork. It was Alex who was “blindfolded” unconsciously in his flawless facade and filial piety. At both occasions, his mother used deception to achieve what she thought was good for her children, to their oblivion. The repetition of deception also implies that there are only selective interpretation of history. Nobody in this film is crystal clear about the holistic picture of the social history. Everyone knows a little and endeavors to fit the bits and pieces of the history that they grasped to fit in their existing framework to make life bearable for each individual.

Here are some well-written quotes from fellow reviewers on imdb, way better than I could ever have put it:

"Against this tapestry of myth we watch contemporary politics play out, trying desperately to spin events into frameworks that reinforce our desires for justice and virtue."

"We are all Alex, trying to reconstruct a new view of history that makes us more proud of where we come from. We invent and reinvent history to suit our needs and like Alex, do so in the name of providing a safe environment (or better way of life) for others."

The Great Happiness Space

Finally putting an end to the unplanned Monday’s movie marathon, thanks to this award-winning documentary produced in 2006. At first I assumed the Great Happiness Space would be delightful and colorful (given its title and the cover page) but not quite expected to go so deep as to uncovering the psychological malaise among the Japanese youth.

Counter to my predication, it is NOT a (syndicate) tale of Japanese gigolo/entertainer wealthy women in Japan, rather it is a reality-cum-documentary film recording the real lives and interviews of the male employers (hosts) and the male customers working in the second largest city in Japan: Osaka. Incidentally, the entertainment spot is located in Minami, where I had visited in winter 2008 with my then-fiance. Had I been more responsible for planning my travels, I would have been more informed of the cultural role and impact of these places that I was lucky enough to leave footprints.

Back to the film, if you think that this business is just a harmless form of entertainment, where young, good-looking men are paid to fondle with the spendthrift women, or even a triumph of feminist rights of some sort, you couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out that most female customers gave away their normal lives to work as cabaret girls, call girls, and even prostitutes (fuzoku) in order to afford the exorbitant costs in these host clubs. In exchange, the male hosts praise these girls, drink with them, and make them feel important and “loved”. Having understood the female psyche to indulge in self-deceitful dreams, the male hosts confessed “we sell dreams, that’s our job.” It really saddens me when one of the female client related, “I am not buying guys, I’m buying times.” As if there are no better ways to burn their energies; as if the only way to acquire a positive self-image is through telling lies and engaging in a mutually hurtful act of fooling around where both parties feel guilty and shameful of what they did in order to make money and make themselves “happy”.

The system needs a break. But the revolutionary forces will not come from within. Here the male workers seem to get it “people are not always strong, esp. when they are alone.” This is where a communal action comes into play. Through education, persistent resistance to evil temptations, consciousness-raising, and genuine sharing and respect, we can fight off these immoral and malicious money-sucking businesses. We need to be strong, not for some transcendental mighty goals, but simply for getting what we want. Is money what people really want? Or is it a means to the more primitive human needs? Money in the form of printed paper can never be the ultimate goal for what we are fighting for. Money can only be meaningful in stratifying and stimulating social relationship. A bucket of gold loses its luster if you lost track of what you really want in your life. This is why the idolized and highly paid male host wants a trustable girlfriend after all. And he realized what he lost is way more expensive than what these girls pay him: the ability to trust, and love other human beings.

We need more people to respectfully heal these damaged souls, we need to rescue them (not through a man-made sculpture and a text of gospel) but to help them gain perspectives, to realize that there is alternatives, that meaningful human interaction is within the realm of reason and hope, that history is replete of strong, solitary peoples enduring hardship and loneliness for something much more desirable and authentic. All in all, people (esp. girls) need to understand that nobody can take control of your own life unless you allow them to.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in understanding Japanese subcultures.

some so-and-so movies n the 80s

The rat race–set in LV, the Strip. The reality show “the amazing race” was inspired by this show. Pretty funny. Recommended if you want a peep of the VIP room at the top of Venetian and ridiculous gambles the nouveau riche enjoy. Also good for some much-needed laughter.

The Princess bride–not a fan of a classical linear plot culminated with the beautiful, charming princess getting rescued by her plebeian love. Over-rated in American folklores, but pretty harmless for a family to kill an evening.

The edge of heaven

The Edge of heaven (the German original title is Auf Der Anderen Seite) is set in Bremen (Germany) and Istanbul (Turkey). The story incorporates the elements of political activism, economic hardship and homosexuality as the unexpected encounter and departure are coincided throughout the storyline.

The Turkish immigrant father-son living in German met the Turkish prostitute in the same city. Then the son was convicted to help out the education of the prostitute’s daughter after his father accidentally killed her. Meanwhile, Ayten, the daughter of the prostitute who fought for the Turkish communist resistance group escaped to Germany. Ayten met a female German university student and they fell in love. The mother of the German girl was not happy with Ayten’s stay. Ayten was busted by the police and a political asylum was not granted. Lotte (the german girl) rushed to Istanbul, hoping to help Ayten get out of the prison. And here is where the two separate story threads intersects: Lotte found herself at the bookstore run by the Nejat, the Turkish son whose purpose is to help out Ayten and stayed with Nejat. Up until the end of the film, Nejat still did not know of this intersecting point. The story was rolling on: Lotte was innocently killed in an accentual shooting by juvenile pickpockets Lotte’s mother came to Istanbul to reclaim her daughter’s body. She found Nejat and liked to stay in the same room Lotte used to live in. She read through her daughter’s diary and understood her commitment in helping out Ayten. I couldn’t resist my tears from falling off my cheeks as she told Ayten that she forgave her and even wanted to help her. Ayten was very touched. You can tell she felt responsible for indirectly causing Lotte’s death. So she signed up for a repent with the Turkish government and was discharged. She met Lotte’s mother as Nejat forgave his father’s crime and waited for him along the coast.

One of my favorite European movies integrating political activism with personal vicissitudes.

some of the science jokes that I like:

• Men are mammals and women are femammals (Linnaeus would have ben apologized and Schiebinger’s critique would have been obliterated)
• Galileo showed that the earth was round and not vice versa. He dropped his balls to prove gravity (Kepler would have been angry that his first law was violated: a posthumous contravention rather than a posthumous eulogy)
• All animals were here before mankind. The animals lived peacefully until mankind came along and made roads, houses, hotels and condoms. (almost mistake it for a feminist critique of modernization and sexual oppression. The resemblance of condoms and mankind is uncanny)
• Mare Curie did her research at the Sore Buns Institute in France. (feminists would be mixed in their reactions: the historically misogynist institutional culture at Sorbonne coupled with a gender-charged title)

• Algebra was the wife of Euclid. (why not make it the descendant of 九章算術？）
• Geometry teaches us to bisex angles (Will George more attracted to Geometry because of his role in “bisexing”?)