DSIR Founders Issue 2022

kentaro miura

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Singh Bedi

Mittal CHIEF OF DESIGN

Taneja

EDITORS

Agarwal

Taneja

Srivastava

Arjun

Adalti

CORRESPONDENTS

Tantia

Mehta

Sood

CORRESPONDENTS

Jaiswal

Goel

ADVISORS

Dcosta

THANKS

Dear readers,

A little over four years ago, on a damp Saturday night, I made my way from the CDH to Kashmir house after being compelled to submit an article for a publication that I knew nothing about. Today, as I sit to write, I am struggling to grapple with the fact that this may well be the last time I write for it and my association with it is coming to an end. Before I delve into what this issue is about, I want to thank two individuals who have had a profound impact on the character of the publication as well as my own. To Karan Sampath, I owe my sincerest gratitude for compelling me, unconsciously though, to constantly improve. His mere presence was enough to inspire me to excel on the board of this publication. Equally important, was the influence that Kabir Subbiah had on me. He worked me to the bone. I cannot thank him enough for doing so because of the confidence it instilled in me as a person. However, before I get overwhelmed with emotion, let me talk to you about this issue.

Pop culture as a concept is meant to appeal to individuals across the globe as both a form of entertainment and a medium of expression. Upon observing the growing relevance of Asian Pop culture in society today, we decided to extensively cover it within the Special Section, as we attempted to diversify the magazine as a whole. Within the Section, we portray the relevance of Korean Cinema through reviews of ‘Squid Game’ and ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.’ Articles discussing ‘Seven Samurai’ and the various works of Jackie Chan discuss the impact that they have had on the movie industry across the world. Furthermore, we also extensively cover the rise of Asian music genres such as K-pop, and interpret their bearing on modern society.’

Additionally, the Editorial Board brings to you reviews of the recently released film, ‘Blonde’ starring Ana de Armas and the series ‘Sandman’, inspired by the DC comic with the same title. Further, we have included reviews of critically acclaimed films, ‘American Psycho’, directed by Mary Harron and ‘Whiplash’, directed by Damien Chazelle. Ultimately, the aim of an Editor-inChief is twofold. Firstly, to enable the reader to comprehend and consequently, appreciate Pop Culture in its truest sense. Secondly, to inculcate in the reader, a sense of urgency to improve as a reader and thinker. I hope I have been able to do just that through this issue.

Signing Off, Gurmehar Singh Bedi Editor-in-Chief

A note on the issue

Whiplash

Arjun

Sandman Vivaan Sood

Section

Selects

WHIPLASH

A cinematic masterpiece that turns the sober element of a student-teacher relationship into a nail-biting thriller and provides a social commentary on what it takes in today’s day and age to defeat the cutthroat competitive world we live in. A movie that perfect ly depicts how far one has to be willing to push oneself to taste success, how much one has to sacrifice to be the best, and what it truly takes to reach greatness. A tight ending, and two electric performances with the absolute visual and olfactory appeal, Damien Chi zelle’s ‘Whiplash’, is pure cin ematic adrenaline, perfectly

described by its title. One of the top music schools in the nation’s capital is home to a young man named Andrew Neyman, played by Miles Tell er, who is practicing late one night when the infamous Mr. Fletcher, played by J.K. Sim mons, the school’s most es teemed teacher and director of its most significant jazz band, notices his drumming. Fletch er is unsatisfied with what he hears as he pauses, listens, screams a few commands at the young man, and then con tinues to leave disapprovingly. Andrew had his chance, that one fleeting second that many of us get to make an impres

sion on those who have the power to alter our lives, but he fell short. He goes on to tell his father (a beautifully sincere Paul Reiser) that his chance to advance likely passed and re turns to his regular class band.

Naturally, Fletcher’s dismiss al of Andrew in that opening scene is only the first of many instances of what might be euphemized as his “teaching style.” An urban legend that Fletcher liked to share to jus tify his ways was that of the famous Charlie Parker and the time he botched up which led to Jo Jones hurling a cymbal at his head, which led Parker to his breaking point and turned

him into the great musician he is remembered as today. Would the history of music be the same without that cymbal? Without the prospect of fail ure and even physical harm, would Charlie Parker have re turned home, improved, prac ticed, and escaped his comfort zone? This is the reasoning he gave for his barbaric methods of forcibly tormenting Andrew with repetitive drum solos till he bleeds on the kit, calling Andrew names, throwing fur niture, and engaging in mind games that he employs on his students.

Miles Teller manages to por tray Andrew with what could

Picture Credits: The Odd Apple

be called the strongest perfor mance of his early career, strik ing the ideal balance between insecurity and confidence that is inherent in the core of a young talent. Although An drew is inherently wary, he is also aware of his motivation, passion, and special skill. Tell er treads carefully along that balance, never letting Andrew come across as overconfident and always allowing the audi ence to feel the inner fire that Fletcher fuels.

As for Simmons, the charac ter Fletcher posed the threat of coming off as a caricature in the hands of the incorrect

performer. An overbearing, aggressive teacher is a prob lematic character. Simmons doesn’t fit any of them. Even after watching the kind of bru tal mind tricks and physical abuse that ought to result in legal charges unfold on screen, we find ourselves pulled to wards Fletcher because of the fine line he walks. The two most hazardous words in the English language, accord ing to him, are “good job.”

Whether one agrees that it’s the best strategy or not, we live in a time when praise is the norm, where positive re inforcement serves as the ideal teaching technique and

every child receives a medal for participating. Have genu ine abilities been overwatered to the point of withering? In accordance with Fletcher, so is the case, he manages to pull off the perfect believer of diamonds-are-formed-on ly-under-pressure approach towards teaching.

“Whiplash” could be called a noteworthy movie based solely on Teller and Simmons’ per formances, but when you take into account how its tempo is handled, it elevates onto a higher plane. By the point ed iting and panning of shots in time with the drumbeat, editor

Tom Cross and cinematogra pher Sharone Meir frequently place us right on stage with Andrew and Fletcher. To put it mildly, it is utterly compelling, especially in the climax, which generates more anxiety than any action movie or thriller of the year. The song mentioned in the title is one that appears frequently in the movie. It might also be used to describe the sense of awed tiredness you’ll experience after the movie is over. Whiplash has certainly bagged it’s place as one of the greatest musical dramas of all time, with it’s entrancing cinematography, acting and plot.

“A tight ending, and two electric performances with the absolute visual and olfactory appeal, Damien Chizelle’s ‘Whiplash’, is pure cinematic adrenaline, perfectly described by its title.”

SAI ARJUN

The Sandman is not Neil Gaiman’s first foray into movie or show adaptations of his book; Coraline and American Gods premiered on screens long before the Sandman started shooting.

However, it is the first time we see Neil Gaiman give us a fresh take on the realm of mythology. The Sandman explores the unseen, or rath er, the unknowable world of dreams, giving us anthropo morphic representations of concepts that we generally would not associate with di vinity.

The Sandman is by and large a piece of magical re alism, however, the show is genre-bending, jumping be tween fantasy, thriller, and romance, among others. The show is a fiction that stirs up our most primal fears and yearnings. Through the world of the Dreaming, Gaiman posits the idea that dreams reflect the subcon sciousness’ unspoken fan tasies, and we may use it to understand ourselves.

The show also gives fleshand-blood representations of several entities, such as death, desire, and other gods known as ‘The Endless’.

Rather than relying on al ready established deities, the show instead chose to create its own, which gave it liberty to exploit them in ways that made the story more dynam ic and interesting. For exam ple, when the titular charac ter, Dream or the Sandman gets captured by a foolhardy ‘wizard’, he is no longer able to rule over his realm. As a consequence, many people cannot dream, and fall vic tim to a disease known as the ‘sleeping sickness’.

Moreover, the Sandman, de

spite being adapted from a graphic novel, does ex hibit some distinction from the book. Firstly, the character of John Dee, who is the primary villain for half of the se ries, has a much larger role in the universe of the comic book, playing a villain known as Doctor Destiny. Furthermore, several plotlines in the show have been drasti cally changed to keep the story independent from the DC Universe from which it originates from, especially the plot sur rounding Lyta Hall.

Despite this, the show still bears some sem blance to the comic

SANDMAN

VIVAAN

Picture Credits: Netflix

SANDMAN

books. The themes that present themselves in the books remain time less since their creation in 1989, even till today, resonating with us for the foundational ideas that they bring forth, ideas that are very human, such as death, desire, despair, and of course, dreams. The show suc ceeds at telling an in credibly fantastical story, filled with colourful char acters that, at least in the life of a boarding school student, one would rare ly encounter, much less understand, in a way that appeals to human emo tion. This is all because, as Neil Gaiman aptly put it, “myths and stories are

how we have made sense of the world for as long as we’ve been wandering the planet”.

Another way in which this show is unconven tional is in its choice for cast. Unlike other super hero or mythologically inspired shows and mov ies, such as those that are produced by the likes of Marvel and DC, the Sandman features actors and actresses that are not as famous as people such as Robert Downey Jr or Ben Affleck, and instead chooses younger, fresh er faces, save for people such as Charles Dance and David Thewlis. What this shows us is that the Sandman is trying to break away from what a superhero or mytho logical inspired show is supposed to be, instead exploring how it could be, furthering the idea that the show discusses concepts that would not otherwise be associated with a god.

The Sandman signals the start of a new period for how we view simi lar shows, and it tries to change how we as an au dience approach a myth ologically inspired show. It is an amalgamation of thirty years of cre ativity, culminating in a show that, for all intents and purposes, serves its function. And what is that function? The show is a constant reminder that the stories that lin ger longest, that move us most profoundly, are often the ones that can’t be turned into means but function as ends in them selves.

A wealthy investment banker goeson the verge of insanity as he tries tohide his psychopathic ego from hisco-workers. As he works on the samemonotonous routine every single day,wearing the same mask of normalcy,following the same societal ‘norms’,he slowly begins to lose his mind andsubmits to an uncontrollable bloodlust. Most people just simplify thismovie as a person going insane andbecoming a serial killer, but in reality,this movie is so much more than that,and the message that underpins thisfilm is ignored by most.

American Psycho was adapted fromthe homonymously titled novel, but inthe movie, the director added her owntake to the storyline, adding a few keydetails which make the movie evenbetter. The movie focuses on PatrickBateman and his quest for perfection,having his entire routine planned insuch a manner that no one disruptsthis ‘perfect’ lifestyle. A workout routine for the perfect body, an organisedwalk-in wardrobe for the perfect outfit, a planner to manage punctuality,and a perfect face to put on every day.Sadly, whoever disrupts his ‘perfect’lifestyle has to face gruesome consequences.

According to societal values, PatrickBateman and his colleagues representthe pinnacle of the hierarchy. They areall successful Wall-Street traders withlovely wives and fiancées, frequentthe priciest restaurants, and have thebest suits. The movie’s underlyingconcepts, however, provide a differentpicture. Everyone’s actions are meaningless. Despite the fact that we followthe lives of these successful businessmen, nobody ever actually engages intrading or goes to their jobs for thatmatter. There are rare mentions ofclients, but the main activities thateveryone partakes in, as depicted inthe movie, revolve around escapismsuch as drugs or dinners. These men,who are intended to be the apex in apatriarchal society, engage in constantcompetition about minor concerns.This entire story is a critique ofcapitalism at its finest and it toucheson every single flawed aspect of thelifestyle that follows.

Cristian Bale’s ability to portray thecomplex character that lies withinBateman should surely be commended as he was able to show us the painand guilt in Patrick while having thatlifeless look on his eyes, along with thebrilliant, sudden yet believable changein emotions which helped portray

the eccentric and erratic man that Bateman truly is, along with the entire corporate sector as a whole. His com mitment to the role was impressive as well as the fact that he had to get into the perfect conditions to portray a person like Patrick Bateman. All the actors had to keep filming again and again while incorporating different emotions into their dialogues, and the amalgamation of all those scenes led to this masterpiece.

American Psycho provides the viewers with an insight into capitalistic society

and how the human nature to expand and conquer comes from this very concept. It even comments on the social hierarchy being hollow, as the people at the top only occupy this position due to social insecurities, just to create an artificial image of them selves in society. The portrayal of men being the only ones who indulge in such activities also shows how this is a critique of men in some ways as they are the only ones that are portrayed with flawed characteristics. The wives, the fiancees, and the secretaries are perfectly normal and are the ones who

AMERICAN PSYCHO

are affected by the erratic behaviourand the superficial and narcissisticlife of the men in the story. Erraticbehaviour and unpredictability is thething that makes the audience wantmore.

The idea of self-reflection versus others’ perspective of you is an extremelyimportant part of the movie whichis what highlights these key, implicitaspects listed before. Throughout themovie, the impressive use of mirrorsis used to explain this concept, andthis can be seen when Bateman pans

onto the different mirrors around him, showing how he’s aware of his two identities; the social identity and the more sinister, more real identity. This is the basic principle throughout the movie and hence ‘masks’ are fea tured throughout the movie as well, both the physical and the figurative ones. Ultimately, American Psycho is riveting and inescapable, with theat rical elements that are able to get its message across and bring into light the ‘perfect’ lifestyle and the fallacies of a very real part of society that still exists.

HARSHIL MAKIN

Asian pop culture is a vibrant and exciting world that is full of creativity and innovation. It is no mystery that it has taken the world by storm. One of the most significant aspects of Asian pop culture is its ability to serve as a form of resistance to Western cultural hegemony and to subvert stereotypes while challenging as sumptions about Asian identity. In a globalized world, where Western culture is often seen as the stan dard, Asian pop culture provides a way for people to assert their own identity and belonging. This is especially important for young people, who often feel pressure to conform to Western standards of beauty and success.

In order to include lived and tex tual cultures, the mass media, way of life, and discursive modes of representation, Asian pop culture is defined in a broad and inclu sive manner. By celebrating and popularizing Asian culture, this section allows the DSIR to present a more complex and nuanced view of Asian identity than is typically seen in the mainstream media which is particularly important in a society that often exoticizes Asians.

Picture Credits: VOGUE

SIDDHANT SRIVASTAVA

Directed by Park Shinwoo and written by Jo Yong, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is a 2020 Korean Drama that acts as a master ful commentary on the cen tral themes of mental health and mental wellbeing. All 16 episodes are immaculately crafted todepict the jour neys of personal growth for each of the main characters, as they heal from their trau matic pasts and seek refuge in each other.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay re tells the story of two broth ers: Moon Gang-tae and his older brother, Moon Sangtae as they go through a tough phase in their lives. Af ter their mother is murdered early in their childhood, Gang-tae is forced to take over as the primary caretak er to Sang-tae who is diag nosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As the only witness to their mother’s murder, Sang-tae’s life is inexplicably plagued by nightmares and hallucinations of butterflies attacking him, which forces the two brothers to be ready at a moment’s notice to pack up and shift to a new location, just so Sang-tae may feel safe again. After moving to a new location, the two encounter Ko Mun-yeong, who hap pens to be Sang-tae’s favou rite children’s book author, leading to the development of a deep romantic relation ship between Gang-tae and Mun-yeong. Mun-yeong however, is tormented by her own demons, having had a tough childhood.

Each of the three main char acters show massive emo tional growth over the course of the drama, however, the plot of the drama itself, es pecially involving the mys tery surrounding the murder of Gang-tae and Sang-tae’s mother, borders on medio cre.

Perhaps the most complex character, Ko Mun-yeong appears to be leading a per fect life as an attractive and popular fairy tale author.

Through the course of the drama, other characters fre quently point to her appear ance, sense of style, and fame

to convey that her existence is one that they can only hope to have, forgetting that she too, has a traumatic past. Mun-yeong’s life is definitely not flawless as it seems as she fights her belief that she is cursed with a terrible fate, a notion that her manipulative mother stressed upon in her childhood. This sensation is comparable to how trauma victims may feel about them selves, often feeling unwor thy of happiness because of how bogged down they feel due to their traumatic past. Mun-yeong feels trapped by the ‘curse’ of her childhood and writes fairy tales based on her own experiences as a coping mechanism. Additionally, because of her recklessness and possessive ness - symptoms of her an tisocial personality disorder - she is perceived negatively by others and initially finds it difficult to establish mean ingful relationships. She learns to become more sen sitive to others despite her unpleasant personality, pri marily Moon Sang-tae and Moon Gang-tae, and learns to depend more on oth ers. For instance in episode eight, she permits Gang-tae to cut her hair, a major mile stone for her given that her mother had always stressed that Mun-yeong’s hair de fined her beauty. Mun-yeo ng’s haircut represents her severed connection with her mother and suggests that she is prepared to start a new life devoid of the trauma of her past.

On the other hand, we have Sang-tae, whose story rep resents the struggles that individuals with special needs may face while also demonstrating that the tal ents of such people must be shared with the world. Sangtae is seen as a multifaceted character considering his varied interests. Though he struggles with communicat ing with others and throws tantrums, he enjoys paint ing and is a dedicated fan of Dooly the Dinosaur, repre senting his childlike disposi tion. He puts his artistic tal ent to good use by painting a

mural for the OK Psychiatric Hospital’s psychiatric ward, drawing caricatures for cli ents at his part-time job, and becoming the illustrator for Mun-yeong’s latest book. In contrast to other dramas, which often make special needs characters reliant on other characters, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay establish es Sang-tae’s independence through his many facets.

Finally, when analysing Moon Gang-tae, we see that he had been taught by his mother to look after Sangtae and prematurely as sumed the title of the “elder brother”, neglecting himself in the process. He becomes selfless to the extent that he loses all sense of self and identity, wherein he is un able to express his thoughts and emotions to others. After initially struggling with his relationship with Mun-yeo ng, he learns to take care of himself by making time for himself thanks to his newly formed friendship with her. Through this friendship and romance, he is able to shed a massive emotional burden off his shoulders by confid ing his suppressed feelings in Mun-yeong, especially his resentment for his mother. After this, he is able to live independently and move for ward with his life.

Cumulatively, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is a masterful exploration of the characters’ recovery from trauma and recognises that this process isn’t always straightforward. The three main characters frequently encounter obsta cles that temporarily lead them to stumble, yet despite this, they continue to grow and aid one another on their adventures.

To me, “Akira” is a one-of-a-kind clas sic, retro anime film tha laid the ground work for Science fic tion in the Japanese media. It was also one of the first anime features to break into the Western society attaining cult status worldwide. It is a intertwined setting of a future dystopian world consisting of perceptibly in tricate skyscrapers and an extensive, but still congruous colour palette that is used to convey every existing frame that presents the plot. These notable cruxes have made “Akira” undoubtedly unique compared to any other an ime produced at the time. It is to the credit of the creators that it continues to amaze even after more than three decades since it came out.

In context, the film revolves around the topic of parapsy chology- a field of study that primarily requires investigat ing the paranormal and oth er psychic phenomena. The opening credits roll over an apocalyptic vision of Neo-To kyo, a vast, modern metrop olis in a state of smouldering ruin, still suffering the af termath of the Third World War. Tensions have risen to the zenith, causing ongoing riots as the police violently fends itself against protestors enraged by escalating taxes and unemployment. The se quence that follows is a delir ious descent into a dystopian nightmare, as punk bikers speed across the ruined city scape in the spirit of juvenile delinquency.

Tetsuo, a teen biker who is the antagonist of the story, awakens his latent psychic abilities which he manipu lates for his pleasure. His stubbornness has catalysed him to abuse his power, due to his obsession with having greater authority over every

one else. This characteristic can be perceived by the audi ence when Tetsuo begins his act of destruction in Neo-To kyo, causing several innocent deaths with his own hands.

One of the scenes in the film implicitly depicts his evil aura by stating, “Big people like you shouldn’t have these powers.” This refers to the fact that those around Tetsuo are not in fear of his powers, but are indeed afraid of how selfishly he wields them.

“What if an amoeba were suddenly given the higher powers that a human has? Amoebas don’t build their own houses and bridges, do they? They just devour all the food they can find around them.” This semi-informa tive line film also questions how possessing the author ity of higher powers can be detrimental to society and the viewers can comprehend that if a minuscule organism such as an amoeba, would somehow gain the power of a human being, the amoeba would then appear superior to its kind. It would not uti lise the power as human be ings would, but would rather merely harness it to exten sively do what an amoeba already does, consume, and destroy. Thus, if the power of a god was given to a hu man, they will continue to act upon their inherent desires, which again alludes to the statement that “big people shouldn’t have these powers” as “big people” are impure and are already devoted to their ways and ideologies. The movie beautifully con veys the different perspec tives between the purview of what is moral and immoral through these various in stances. It certainly signifies how those with unjust prin ciples not only damage them selves but also damage others from their bigoted personal ity.

A REVIEW BY KAI KUBO

Regarded as a compelling film, Akira is also renowned for its incredible cinematog raphy, enthralling visuals, complex plot, and ground breaking use of sound de sign. It is often referred to as the first successful example of “Japanese cyberpunk”, a genre that began in the 80s.

With an already-sizable man ga followership, the produc tion of Akira was provided with a budget of 1.1 billion ¥. The producers, with a tremendous amount of cre ativity and budget, fabri cated top-notch quality ani mation which is exactly the reason why it is referred to as a “work of art” by many in spite of its rather outlandish visuals. Akira has also been regarded as a source of inspi ration for prominent shows, movies and distinguished celebrities including Ye West and Michael Jackson, as evi dent from their music videos “Stronger” and “Scream” re spectively. Shows and mov ies such as “The Matrix”, “Stranger Things”, and “Rick and Morty” are other notable examples. These works have been inspired by “Akira” as reflected in their creative process “Akira” was a watershed mo ment for animation in gen eral, but also for Japanese animation, setting the stan dard for what the form could be and could do. It is easy to comprehend why it stood out eccentrically from the rest of the anime that we regularly see. An impressive piece of sci-fi that captivates younger and older audiences with its uniqueness. A cult classic, in my opinion, I’d recommend it to any and everyone look ing to enter the world of an ime.

“Akira was a watershed moment for animation in general, but also for Japanese animation, setting the standard for what the form could be and could do.”

A KATSUHIRO OTOMO CLASSIC

Japan can be said to be the birthplace of modern video games, with the Playstation being conceptualised there and the world’s most iconic games like Mario, the Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy produced there. As directorial legends like Hironobu Sakaguchi and Hideo Kojima are ageing, let’s take a look at the industry from its inception to now.

With the Atari con sole’s release, or more specifically, the re lease of Space Invad ers, the future of video games was cemented for decades to come. After the commercial success of Space In vaders, Toru Iwatani sought to create something different from the arcades filled with games about kill ing aliens, and created one of the most iconic games of all time, Pac-Man. Soon after, Nintendo released the Famicom, open ing the gates to new worlds such as Super Smash Bros’ Mario, Legend of Zelda, and many more. After witnessing Nintendo’s immense success, oth ers soon caught on. Many companies such as SEGA and Capcom tried their level best to displace Ninten do with their own consoles in Japan, ultimately failing to, but becoming game development giants instead.

Sony conceptualised a console compat ible with Nintendo cartridges; however,

the idea was soon scrapped. They visual ised releasing some thing more powerful, faster, and better, ul timately, blowing life into the PlayStation, which would take the industry by storm. It became an instant hit among gamers as they scoured through out lets to find the console on shelves, something that can be seen re peating itself today as even nearly two years after the PS5’s release, it remains in shortage. The original PlaySta tion turned out to be one of the greatest turning points of the Japanese gaming revolution, successful ly situating itself deep within the gaming in dustry, and remaining to this day the most popular console in the world.

Skipping to the pres ent day, the populari ty of Asian games has led to something else as well — seeing a bit of the region itself in games; as we see an increase in the influx of Asian-themed games on the screens, especially on the Play Station. Some worthy mentions would be Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a game set in ancient Japan that was awarded Game of The Year 2019, other examples of games would include The Ghost of Tsushima which depicts the Mongol invasion of Japan and is heavily inspired by Japa nese literature. Less obvious examples, but equally important would be games like

Mortal Kombat, 100% American but heav ily associated with Japan. It is evident that Asia is not just a hub of game devel opment but also that of game inspiration due to its diverse geographical and cul tural landscape. The continent’s industry has been seeing some extraordinarily sub stantial growth in its companies, as society presently witnesses this paradigm shift from the pandemic multiplayer craze to the current Triple-A hype.

Not only does Asia produce good games, it produces a major slice of the globe’s professional gamers. Countries such as South Korea are known prominently for their high gaming standards and their involvement in the field of esports; so much so, that it has a body specifically established to manage esports in the country, The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA). This encouragement towards games is popular in the nation due to it recognizing esports as a legiti mate sport, as well as a potential official job. Competitive games such as League of Legends, DOTA, Valorant, and CS:GO all have extremely active profession al scenes, with the world tournament for League of Legends even receiving 74 mil lion viewers in 2021, three times more than Wimbledon held the

same year. However, even as active and popular as the professional leagues are, they remain dominated by Korean teams due to the infrastructure in place for them to succeed.

Asia was the spawn point for many gaming traditions and legacies, with many people’s fondest childhood memories being conceived while playing on an NES with their friends, and continues to do so today. It is a point of joy for me to say that the standard for games across the world is increasing rapidly due to the incredible dual efforts of Japanese and North American game directors, without them, there would be no Red Dead Redemp tion or Final Fantasy for us to enjoy. It is thanks to the sincerest efforts of all those in the gaming industry that we were able to create such fond memories, and I hope this legacy continues on to the future too.

the asian gaming industry

PRAGYAN

Picture Credits: Pixabay

VIR MEHTA

Picture Credits: Men’s Health

The perfect blend of Western and East ern cinema, Jackie Chan is widely con sidered as one of the most influential Asian actors, having acted in over 150 films since 1962. His sphere of influ ence quickly spread across the world, garnering him recognition for his films through fame stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Hong Kong Avenue of Stars.

What makes Jackie Chan so influential in Hollywood and Western cinema is his method of acting, especially when it comes to action movies. He is known for performing his own stunts, and in troducing martial arts-style movies to Western audiences. His work in well known films such as Rush Hour high lights his comedic side, and his exem plary work in action-comedies have led to an increase in demand for the same.

Chan has said on multiple occasions that he was heavily inspired by Bruce Lee, and stated that he was honoured to work with Bruce Lee right at the start of his career. Bruce Lee, much like Chan, also helped bring together West ern and Eastern cinema, introducing martial arts to Western Audiences.

Both Lee and Chan starred mostly in action films, attracting fanbases from both sides of the world.

Jackie Chan’s Who Am I? Is a perfect example of how he managed to inte grate Eastern culture into a movie that had a cast that was primarily Amer ican. Chan directed and played the lead in the film, and even though the movie was shot in locations like Africa and The Netherlands, he managed to bring out Asian culture masterfully in the movie.

Another fine example of Jackie Chan displaying his skills in blending vari ous cultures is in the film Karate Kid.

The movie is about a child and his wid owed mother, who moved from Detroit to Beijing. The 12 year old child (Dre Parker) meets Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who teaches him Kung-Fu, and teaches Dre Parker about Chinese culture, in voking a sense of discipline in him. The contrast of cultures really shows how Jackie Chan has managed to create a movie that can be viewed by people liv ing around the world, and relate to the movie from a cultural point of view. It is also a movie that greatly appeals to children, inspiring them to learn mar tial arts, especially Western audiences, who do not watch martial arts films very often.

The trilogy of Rush Hour movies clear ly points to the success of his style. In a post-movie interview, he said that his biggest challenge when making the movies was learning English, not performing near-death stunts himself. The fact that Jackie Chan managed to act in a movie like Rush Hour barely knowing English shows his influence, and how he uses Kung Fu as his meth od of inspiring people.

While Jackie Chan’s films in Holly wood are a good blend of cultures, Jackie Chan’s movies in Chinese are equally impressive, for Chan draws in spiration from American cinema, mak ing them a good watch for Western audiences as well. Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow is a well-known film of Chan’s, which has even attracted American audiences. The action-comedy style of the movie draws heavy inspiration from Hollywood, especially from the comedy films that were extremely pop ular at the time. Chan managed to cre ate a high demand for action-comedy movies in Asian nations, as he used the same techniques to entertain audi ences as major actors and filmmakers used in popular Hollywood films.

Dr. Kin Yan Szeto, a professor at Appa lachian State University, published an article on Jackie Chan where she com mented on how his acting style - and the kind of films he acts in- has led to an assimilation of Western and East ern cultures. She believes that this was because Chan grew up in Hong Kong in the mid 1900’s, at a time when it was colonised by the British, and that the constant interaction with two different cultures shaped him, just as he eventu ally shaped the two cultures.

In my view, Jackie Chan’s films are kept entertaining because of the con stant shift of cultures, not to mention his light-hearted humour in a mov ie that tends to have a lot of fighting scenes or heavy action. He has drawn inspiration from the greats - Charlie Chaplin, Bruce Lee, Buster Keaton, to name a few, and has put his own name up among the greats. He has truly shaped both Asian cinema and Holly wood, and is a major reason why Asian cinema and culture is still in high de mand in Western countries.

K-Pop! K-Drama! Man hwa! You may have heard these terms casually thrown about in these past 2 years. Spreading like wildfire, they are part of a larger phenom enon called the K-Wave, a portmanteau for ‘Korean Wave’. Its different compo nents include contemporary but distinctly South Kore an film, drama and music industries and many oth ers that support it from the sidelines. The K-Wave has disseminated South Kore an culture to the rest of the world.

The foundational reason for the K-Wave was that as Asia was engulfed by a financial crisis in the 1990s, South Korea was forced to rein vent its own culture instead of adopting cultural imports from Japan..Hallyu, as it is known in the Korean lan guage, was as much a result of South Korea’s socio-po litical and economic resur gence as it was a cultural phenomenon. 13 years after the boy band H.O.T and the film My Sassy Girl burst into the international scene, the song ‘Gangnam Style’ and its video went viral and topped the music charts across the world. Since then, South Ko rean culture spread its shiny wings across Asia and onto the rest of the world.

One of the main reasons it had such an impact only from the turn of the millen nium was because the ban on foreign travel for South Koreans was lifted in the early ‘90s. The change in their fortunes allowed the youth of the country to trav el overseas for their stud ies. This paved the way for a more westernised Korean youth with a wider mind set. Combined with Korean innovation and a Korean diaspora hungry for a sense of belonging and worldwide recognition accelerated the rise of the K-wave.

The Korean drama and film industries were the first to gain traction, way before K-Pop made its way into the

international scene. In 1999, the superhit movie, Shi ri, was released. The hype snowballed with Autumn in my Heart, Sassy Girl, and Winter Sonata. Initially, K-Cinema found success in Asian countries like China and Japan, but in 2019, Par asite, the first ever non-En glish movie to win the Acad emy Award for Best Picture was released. The Oscar was the crowning glory of achievements that included winning a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This brought worldwide recogni tion to K-Drama transcend ing the borders of Asia. If that weren’t enough, Squid Game, a sensational Korean drama was released just two years later. It quickly be came Netflix’s most viewed show, gaining more interna tional fame for the Korean drama and film industries, now informally known as ‘Hallyuwood’ by fans across the globe.

Nowadays, the first thing that comes to mind when South Korea is mentioned is K-Pop and the dif fer ent idol groups t in cluding BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, and so many others. This is a more developed music genre now but it had humble be ginnings back in the 1950s. The Kim Sisters, a monolin gual Korean band compris ing Sook-ja, Ai-ja, and their cousin, Min-ja made waves in the west by reinventing American hits in their signa ture style. They are believed to have laid the foundation

for K-Pop. They were suc ceeded by Seo Taiji and Boys. The group revolution ised the entirety of their mu sicality by merging it with American hits and hip-hop choreography. They gave way to the current K-Pop we have now, with the first actu al K-Pop Band, HOT, releas ing the first ever K-Pop song that hit the charts across the world. K-Pop is not just a mere music genre, it has be come a mainstream medium to bring out and share Kore an culture as a whole.

Now to come to the final note of the literature of K-Wave, which is seeing a surge of publication abroad. Han Kang, specifically, has won various accolades for her works such as the Man Booker Inter national Prize and the Malaparte

Prize. Shin Kyung-Sook has also been gaining recogni tion around the world as her books enter the Amazon top 10 bestseller list. A major part of Korean literature is manhwa. Manhwa is a Ko rean comic that is gaining popularity day by day. They are building up the K-Wave as well as being a profit able venture in themselves.

K-WAVE

THE TIDAL

Korean classi cal

K-WAVE

RAFAY HABIBULLAH

PictureCredits:TIME

tion al compe titions left and right.

mu sic has also been draw ing attention to South Korea, with a Korean na tive as the current Maestro of the Bastille in Italy. Korean pianists and conductors have also made their mark by winning interna

All in all, the Kore an Wave is a collective of different art forms and ideals from South Korea that is making the world sit up and take notice. You could say that with the K-Wave, South Korea has found its voice after years of wars and suffering and that in itself is inspiring. At a time when there is so much talk of ‘soft power’, South Korea leads the charge and shows us the power of culture to lift a once impoverished and marginalised country to new international heights.

It is apparently not a common experience to witness your parents transforming into savagely greedy pigs. It is also extraordinarily rare to withstand the evolution from be ing the whiny progeny of a wealthy couple to a helpless child labourer.

Hayao Miyazaki is famously known for his significantly applied symbolic meanings and has alluded to the fallacies of several ideologies like Westernisation and Capitalism through this movie. In my perspective, Miyazaki’s purpose of highlighting the problems in such ideas is not only centred around criticising them. In fact, through this movie, he ad dresses the Japanese audience by signal ling how both the traditional Japanese culture and the presently popular ideals such as Capitalism can both coexist if they adapt to strive together. Miyazaki attempts to convey how harmony be tween the past and present is possible if nurtured accordingly.

The 2-hour-long film, set in modern-day Japan showcases an upper-middle-class Japanese family getting enslaved in a peculiar spirit realm located in an aban doned theme park as they take a detour amidst the process of moving to a new town. The anime focuses on displaying the challenges posed to 10-year-old Chi hiro, the protagonist, and how she over comes them in her attempt for freedom from this world of greed and corruption.

Miyazaki has portrayed the pre-eminent themes of coming of age and identity through this fantasy revolving around the metamorphosis of Chihiro from being a selfish girl to a diligent young woman while working to free her family. The film’s inception portrays the fretful character of the girl as she keeps com plaining, however towards the end of the movie, it is quite obvious that hardships have transitioned Chihiro into a resilient woman.

She is compelled to sign a contract with the corrupt witch, Yubaba, who runs the spirit bathhouse, and works as a slave to free herself later. As she signs the contract, her name is taken away, she is captured by Yubaba’s spell and becomes

a ‘Sen’ symbolising ‘death’. Here, Hayao has depicted the death of Chihiro to highlight the change in this phase of the movie as he strongly emphasises the rebirth of the girl as the young indepen dent woman she becomes leaving behind all her whiny characteristics.

Hayao also presents the theme of greed in this movie, implicitly, as Chihiro’s parents symbolise it being the cause for their turning into pigs. The rapacity of the parents seeking more and more spirit food catches one’s attention. Her father’s character has also been portrayed to be careless, and money-minded as this is evident from what the father said when warned by Chihiro, “Don’t worry! You’ve got daddy here. He’s got credit cards and cash.” Yubaba’s character has also been used as a symbol to showcase greed as she has been heard several times in the bathhouse lusting for money and gold amongst various other materialistic possessions.

What makes Spirited Away’s animation unique in today’s modern cinematogra phy is that every single frame is handdrawn. Moreover, a keen eye would eas ily notice the equality of the importance given to the preciseness and detailing of the background throughout. The precise detailing of the backdrop is specifically evident as Chihiro can be seen crossing the bridge to the world of spirits for the very first time. Miyazaki has succeeded in ensuring that the background of any character and the character itself both account for the same visual gratification which is quite rare in today’s day and age.

Miyazaki’s criticism of Westernisation is spread throughout the film with him targeting a certain concept of the ideal in almost every scene of the film. 10-yearold Chihiro being enslaved displays child labour, a moral fallacy of Capitalism. The superiority of Western ideas over Japa nese culture has been revealed in the at tire of the characters. While Chihiro and the bathhouse workers wear traditional Japanese clothes, Yubaba has donned European attire and jewels. The spirit world is also alluded to as an example of a highly-industrialised and capitalist

world. Miyazaki has also matched the poor living conditions of the susuwatari, small round balls made of soot enslaved to work, to that of miserable factory workers commonly known as abusive capitalism. Now, that can’t be a coinci dence, can it? Also, riding a luxurious imported car proves that the Oginos are a wealthy household. However, the trau matic transformation from a prosperous family to greedy pigs has been used by Hayao as a metaphor to compare Japan’s economic hardship following the inun dation of western capitalism.

Every adolescent experiences moments of loneliness. Spirited Away depicts that feeling of being misunderstood and alone while also demonstrating that there is a crew of ethereal beings at your back.

It is often compared to other films like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Peter Pan’ but in my opinion, this movie is incom parable and is therefore an ultimate masterpiece.

Miyazaki has portrayed the preeminent themes of coming of age and identity through his fantasy movie revolving around the metamorphosis of Chihiro from being a selfish girl to a diligent young woman while working to free her family.

SPIRITED AWAY a miyazaki classic

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‘Squid Game’, a South Korean thriller series created by Netflix, has been underway to become the most watched series on Netflix ever since its release in 2021. The series depicts a hyper-competitive setting in which 456 entrants par take in several fatal games, bor rowed from children’s playground activities; the survivor being awarded with boundless wealth. These games range from contes tants having to use a pin to carve a honeycomb pattern or maintain their composure as a huge robot yells “red light” or “green light” at them.

While it is true that the circum stances presented seem entirely dystopian and no rational thinker would partake in such a game, the majority of contestants denounce their rationality driven by their financial ruin. Many of the des perate candidates find the idea of living in the real world to be more terrifying than the violent, dystopian environment they have chosen to enter. In a passage that perfectly captures how merciless life has been to them, one partic ipant says, “I’d rather stay here and die trying than die out there like a dog.” The plot focuses on the idea that participants at least have a chance to succeed and settle their debts; the off-chance that a contestant may thrive in the game invokes a certain toxic compet itiveness in them, driven by the crushing debt that looms over them. The players begin turning on each rather quickly, and one of the most blood-curdling sequenc es emerges from their overnight plunge into bloodshed and chaos.

Park Hae-Soo’s portrayal of the cunning Sang-Woo does not fail to intrigue, while Lee Jung-Jae plays the simple-minded yet helpful Gi-Hun with ease. The actor transforms what would have been a routine role with grey un dertones into a role that arouses sympathy yet enrages the viewer simultaneously. Ho-Yeon delivers another standout performance in her breathtaking K-drama debut. Her portrayal of the mysterious

Kang Sae-Byeok is masterful and fits her part perfectly. Her inter actions with another participant, Ji-yeong (Lee Yoo-mi), give the drama some unexpected emotion al weight and create some of the greatest sequences.

With each new episode, we come to understand that the game is more intricate than what is visible on the surface. From the wealthy fiddling with the lives of those liv ing in abject poverty with crushing debt, to questions regarding greed and humanity linger throughout the entire series. When it comes to the tournament itself, writ er-director Hwang Dong-hyuk shows real inventive flair, from the incorporation of a spooky, me chanical doll with pigtails in the opening game to the uniforms that separate the competitors from the elusive masked guards—teal track suits for the former, hot-pink boil er suits for the latter. Similar to the childlike nature of the games themselves, the visuals through out follow a similar line. Primary geometric shapes like squares, circles, and triangles are used to represent codes, ranks, and clues, additionally using simple colours to achieve the same effect. The eerie bright pinks, greens, and yellows that line the halls and staircases are a smart and hilar ious front for all of the atrocities that take place within the facility. Furthermore, the violent visceral imagery gives the drama an eerie, impersonal sensation, further creating a certain frankness in the way the contestants’ lives are cut short.

The show’s tone is elevated by the cinematography, which is con tinually unnerving and verges on voyeurism. The ambience is fur ther enhanced by the background score, which does not attempt to overpower the scene, yet adds significant value to each scene. An amalgamation of audio and video elements keeps viewers unnerved, eradicating the need for conven tional jump-scare sequences, and demonstrating the skill involved in crafting the same.

To conclude, the popularity of Korean dramas may have skyrock eted over the past several years, but Squid Game raises the bar incredibly and attracts people who haven’t previously been exposed to the genre. It’s mind-blowing how the series manages to embody the elements of a dramatic thriller all while being disturbing and exciting at the same time. In my opinion, it easily ranks among Netflix’s great est Korean original series. Each event is inescapable and will have the audience’s attention glued to the screen. It definitely deserves the nine hours invested which, too, seems to fade away quickly once you begin watching the riveting series.

SQUID GAME

SQUID GAME

The Doon School Information Review

yash karan

sawayama

adalti karan agarwal

ASIAN MUSIC

Asian music is a rapidly emerging force in the music industry, with a greater number of indie artists emerging onto the big stage and idol groups finding traction in the hearts of young listeners all over the world. Artists like Joji, Mitski, Rina Sawayama, and groups like BTS, Blackpink have gained im mense popularity in recent years, breaking records and creating a playing field for foreign artists as well as foreign language songs in a predominantly english dominated industry. These artists now find themselves at the forefront of a wave of Asian music that is rapidly penetrating the western world.

Japanese music in particular has seen quite a lot of change and evo lution in the last few decades or so, shiting from its unique string, wind and percussion instruments in the late 19th century, to west ern influenced jazz in the 1930’s, and pop, creating a cultural wave of music known as “city pop” in the 1970’s. While some artists like Miki Matsubara skyrocketed in popularity in both local and foreign charts, it was evident that Japanese music lacked the abil ity to consistently stay relevant among a greater global audience. With the success of platforms like Tiktok though, Japanese music has yet again been popularised, which largely goes hand-in-hand with the popularity of japanese shows and anime.

One of the main platforms for up-and-coming artists in Japan and South Korea is to create music for dramas and shows, unlike the Western scene where big name composers like Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and Bernard Herr man are given the task to compose music under umbrella corpora tions like Marvel and Warner Brothers. The lack of such large entities in the film industry in the relatively isolated East Asian film industry is a major factor behind the popularity of smaller artists, as smaller, independent studios are driven to hire smaller artists like Naruyushi Kikuchi (Gundam Thunderbolt).

arashi

Now, much of Japan’s music is heavily influenced by Western icons like John Lennon, Michael Jackson and psychedelic rock. Something that must definitely be noted, however, besides its considerably eclectic array of rock and pop singers, is the inception of idol culture, giving rise to bands like ARASHI and Morning Mu sume. Although this culture even tually died out in the late 1980’s or so, it was this that led to groups like Red Velvet and Twice as we know them now.

South Korean music too is largely influenced by Western influences due to the military presence of Americans in the 1900’s, featuring rock as one of its most popular genres followed by heavy metal for a brief period of time, to be replaced by hip-hop with Seo Taiji and Boys’ “I know”.

As well known as the large bands and waves of music in these re gions may be as the main progen itors of music in Asia, I believe it’s necessary to look at their most important contribution to music in the last few years: indie artists.

It is these artists who create the most creative hybrids and fu sions of music, creating their own genres with no name to manipu late as they see fit. Even big time musicians like Hikaru Utada are changing their tried and tested rock formula, to something that can only be described as experi mental and abstract with electron ic music. With her album “Bad Mode”, especially “Somewhere in Marseilles’’, Ms. Utada has managed to transform her music Artists such as YOASOBI, Fujii Kaze, and Ado find most of their fame in their unique styles of sing

ing, whether it is through a ballad telling a lovestory, combining the traditional with contemporary to create distinctly modern pieces, or Ado’s rebellious and contro versial songs that are immensely popular amongst the Japanese youth. These indie artists bring with them an energy and soulful fervour that is unmatched. In part this is due to the language itself, as Japanese is expressive, but there is also a sense of passion within their music that cannot be seen in western music.

The significance of technology in propelling modern music in Asia cannot be understated, with synthesisers produced in Japan fuelling revolutions in music led by artists like Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder. Musical tech nology has progressed even to the point of creating artificial voices altogether, the most popular vocaloid being known as Hatsune Miku,whose robotic yet energetic voice has managed to carve out its own niche in an endless variety of competitive and endlessly won derful artists.

Despite the immense breadth of music produced in the last de cade or so, the shift from rock like Shoko Nakagawa’s “Sorairo Days” and Yui’s “Again” to music like Gen Hoshino’s “Comedy” and Ali’s “Lost in Paradise” is apparent and inevitable. Classics in rock like “Blue Bird” and indie rock like Ging Nang Boyz’ “Shounen Shoujo” will always be able to find their own audience, but for now, the microphone belongs to R&B pop.It is these artists who create the most creative hybrids and fusions of music, creating their own genres with no name to manipulate as they see fit.

Picture Credits: Johnny & Associates

The

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the best of asian film, television, literature and music

The Doon School Information Review

HAYAYO

I don’t quite have the words for this movie. Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai is a work of passion; every actor is filled with so much energy in every shot and Kurosawa’s own control over the scene creates such powerful imag es that I fear that even attempting to review it is silly. Lured in by Kurosawa’s fame, I was sceptical of the movie and coming out of it, I was left feeling emotionally drained. I had no idea what to feel or think, but I knew that I would remember each of the characters for a long time to come.

The main cast, the eponymous seven samurai, are all wonder ful: the wise Kambei, badass Kyuzo and naive Katsuhiro; I particularly enjoyed Gorobei and Heiachi’s easy-going personali ties. Gorobei’s line, “In life, one finds friends in the strangest places.” and Heihachi’s introduction, “I’m Heiha

SAMURAI

YASH ADALTI

SAMURAI

Nchi Hayashida, a modest warrior of the Wood-Chop School.” stuck with me because of how they don’t take themselves too seri ously, and recognise the value of not having their heads up their asses. All of them have deep and natural relationships with each other, built throughout the course of the film, and the main reason for this is the natural expectation they have of each other not only as samurai, but as comrades on an extremely selfless mission - de fending a village from 40 bandits on horseback for no other pay than a full stomach at night. But there remains one outlier - Kikuchiyo. A gruff, savage man with no sense of courtesy or propriety, a man who acts tough and apathetic, but is incredibly sensitive and caring.

His many contradictions in behaviour and depth of personality are care fully crafted by Kurosawa throughout the film and makes the spectators feel great empathy for him. When looking at discus sions of the film’s cast, you’ll always hear noth ing but praise for Toshiro Mifune’s depiction of Kurosawa’s vision of the character.

Something that I must mention in my review of Kurosawa’s film is the portrayal of philosophy. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy Kikuchi yo’s character so much, because he is Kurosa wa’s chosen medium to portray his ideas due to his contradictory char acter. He grieves the most over the death of his comrades despite being the most joked about, he rages over the samurai’s hypocrisy over the crimes the farmers have committed, despite treating the farmers in a terrible way himself. His kind and rough character is ideal for Kurosawa’s ideas. The other samurai serve as models for what a samurai should be in stead, wise, strong, cool, handsome, easygoing.

The actual plot of the movie is very simple and straightforward - a gang of bandits has been raiding a village, sick and tired, the villagers decide to hire a few samurai to defend themselves. The recruited samurai then journey to the village

and train the villagers in the art of war, while facing their own strug gles. The bandits then attack in waves over a series of days, with the village emerging victo rious. The action in the movie is neither explo sive nor high-octane, but strategic, gripping, and intense. The village faces an overwhelming force and patience is a virtue when being sieged.

Kurosawa’s control over groups is something that remains unchallenged, even by modern directors with ridiculous budgets. One of the very first dis tinctions that I noticed when watching the movie is the way the characters run. There’s something I couldn’t place my finger on while watching it, but now when I describe it, I can only say that it’s the energy of the actors. The way the villagers run is slightly excessive and reckless in comparison to the samurai, as expected of untrained civilians; the way the samurai run in contrast is slightly restrained, but full of concealed energy, clearly trained. The villagers move in groups like water and Kurosawa’s control over the camera makes the intent of each move ment extremely clear despite there being no explanation of what’s oc curring on screen, every action is self explanatory, thus rendering dialogue redundant and excessive. It’s a jarring style, a stark contrast to the pandering

and obvious style of to day’s media, but it’s also incomparably beautiful. In my opinion, trying to put human interaction into words isn’t very effective at conveying the depth of experience. The admiration Katsuhi ro holds for Kyuzo isn’t something that can be summed up in a few hol low words like “You’re incredible”, “I want to be like you”. His breathless staring, expression full of joy bordering on homo eroticism yet perfectly innocent, conveys more meaning than any essay.

The film doesn’t end on a high note however, leaving me with complex emotions and food for thought instead. The movie can be plainly divided into three sec tions for its 3 hour 26 minute runtime respec tively - the recruiting, the preparation, and the battle. The recruiting phase is where you’re introduced to the char acters and relationships are built, the preparation phase is when you begin to form bonds with the characters and root for them, with the battling phase being the period in which the characters die out, complexing the emotional relationship the viewer has with the characters.

The respect that Seven Samurai shows towards life is beautiful, with each character’s life being depicted in the movie being given its due importance, despite the short screentime accord ed to it. Yes, life, because this film is shot in such a way that the characters Kurosawa gave life to in the film weren’t born at

“A samurai may die defending a village whose inhabitants do not understand him and do not want to, but therein lies the irony of a protector of justice.”

the start of the film, and they would continue to live lives after the end of it too. The ending of the film is thoughtful; Kam bei saying “In the end, we lost this battle too.” is a cold reminder of the reality of the situation. The celebrating villagers aren’t the same as the samurai. The victory belonged to the villagers, because they are now safe. The titular samurai ostensibly won - because they were victorious - but several of them died in the process, the tragedy of their broth er-in-arms’ deaths is ignored by the villagers, they made themselves obsolete (through victo

ry, they made themselves from the most important members of the village to completely irrelevant outsiders, symbolised through Shino ignoring Katsuhiro), and the fact that the samurai are now in the exact same position they would’ve been if they refused to help: homeless wander ers, relics of a bygone era. However the samu rai’s purpose is to fight, with courage, stoicism, or reckless abandon, but to fight nonetheless, and a villager’s purpose is to survive, no matter the cost. A samurai may die defending a village whose inhabitants do not understand him and do

not want to, but therein lies the irony of a protec tor of justice.

Akira Kurosawa has cre ated a truly monstrous film, with the breadth of ideas it attempts to en compass and the depth in which it does. The ending’s anti-war mes sage is only to be expect ed, after all, the horrific end of World War 2 had many impacts on Japan. This film is easily one of the best films ever made, and its message of caring for one another, giving our all, even if it isn’t reciprocated or appre ciated, for the sake of a greater purpose is one that will sustain itself throughout the ages.

It’s been a year since I read Crime and Punishment, but it still remains fresh in my mind as if I read it only yesterday. Per haps it was the writing style, the way Dostoyevsky seemed to ef fortlessly create a world that por trays the human condition at its worst. Maybe, it was the manner in which he masterfully blend ed commentary, and social con cepts in creating a book which emotionally resonated with the audience even today. Whatever it might be, I’ve been consumed and haunted by Raskolnikov’s tormented journey, from his foolish crime to his inevitable punishment.

Interestingly enough, Dosto yevsky initially envisioned an other book called the Drunkards which entailed the chronicles of a destruction due to an alcoholic patriarch. However, he diverged at the last minute; and Crime and Punishment was born. The aforementioned self destruc tive alcoholic was made a mi nor character which only marks the richness of the characters as Dostoevsky weaves together a multitude of multi-layered char acters by interplaying through various plotlines.

Thus, the book includes multi ple character arcs but the main plot is simple: an impoverished ex-student Rodion Raskolnikov kills an old pawnbroker in search of money. Unlike a typical thrill er or murder mystery, the kill ing occurs in the first 50 pages, something unexpected in classics which usually span more than a thousand pages. In another au thor’s hand, the book might be come lopsided and fail to gener ate the interest of the reader, but we can leave it to Dostoyveksy to create one of the greatest literary masterpieces out of it.

Instead of focusing on the crime, Dostoyeveksy sheds light on the nature of it and what drives a normal person to such depths of human sin. At the time, Crime and Punishment had taken

CPrime unishment &

place, the country of Russia saw an increasing wealth gap, which affected the common man and in cidentally the protagonist.

However, unlike your average joe, Dostoyeveksy’s protagonist seems to have no redeeming quality. Raskolnikov has im mense pride in himself and con siders himself intellectually ‘su perior’ to the rest of humanity. His belief stems from the notion of “human god”, which entails that he can transgress morality for a better purpose. Such a faith, built upon utilitarianism for the greater good, drives him to kill for ‘salvation’. Everyday, count less deaths occur so who cares for one old cruel miser, right? And if a person who can be considered ‘evil’ be eliminated from society, don’t we all benefit from it?

Instead of focusing on the crime, Dostoyeveksy sheds light on the nature of it and what drives a normal person to such depths of human sin.

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v I ne S h un I yal

His belief of “superior man”, only drives him to be alone since ac cording to him, an extraordinary person wouldn’t need the com panionship of another, and would rather be well content with them selves. He pushes away his family, his mother and sister, his friends, and everyone around him. Yet, de spite his retaliation, the ones clos est to him stayed with him, which I believe, might not often be the case in reality. Ultimately, Raskol nikov’s motivation was quite piti ful: the naive desire to prove he was “extraordinary”.

To add context and perhaps some reason behind Raskolnikov’s mindset, we must dive into 19th century Russia. During that time, nihilism had become extremely prevalent, paving the way for the end of religion and God. With God, out of the way, the only concept to replace it became nihilism as

German philosopher Friedrich Ni etzsche famously wrote the tragic statement “God is Dead ‘’. And in a world where there is a lack of God, man becomes God. However Dos toevsky found this movement to be alarming and dangerous and end ed up incorporating these traits into his protagonist, perhaps in an attempt to convince the audience that such a mindset will only end with self destruction and delusion.

The aspect of self destructive thoughts is portrayed clearly after the crime, through a first person narrative, as the audience peers into his internal monologues. With merely a glimpse of his thoughts, the readers can deduce that things didn’t go as planned for Raskol nikov. Contrary to his expected aloofness about the whole situa tion, he finds himself to be bur dened with guilt, confusion, para noia and a disgust for what he has

done. He experiences moments of delirium and frenzy in which he struggles to grapple reality and suffers through multiple disturb ing dreams. He is left to be haunt ed and in suffering in both his wak ing and unwaking state. In a way, along with the murder, his human ity died too.

So, how does Raskolnikov escape such torture? Maybe using humil ity, since to Dostoyevsky, humility is the greatest strength, making it inevitable that Raskalnikov’s will only find salvation by acknowledg ing his weakness. The catalyst for possible redemption for Raskol nikov emerges with Sonya, a 18 year old girl forced to prostitution to take care of her family. Sonya is quiet and timid but also extremely devoted to her family. She’s the embodiment of the quote, “God will shame the wise with fol ly and the strong with weakness”.

And if a person who can be considered ‘evil’ be eliminated from society, don’t we all benefit from it?

Sonya is everything her people might count as absurd, but to Dostoyevsky she is proof of God’s grace.

Sonya keeps pestering Raskol nikov throughout the span of the book, and slowly breaks through him, as slowly but surely, Ras kalnikov begins to realise that he is not alone and submitting to divine will, which leads to a confession. But, is this confession enough? Is it truly a confession or just a way for Raskolnikov to vent out? Both Sonya and Raskolnikov know that a true confession needs to involve far more.

But, such a confession seems to escape Raskalnikov, as he still remains unrepentant, since his ego prohibits him from total sub mission. Even after Raskalnikov submits to the authorities and is sentenced to prison in Siberia, he cannot be freed from this burden. You see, his prison is not a physical but rather a spiritual one, one full of guilt, something which will only disappear by repentance.

But if Crime and Punishment is a story about the grace of God, shouldn’t there be a conversion experience? Should Raskolnikov have a moment of enlightenment where he’s faced with some sort of divine revelation?

Well, Dostoyevsky’s answer to that would be an emphatic ‘No’, since in his life, faith came only after years of struggle. To add background, Dostoevsky was exiled for four years in a prison where he had his hands and feet shackled until his release. He was only permitted to read his New Testament Bible, as his experiences were to influence him and his writing greatly. Thus, similar to Dostoyevsky’s, Raskalnikov must undergo a grad ual transition and understand that change is not instant, and to have such a quick conversion would merely reduce it to something cheap. Thus what Dostoyevsky tru ly wants the reader to feel is that the only thing that may bridge Ras kalnikov and his humanity is love.

Finally, after reading a book like this, the reader is left to wonder

whether human nature is ob solete or fickle. Ask yourself, if things take a turn for the worse, and you must resort to inhumane or sinful ways to save oneself, what would you do? Re gardless of your choice, there doesn’t seem to be a complete ly right or wrong answer. What really matters is perspective, something philosophers have engaged in debate throughout history. And, though our choic es might change over the years, there is one thing which Dosto yeveksy tries to infer to the reader, something that can be set in stone for the rest of histo ry- sometimes a lack of answer is the best answer.

UDHATVEER PASRICHA

How to Get Away with Murder.

The title itself forces the average binge browser’s cursor to stumble upon it, as it did mine. Six seasons down and in my opinion, every episode deserves a rewatch.

As the title suggests, the plot is built around the attempt to get away scot-free from the act of committing a murder. What sets this show apart from all others is the paradox that the charac ters committing the murders are lawyers. The show has an intricate plot, the highly intriguing aspect being the unorthodox concept of the representatives of the judicial system being the ones that disobey it.

PASRICHA vd

The storyline is built around a criminal defence lawyer named Annalise Keating, who despite her solely self reliant attitude is known to be the best in the city.

Aside from being a lawyer, she is also a professor in a renowned law university. At this university, she selects a few students to intern at her clinic. These students com mit the murder of her husband, a murder wich she helps cover up. To cover up this muder, they are forced to commit several more murders, leaving behind a trail of plot points on every turn.

The story is built on the themes of deception and disguise, with each character experiencing major development, both emotionally and physically. Each character goes through their own sets of problems, developing their own character curve. From opportunis tic, conniving young individuals to matured adults with an idea of the real world, the show also presents viewers with the idea of coming of age. Writers have used characters from different spheres of life, and characters with different tastes and preferences in terms of life choices. This helps create diversity in the show, and makes the show relatable for viewers of all ages to watch. However unrealistic the plot may be, How to Get Away with Murder is engrossing for the daily watcher because the plot

perfectly takes into account real world events. All events carried out in the show are deemed to be somewhat realistic due to the fact that every character faces prob lems which the average individual also faces today, just in an ampli fied manner, as if it is sympathis ing with the viewers.

Trust and romance are major themes which the writers use as a catalyst to portray their version of the world. Because of this, common themes of distrust and deception are further brought out, with each character’s under standing of love becoming better as the show progresses. Work-life balance is the crux upon which the development of the show is based, especially from a romance point of view, with each charac ter learning the value of trusting someone. This emphasis on trust is the reason why viewers relate to the show. The idea of trusting someone is something which most individuals find difficult.

The show perfectly manages to maintain the tone of uncertainty with each episode based in both the past, and its relevance to the present. This switch creates the perfect amount of ambiguity, with just the right amount of informa tion given at the perfect times.

Slow revelations throughout the show keep the interest in the show alive. This was an aspect of the show that I thought made it really entertaining, as it instilled the need to constantly go back and find out what happens next.

How to Get Away with Murder is, in my opinion, the perfect watch for someone who wants to sit on the edge of their seat, and experi ence an emotoional roller coaster like no other. For someone willing to cry, laugh and live as the char acters finish their journeys’, this show is the one for you.

A VIOLA DAVIS

The Doon School Information Review

Robbie Coltrane

1950 - 2022

“

Robbie Coltrane was a big man in every sense, a physical one-off, not easily absorbed into the typecast world of movies and drama.

Coltrane was smart, funny, stylish – a cool guy for the 80s comedy generation to have on its side, a black-comic genius in pioneering crime drama.

- The Guardian

Blonde

SRIYASH TANTIA

MARYLIN MONROE ONLY EXISTS ON THE SCREEN.

Picture Credits: Natural Diamonds

Anadaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s best-selling historical fiction novel of the same title, ‘Blonde’ by Andrew Dominik tries to encap sulate all the elements of Norma Jeane Mortenson’s bruised alter ego. Maintaining the blonde bomb shell image that the Hollywood pa triarchy had used to monopolise, exploit, and confine her was too de manding for Monroe. While some have interpreted it as a more artist ict depiction of the division between one’s private and public personaea clichéd glimpse at the tears hidden behind a celebrity’s gleeful façade, others have viewed the film as a tes tament to brutal honesty, with how all the world could only see her sex appeal and failed to realise what went behind the curtains of fame.

At its core, it’s a portrayal of a night marish childhood trauma that can plague adult life. It is replete with gruesome images of torture by in quisition, horrifying trials, and horrendous infernos. What makes the inception so moving is the fact that her own mother tried to drown her in scathing, burning water and admitted how she resented Norma for driving her father away from her and from the life she always desired. Norma’s fosterage lacked in provid ing her with a fatherly presence. Thus the serious issues spawned by this absence in her life caused her to latch onto her lovers who could fulfil the needs that her father never did.

The very fact that this film revolves around the leading cultural icon of the 20th century, the famous Mar ilyn Monroe, one whom everybody knows but yet is unaware of, piques one’s interest in the movie. Ana De Armas, the lead, was particular ly inspiring in her character since Norma Jeane is explicit that for her to have a career as a budding and impassioned actor, Marilyn Monroe would just be a mere stage name to her portal to notoriety and emi nence. After all, Monroe was “just a career” to her. De Armas does a good job in capturingMonroe’s nat ural beauty and charisma, which shines through even in the most challenging scenes.

Personally, the most appealing as pect of the film was how Monroe’s character had been rightly victim ised. Lily Fisher’s (who plays Nor ma Jeane as a child) innocence and

her belief in her “daddy” who would save her from everything does jus tice to Monroe’s life build-up which portrays an elegant symphony of fear, emotional fluctuation, and thrill in the biopic.

Bobby Cannavale did justice to his role as Joe DiMaggio who, in his true essence, was the most passion ate yet devoted lover Norma ever had but the fervour of his fondness made him lash out at and physi cally abuse Monroe when she was pictured in the nude or when her famous picture in a blowing white haltering dress was hung around for the entire world to witness. I don’t know whether it was Adrien Brody’s impeccable skill or his calmness to tackle the situation that made the playwright’s character so appealing even as he exploited his “darling’s” every tragedy in his work looking for recognition and accolades. Ken nedy (played by Caspar Philipson) is portrayed to assault Monroe and even make the Secret Service illtreat Monroe, which caught me off guard, however, the malevolent yet riveting personality of one of the most renowned presidents’ certain ly engrossed my attention. There’s no doubt that the supporting cast depicted the very controversial survival of Norma as she can be seen juggling her difficulties during adulthood.

However, “Blonde” crosses the boundary between fact and fiction. Where it suffers from, however, is the lack of depth and insight into Monroe’s character, making the viewer question the credibility of the story that is depicted for the world to see and perceive. In spite of that, it takes the viewers on a ride they never would have even imag ined for one of the most iconic fig ures of the 20th century.

The excessive femininity shown, which must have genuinely existed in a different era and place in the world, may still bother some people now but it gives abuse and its reper cussions a voice and, rather than burying them, deals with them. All in all, this movie will keep your eyes glued to the screen. The contrasting personalities of the characters bring out the truth of Norma’s life that leaves you shocked or tearful with each scene, offering an experience well worth the three hours spent.

The

School Information Review

Perfect omplement A C C

THE POETRY OF DARSHANA SURESH

KRISHNAV SACHDEV

For me, the rainy Autumn weath er throughout this term brought a comforting, familiar cosiness over the campus, replacing some of the liveliness of Chandbagh with a more mellow and melancholic atmosphere. To complement this season and its aura, I took to read ing poetry, which was usually cen tred around the themes of heart break, and none managed to stick with me like the work of Darshana Suresh.

I found that her poems usually deal with questions like what it means to be alive, and how one struggles with not being okay or ready to recover while still being

forced to handle the raw impos sibility of carrying on until one is ready to start healing. The poems deal with the different facets of the human experience, a few dealt with it so spectacularly, that the only explanations I could muster up were either that Ms Suresh is one of the best new-age poets out there or that she has dealt with the same personally and has been very deeply affected. Her poems call upon the memories of the hurt she might have been through while also evoking those same feelings in the reader, making one empathise on a much deeper level than usual.

I found that the common element

in her writing that stood out was that a poem is either heavy with metaphors and analogies, with the real meanings buried under, or that the poem is clearly word ed and straightforward, convey ing specific feelings and emotions. Owing to this, each poem some how feels strikingly different from the last while seemingly based on similar themes. There is a rich balance between her poems in the manner of length and content, meaning that even the shortest of her works have deep meanings and ample room for interpretation. Be low is one of her, in my admittedly limited opinion, best short works:

The poem is but a mere quartet, one with less than twenty words, and yet it manages to have a sub stantial emotional impact right af ter the first read. It alludes to Greek Mythology with the mention of At las, a ruined Titan (A race of the Old Gods), who was tasked with holding up the sky, keeping it from crashing into the Earth. The poem poses a rhetorical question, direct ly to Atlas himself, which suggests that everyone carries a certain heaviness in their hearts, a heavi ness comparable to the weight of the world. It plays on the fact that no matter who one is, where they might be in life and how happy they think they are, there will always be something, something perhaps in consequential in the grand scheme of things but still something, that weighs someone down. Something that’s always nagging at the cor ners of their hearts, never letting them fully settle. The poem then ends with another rhetoric, now directed at no one in particular, which creates a sense of hopeless ness as the quartet closes, with the poet insinuating that no one is able to bear the full weight of their own heart perfectly.

Being able to put so much mean ing behind such a small number of words is a skill that Darshana Suresh seems to have mastered and is one which she displays in all of her works. Her longer poems are filled with even more meaning and carry a different tone altogether, sometimes that of melancholy and sometimes that of suffering. She

is a poet that I would recommend to everyone, regardless of whether they enjoy poetry or not, because I believe that she makes for a won derful introduction to this vast world of poetry. Her works are the perfect complement to the sweetly melancholic and pensive seasons of fall and winter.

Tell me, Atlas. What is heavier: The world or its people’s hearts? — Atlas still stands but does anyone else?

D S I R