<p>^You mean you thought I’ve been sane all this while? I’m honoured nemo!</p>
<p>Ha never, just that you’ve finally decided to announce the fact 
I love the tags on this thread!</p>
<p>Hahhahahhah</p>
<p>Hi guys. Wanted to wish good luck to any of you looking forward to S’s release of RD decisions later this week.</p>
<p>Tippu and Pix, get a room.</p>
<p>Just 2 pages in 2 months. Ok, this thread is dead.</p>
<p>princeton dreams is back! HII!! 
I still remember that my PM to you didn’t go through.
This thread was just revived btw.
And shoop.</p>
<p>StanfordReality is back!! HEY! How are you? You still need to reply to my PM. Just saying.
Besides that, remember how we said he would come back around decisions time?
Pixie, I just had my French exam which I finished in 45 mins (out of 90 mins). One of our tasks was to write a letter to someone in the country you used to live in and talk about a few reasons why you like your country of origin and what you like about the country you’re currently living in since the last 6 months. The first name that came to my mind was yours, so I basically wrote 170 words to ‘Chere Pixie.’ If I get a 7 I will thank you :D</p>
<p>OMG such a nice letter topic nemo! 
Who is anxious for the cricket match tomorrow? I guess college admissions are so much more important but cricket is a nice distraction - that and hot rugby players.</p>
<p>I FINALLY watched Inception. Got the Blu-Ray today and couldn’t resist, despite the impending Bio exam. My mind was blown–SUCH a good movie, although not Nolan’s best in my opinion. Still pretty amazing. I didn’t get why people said the plot was so complicated, I thought it was fairly straightforward?
What am I doing on CC. Further Human Health and Physiology will be the death of me :|</p>
<p>Nemo, I know I haven’t. I’ve had unhindered access to internet now for just the past 3 days - I’ve been travelling for the past two months. I will reply soon. Oh, and Inception is awesome. </p>
<p>Hey Pix. How have you been? Prepping for HYP this fall, eh?</p>
<p>I was kidding R. I knew you were really busy, and I honestly expected you to not return to this forum after you said goodbye 2 months ago. Don’t stress out about it, I’m glad you read it, that’s all. How were your travels?</p>
<p>Oh, Nemo that’s so nice of you!
I hope you get a 7. You should since that’s my (cc) name sitting there haha. </p>
<p>Hi there PD
I’ve been exactly how I was when you left this thread.
How was your trip to Spain? (assuming that’s where you went, your location had that before)</p>
<p>Nemooo, didn’t I predict he’d be back in time for decisions when we talked? :D</p>
<p>I just watched the first half of Slumdog Millionaire this morning. (Yes, finally.) Although I can stand horrifying things pretty well, this one was freaking me out. Especially the beginning part. That was horrific.
I wasn’t going “omg, this movie is so going to remain on my mind later for all the poverty and third world country stuff it shows”, I just had a feeling of repulsion throughout. And that “throwing acid into the eyes” part (the one in DreamsUnlimited’s essay, that PD had commented that it was from this movie), that was awful.
This movie (till where I’ve seen) seems to have no direction, and only seems to focus on the bad conditions in the slums of India. I agree that something ought to be done about said condition, but making a movie with little to no storyline (with a boring predictable lovestory squeezed in between), that basically aims at showing as much horror possible, for the obvious motive of creating a long lasting impression in the viewer’s mind, just does not cut the deal.
The added factor that Danny Boyle probably did this all for the oscar did nothing to lighten my mood either.</p>
<p>It’s revolting how only movies like this one go on to win some oscars/big awards. Unless a movie hsa war/domestic violence/ poverty/ something just as bad depicted in a horrific condition, it isn’t called good stuff.
Well you know what? That kind of acting is the easiest type. Anyone can do it. I’ve done it. It’s pulling off a funny flick well that’s tough.</p>
<p>Slumdog was crap. I had rightly predicted in 2007 (I have this on record) that India is ONLY going to win an oscar when someone either makes a movie eulogizing Americans, or about how much India sucks and how awesome the western countries are. Turns out I was right. :)</p>
<p>Slumdog was the crappiest Oscar movie that I’ve ever seen. Aniruddh, you’re right. Who cares about the Oscars anyway? Half of what Hollywood produces is crap. </p>
<p>Jai Ho must be one of AR Rahman’s most mediocre songs ever.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with my friend Pixie on this one. I have watched Slumdog maybe 3 times, and everytime I found something new in it. It has all the ingredients for a great film: an interesting plot, exotism (from western point of view), suspense, humour, love, and a journey in the darkness of human misery.
No one would sustain nowadays that “india sucks”. Your country has gained absolute international credibility thanks to its culture and history, its political system and freedom of speech, its high and sustained growth rate, its huge population and its economy which is among the largest in the world etc.
On the other hand, aren’t there 400 million people in india living with less than a dollar a day? This poverty must certainly generate terrible tensions and conflicts among these people. Why are you bothered that someone shows this side of the coin? It is so easy to hide oneself behind a curtain and just ignore the unbearable, but that doesn’t suppress the reality. I admit though that I have no competence in talking about the reality of India so, please, spare me and do not shoot all together at me.</p>
<p>^I liked the graphic description of poverty. It’s no doubt well-made. I think Perfectpixie’s main objection to the movie lies in that it has no meaningful storyline at all. It depended too much on shock effect and the slick cinematography but the plot was weak. Why would a policewallah talk to chaiwallah in English? It was graphic but inauthentic. I’d expect someone who knows Benjamin Franklin from dollar notes to have encountered “Satyameva Jayate” before.</p>
<p>I could never get myself to watch it. And Jai Ho becomes annoying after a while. But we won the cricket match guys!</p>
<p>Luce, I don’t think any of us has a problem with the poverty depicted. Indeed, I think it’s justified that they depict poverty in all its grimness. Only fools romanticize poverty. I think our main objection is the inauthenticity and the lack of a convincing storyline. For me, the moment the kids started speaking in English, it all went downhill. There is a very unlikely chance that anyone in Jamaal’s position could’ve spoken such perfect English even if he’d picked it up while working as a tour guide, and let’s not even get into Dev Patel’s awfully jarring British accent that cropped up out of nowhere. I understand that English dialogs widen the audience the movie can reach out to, but this aspect, along with several others, cemented the movie as an outsider’s perspective of India. Yes it is far removed from the idealized version of India that so many of us like to propagate, yet I would agree with Pixie in saying that simply depicting horror does not guarantee legitimacy. The movie’s full enjoyment can only be experienced if taken with several pinches of salt.
I also hated how the Indian media went nuts over Slumdog’s nominations and wins. There were literally umpteen talk shows and hours of discussion and breaking news banners dedicated to this. Slumdog Millionaire is NOT an Indian movie, Danny Boyle is NOT an Indian director, I don’t see what the huge fuss is. Some people actually had the audacity to suggest that India should be “proud” of “it’s” accomplishment at the Oscars. The only people we should identify wit are A.R. Rehman and Resul Pookutty. Even so, I thought Jai Ho was far from Rehman’s best. It’s a good song, but he’s capable of a lot better, as most of us in India have seen.</p>
<p>
quoting JK Rowling, lecture at Harvard Graduation Ceremony? 
See, the problem is not ‘speaking in english’. It’s an english movie. Obviously they’ll speak in English. You can’t have the whole movie in subtitles can you? Although I agree, I found it absolutely ridiculous how he starts guiding foreigners in english. Like, seriously? :/</p>
<p>What I don’t like luceverita, is that the film has no plot really… It mainly seems to focus on the conditions of people who live a life like that.
No, I’m not denying that there are people like that here. Nor am I (or anyone else) hiding behind a curtain, denying it. I agree that it should be highlighted because something ought to be done for it.
Didn’t I write this in my post?
And no, I don’t think everyone says “India sucks”. That’s just the hyped up stuff of the media. No educated person here thinks that way.
What I don’t like is that it was mainly done for profit motives. Had this been a documentary, that resulted in loads of positive measures, then I don’t have a problem. Because that’s what it actually seems to be, 1.5 (or however many) hrs of showing the worst parts of the slum life, under the poor disguise of a ‘storyline’ , the chap’s on some weird contest, and just for every answer, they take us on some trip down to his “slumdog” life to show how he knew the answer. Ridiculous. Do they really think that we’re dumb enough to not notice their poor excuse for a storyline?
OF course the graphic description of poverty in the film is good. That is what makes the film what it is. But it holds no sense once you sit down and think about it. Plus the film’s done nothing to change the condition for the better, it’s only brought the producer appeal and an oscar.
Oh and loads and loads of money. I feel that the producer has cheated the ‘slumdogs’ by making a movie on them, he’s made cash off their condition, he’s taken advantage of their condition.</p>
<p>
Wasn’t Jai Ho rejected by an Indian film maker before he gave it to Danny Boyle? Lol. His stuff is definitely getting bad. Jai Ho and then that CWG song (although in the latter he must have been under pretty big pressure to do something good after Shakira’s Waka Waka). He’s trying to fuse Indian and western, and the result’s nothing good. You want outsiders to hear India? Then do something authentic man! That’s what you’re absolutely brilliant at. Don’t sell yourself short.</p>