with great delight and pleasure, a korean drama called "The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry."
This drama features the lives of three women in their mid-30's, their loves, their losses, their neuroses. The lead is a reporter, who ended a long term relationship with a college sweetheart because she was focused on her career ambitions. She eventually falls in love with a much younger man (10 years her junior) and struggles with the insecurities as typical for an older woman, especially in a society that's not particularly kind to women beyond a certain age. The second lady is a renowned and accomplished translator, but absolutely desperate to find a man. She represents one extreme. The third friend is the coolest of the bunch, featuring an asymmetrical haircut, she is a woman who knows what she wants and won't settle for less. She is also a loyal friend, underneath a stylish and whip smart demeanor.
The best part of this drama is not the guys, though I have to admit that 21 year old Kim Bum, who plays the young amour (and supposedly 24 in the drama) is so yummy and drool worthy, I wish I could eat him up like cake. The best part of the drama however really is seeing the interaction of the three ladies as they support each other through the ups and downs of life's cruelties and capriciousness.
And what's up with korean dramas and coffee? and eating bbq meat for that matter? And drinking soju at small food stands while complaining and bitching about life? Life seems so very good there! Feeling down? Text someone and inevitably, the next shot would be of the coffee mugs being filled at some trendy and beautifully spaced cafe in downtown Seoul.
Anyway, I digress.
The acting in the drama is commendable, because it's not too ridiculous as to be slapstick, though it does have its moments and laugh out loud scenes. The actor who plays the doctor is somewhat over the top, he seems to be that way in other dramas as well, but he always plays the nice guy who has redeemable and lovable qualities, otherwise, he could be painful to watch with his in your face acting. His counterpart, the translator, is wonderful to watch, and has a great comedic touch. In my humblest of opinion, she is probably even better than the main actress, but they are all pretty good. The dialogue is not bad either, i don't speak a lick of korean, but I'm a voracious reader of subtitles and this drama is really quite well written.
I'm glad I stumbled on this show, because it's keeping this bored slug very well entertained in the midst of a not very fun cold and wintry season.
Stay tuned!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Two good films
I saw "The Kids are Alright" the other day with Jason. The story is about a lesbian couple who raised two kids by in vitro fertilzation with an anonymous donor. Each woman had a child with the same donor. Things get interesting 18 years later when the donor shows up at their door and attempts to become a part of the family. I won't go into too much detail, as while I did enjoy the film, I'm more excited and eager to present the next film I just recently saw.
"The Secret in their eyes" by Argentinean director Juan Jose Campanella is a true masterpiece! The story is set in modern day Argentina through initially, the eyes of a retired court investigator. The film very fluidly however, brings us back 25 years to when the story actually begins, with the brutal murder of a beautiful young woman. Benjamin Esposito, played by Ricardo Darin (why haven't I known about this man before??) is a marvel to watch, he is somehow able to convey great emotional richness while saying precious little. His best friend and hapless alcoholic takes a comedic turn and turns in a fine performance, delivering some of the funniest lines in the film. The female lead is also wonderful to watch. Honestly, I can't gush enough about the acting superlatives so I'll just leave it at that, tremendous acting. Done!
But the story! The story was itself a fourth major player in the ball game. It's a crime novella, a mystery, an unwinding tale that leads us deeper and deeper, with fresh surprises at multiple turns. Even when you think the mystery is solved, you soon realize that the journey is only half way there, there was still more deliciousness awaiting!
Okay now I'm starting to babble like an Argentinean, all exclamation points and excited passion. The story as I was saying started off as a remininscing of sorts, as a man gnaws and chews on a case that's tormented him for 25+ years. A teacher and newly married, was raped and murdered, and at first, the murder was pinned on some hapless innocents. Based on some paltry evidence, the investigators nonetheless find the true perpetrator very quickly. (Here, it requires a bit of the stretch on your imagination, but play along, you will be richly rewarded) The story evolves beyond just the identity of the culprit, it also centered on the unfulfilled and unspoken passion between the two main characters, the husband of the young wife and how he dealt with the tragedy, and also Esposito's good friend. So what I liked so much about the story is how all these elements interplay and are richly woven together.
I can't say enough good things about the cinematography of the film too, it's shot in lush, richly hued tones which colors the film (literally) in a dramatic fashion, in line with the backdrop of the story development. I also enjoy the multiple ways in which the camera approaches its subjects, very creative and often unsettling ways, but it brings an arresting visual element to the film.
Anyway, I learned afterwards that the film won the Academy Award for best International Film of 2010. I'm not surprised, it deserved this accolade in spades. In 2010 I've had the pleasure of seeing many good films, but this one definitely will stay with me for some time to come.
"The Secret in their eyes" by Argentinean director Juan Jose Campanella is a true masterpiece! The story is set in modern day Argentina through initially, the eyes of a retired court investigator. The film very fluidly however, brings us back 25 years to when the story actually begins, with the brutal murder of a beautiful young woman. Benjamin Esposito, played by Ricardo Darin (why haven't I known about this man before??) is a marvel to watch, he is somehow able to convey great emotional richness while saying precious little. His best friend and hapless alcoholic takes a comedic turn and turns in a fine performance, delivering some of the funniest lines in the film. The female lead is also wonderful to watch. Honestly, I can't gush enough about the acting superlatives so I'll just leave it at that, tremendous acting. Done!
But the story! The story was itself a fourth major player in the ball game. It's a crime novella, a mystery, an unwinding tale that leads us deeper and deeper, with fresh surprises at multiple turns. Even when you think the mystery is solved, you soon realize that the journey is only half way there, there was still more deliciousness awaiting!
Okay now I'm starting to babble like an Argentinean, all exclamation points and excited passion. The story as I was saying started off as a remininscing of sorts, as a man gnaws and chews on a case that's tormented him for 25+ years. A teacher and newly married, was raped and murdered, and at first, the murder was pinned on some hapless innocents. Based on some paltry evidence, the investigators nonetheless find the true perpetrator very quickly. (Here, it requires a bit of the stretch on your imagination, but play along, you will be richly rewarded) The story evolves beyond just the identity of the culprit, it also centered on the unfulfilled and unspoken passion between the two main characters, the husband of the young wife and how he dealt with the tragedy, and also Esposito's good friend. So what I liked so much about the story is how all these elements interplay and are richly woven together.
I can't say enough good things about the cinematography of the film too, it's shot in lush, richly hued tones which colors the film (literally) in a dramatic fashion, in line with the backdrop of the story development. I also enjoy the multiple ways in which the camera approaches its subjects, very creative and often unsettling ways, but it brings an arresting visual element to the film.
Anyway, I learned afterwards that the film won the Academy Award for best International Film of 2010. I'm not surprised, it deserved this accolade in spades. In 2010 I've had the pleasure of seeing many good films, but this one definitely will stay with me for some time to come.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Orlando, Fl
Hello from Orlando! I've been vegging in my hotel room all afternoon. Since I decided not to get a rental, and since a quick look outside my window offered a nice but somewhat forbidding view of the downtown area, I explored the world from bed, or otherwise known as internet browsing. I didn't feel like going to an amusement park all by myself (hopefully for obvious reasons) and I didn't feel like whiling time at the local mall.
So far I think my impressions of Orlando is, it's a pleasant touristy city. That's it. The fact that there are all these awesome amusement parks in the vicinity deters me more than attracts me as good place to train. It just seems like it would be hard to be taken seriously in a place like this. I wonder if the doctors here also put on a dinner and a show for the price of one hospital admission? In their defense though, this one hospital I passed by on the way to the hotel is drop dead gorgeous. Shiny metallic building gleaming and towering in the sun, admidst clusters of palm trees. Really the hospital out of TV shows. I think it's called Orlando Regional Medical Center or something like that, and I was a tad disappointed it wasn't where I'll be interviewing tomorrow.
Dinner tonight was a lonely affair, but at least it was on the program! I had shrimp scampi, the shrimp was super fresh. I have to say, I haven't had one bad seafood dish in Florida so far, in all the times I've been in Florida, mind you.
Alright, well tomorrow is interview day and I hope it won't be too painful. In the meantime, I need to kill some more time between now and bedtime.
Adios!
So far I think my impressions of Orlando is, it's a pleasant touristy city. That's it. The fact that there are all these awesome amusement parks in the vicinity deters me more than attracts me as good place to train. It just seems like it would be hard to be taken seriously in a place like this. I wonder if the doctors here also put on a dinner and a show for the price of one hospital admission? In their defense though, this one hospital I passed by on the way to the hotel is drop dead gorgeous. Shiny metallic building gleaming and towering in the sun, admidst clusters of palm trees. Really the hospital out of TV shows. I think it's called Orlando Regional Medical Center or something like that, and I was a tad disappointed it wasn't where I'll be interviewing tomorrow.
Dinner tonight was a lonely affair, but at least it was on the program! I had shrimp scampi, the shrimp was super fresh. I have to say, I haven't had one bad seafood dish in Florida so far, in all the times I've been in Florida, mind you.
Alright, well tomorrow is interview day and I hope it won't be too painful. In the meantime, I need to kill some more time between now and bedtime.
Adios!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Lazy Sunday
Today was a much needed day of R&R. However I did wake up bright and early at 7 AM, after an attack of the insomnia monster. What did I do to capture the glorious essence of all this available free time on my hands? I went straight to my computer and plunker down to browse aimlessly for the next several hours. So well, exercising at the gym didn't happen today. But it's just as well, since I'm developing the beginning of a cold and I hope it goes away before my air travel tomorrow.
Jason and I went to Chinatown and brought back a whole bunch of goodies. Honey bbq pork is on the menu tonight, as well as a bunch of pork fat laden baked pastries. I just realized that this coming week, I'll be gone for a good 5/6 of the time, so it's really not necessarily to stock up on groceries. Whenever I'm not here, Jason usually doesn't cook either.
I attempted to start a project I've long wanted to do. I had wanted to digitalize our old family pictures for posterity's sakes. I got as far as 8 pictures scanned and uploaded. However, as I haven't figured out a way to make them the format I want (jpeg) you can say the technical difficulties are kind of running the project to the ground. I don't foresee going very far with this until I figure out the issue.
To end this exciting post, we're going to watch the film "The Kids are Alright" Typical Jason, he refuses to tell me anything about it before we watch it. I guess I'll share more when I'm done with it!
Tootaloo!
Jason and I went to Chinatown and brought back a whole bunch of goodies. Honey bbq pork is on the menu tonight, as well as a bunch of pork fat laden baked pastries. I just realized that this coming week, I'll be gone for a good 5/6 of the time, so it's really not necessarily to stock up on groceries. Whenever I'm not here, Jason usually doesn't cook either.
I attempted to start a project I've long wanted to do. I had wanted to digitalize our old family pictures for posterity's sakes. I got as far as 8 pictures scanned and uploaded. However, as I haven't figured out a way to make them the format I want (jpeg) you can say the technical difficulties are kind of running the project to the ground. I don't foresee going very far with this until I figure out the issue.
To end this exciting post, we're going to watch the film "The Kids are Alright" Typical Jason, he refuses to tell me anything about it before we watch it. I guess I'll share more when I'm done with it!
Tootaloo!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Rusty brain needs tune-up
Hello folks! I'm back and roaring to go! I've hit an all time low in terms of blog posts this past year. And let's see if I can make up some of that in the tail end of 2010.
Today was an oddly serendipitous return to blogging. I was just bored and searching for something to do, anything to do, really. And I stumbled upon Jason's old blog which I promptly began to read to much amusement and mirth. Talk about blast from the past. Jason hasn't touched it in years. And sadly, neither have I. But it was really interesting to read what he wrote back in the day and having the hindsight of knowing what happened to at least one of his "housemates." What a weird wacky world we do live in!
So Yoming and Dave came to visit us in Philadelphia today. It was lovely. We went to El Vez, a Mexican place down the street. I personally love their corn soup with scallop, but I also figured out today that, that's about all I really like about that restaurant. Too bad, next time they come, we'll try to find a more exciting culinary experience. On a different note, we got into a rather scintillating discussion about how we would personally teach our future children. I became rather emotional, admittedly, on the subject of the need to treat both son and daughter equally. I think Y&D were probably surprised, but this is an issue quite near and dear to my heart. I never feel or believe that I am a hard-core feminist espousing militant indoctrinations of female empowerment. On the other hand, I do truly believe that this world still sells many, if not most, of its women short. And while I get that it's the "reality" of the world, it neither has to be, nor does it have be perpetuated by females themselves.
Yes, as a future physician, I'm well aware of the actual physical differences between males and females. But my stance has never been that women and men are absolutely the same, only that in certain biopsychosocial areas, there ought to be one standard yardstick to abide by. Therefore, I remain firm in my belief that I do not need to nor should I treat my children differently solely based on gender difference. That is ultimately doing a disservice to my future daughter, as well as conveying the message that I condone and implicitly approve the double standard applied to women of our society.
Okay done, I can get off my soapbox now! Anyway, the rest of their visit was whiled away in idle pleasantries. Jason and Dave got into playing Streetfighter on a super natty (read: old) nintendo set. It was only borderline entertaining to watch them go at it, I'll admit, not a huge fan of being a videogame groupie. Still was very happy to see my two favorite people from nyc and happier still they trekked all the way to the City of Brotherly Stinkhole to visit us. That's true friendship, eh folks?
Today was an oddly serendipitous return to blogging. I was just bored and searching for something to do, anything to do, really. And I stumbled upon Jason's old blog which I promptly began to read to much amusement and mirth. Talk about blast from the past. Jason hasn't touched it in years. And sadly, neither have I. But it was really interesting to read what he wrote back in the day and having the hindsight of knowing what happened to at least one of his "housemates." What a weird wacky world we do live in!
So Yoming and Dave came to visit us in Philadelphia today. It was lovely. We went to El Vez, a Mexican place down the street. I personally love their corn soup with scallop, but I also figured out today that, that's about all I really like about that restaurant. Too bad, next time they come, we'll try to find a more exciting culinary experience. On a different note, we got into a rather scintillating discussion about how we would personally teach our future children. I became rather emotional, admittedly, on the subject of the need to treat both son and daughter equally. I think Y&D were probably surprised, but this is an issue quite near and dear to my heart. I never feel or believe that I am a hard-core feminist espousing militant indoctrinations of female empowerment. On the other hand, I do truly believe that this world still sells many, if not most, of its women short. And while I get that it's the "reality" of the world, it neither has to be, nor does it have be perpetuated by females themselves.
Yes, as a future physician, I'm well aware of the actual physical differences between males and females. But my stance has never been that women and men are absolutely the same, only that in certain biopsychosocial areas, there ought to be one standard yardstick to abide by. Therefore, I remain firm in my belief that I do not need to nor should I treat my children differently solely based on gender difference. That is ultimately doing a disservice to my future daughter, as well as conveying the message that I condone and implicitly approve the double standard applied to women of our society.
Okay done, I can get off my soapbox now! Anyway, the rest of their visit was whiled away in idle pleasantries. Jason and Dave got into playing Streetfighter on a super natty (read: old) nintendo set. It was only borderline entertaining to watch them go at it, I'll admit, not a huge fan of being a videogame groupie. Still was very happy to see my two favorite people from nyc and happier still they trekked all the way to the City of Brotherly Stinkhole to visit us. That's true friendship, eh folks?
Saturday, March 06, 2010
And another one for the road...
From my attending, a naturally very funny man. I just had to share this!
Attending: This is what we have to say to the patient. "Sir, the BAD news is we don't know what is going on with you. The WORSE news is, even if we did, we wouldn't be able to do anything for you. The GOOD news is, the weather this weekend is going to be fabulous. The BEST news is, I'm taking my family to Busch Gardens this weekend!"
Attending: This is what we have to say to the patient. "Sir, the BAD news is we don't know what is going on with you. The WORSE news is, even if we did, we wouldn't be able to do anything for you. The GOOD news is, the weather this weekend is going to be fabulous. The BEST news is, I'm taking my family to Busch Gardens this weekend!"
The secret to being just a little happier
Actually, like most other articles out there about being happy, or finding happiness, this post will probably be fairly chock full of cliches. I know that I've yet to come up with any truly revolutionary way to discover new and everlasting happiness in life. And there are methods which while I suspect will ultimately bear fruit down the road, I've yet to commit myself fully to, i.e. living a truly spiritual life.
In any case, enough jibber jabber. Let me share one simple but profound maxim that I've personally experienced. This is in the course of my third year medical school career thus far. It's been truly an emotional roller coaster for me, folks. I'm the type that absorbs my experiences, without necessarily a visceral reaction at the time of, but it seeps into my psyche, it fills my dreams at night, it comes out in ways that surprise me (the emotional aftershocks, or the reactions to events, etc)
Sometimes I do the horrible thing of holding on to it, gnawing at it for days, puzzling over it. Sometimes I do successfully dump it out of my mind, like so much garbage. It truly varies, depending on how personal the event gets.
But a recurrent pattern this year so far has been, I get mopey and down in the dumps when I focus too much on my insecurities. When I think of how much more of Harrisons I've YET to read, retain and understand and consolidate into my long term fund of knowledge. When the attending asks me yet another question where I'm like a deer caught in the headlights and my only recourse is to smile sheepishly and say I don't know. When I kick myself figuratively and sometimes almost literally when I failed to check something on a patient that I shouldn't have missed. When I wonder if everyone that I meet secretly thinks I have an IQ of 70 and wondered how I ended up in medical school.
It doesn't help that I feel like I might secretly be a misanthrope and I'm still in denial. That would be the ultimate joke. What is a misanthrope doing in medical school? You don't even LIKE people, why would you want a career of dealing with them? (incidentally, I once got "beach bum" as my ideal job on some prospective career survey) It's not that I don't like people per se. It's just that I find myself struggling often with very critical and angry thoughts (inside of course, and never showing on my naturally masked facies) Thoughts like "why can't these people grow up? Why can't they take a look in the mirror and realize the problem is THEM, and not everyone else? Why can't they take responsibility for their own lives instead of feeling like it's their God given right to be catered to and taken care of like a baby? I've had even worse thoughts, but I'll refrain in case you all think I'm a monster.
So two things have made me very unhappy this year. My insecurity in my fund of knowledge and my deficient or scant sense of compassion to many of the patients I've come across. It's not everyone of course. If I feel a patient is genuine, I'm all heart and Hallmark central. But those times are few and far between.
However...to this strong and potent toxin of insecurity and absolute denegration of self is a rising, surging strong and potent counterbalance. Those are the times when I soak up the knowledge of those around me. When I get excited because I'm starting to see the bigger picture of how doctors ought to approach each and every patient, and how to figure out the right way to help them. When the methodology is reinforced in my mind, and all that is left is to configure all the random facts floating around in my head so that they fall neatly into the puzzle. Yes, it's like completing a puzzle and the satisfaction of seeing the bigger pictures. Everyday, I'm realizing how the stuff we were learning back in the first two years DO matter. How biochemistry matters, how anatomy matters, how pharm matters. It's amazing to me when a doctor effortlessly criss-crosses among all these various disciplines and tie together all the knowledge from each field. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and medicine is actually starting to make more sense to me now. When I think, to help a patient is my duty as a future doctor, whether or not I personally like the guy is irrelevant, but that I can use my skills and expertise to help because it is the right thing to do.
So, how is this the secret to being just a little happier? Well...in conclusion, if I just learn finally to stop focusing so much on myself, and more on the medicine, the care of patients, the integration of all the knowledge fields, I ought to be one damn happy person.
In any case, enough jibber jabber. Let me share one simple but profound maxim that I've personally experienced. This is in the course of my third year medical school career thus far. It's been truly an emotional roller coaster for me, folks. I'm the type that absorbs my experiences, without necessarily a visceral reaction at the time of, but it seeps into my psyche, it fills my dreams at night, it comes out in ways that surprise me (the emotional aftershocks, or the reactions to events, etc)
Sometimes I do the horrible thing of holding on to it, gnawing at it for days, puzzling over it. Sometimes I do successfully dump it out of my mind, like so much garbage. It truly varies, depending on how personal the event gets.
But a recurrent pattern this year so far has been, I get mopey and down in the dumps when I focus too much on my insecurities. When I think of how much more of Harrisons I've YET to read, retain and understand and consolidate into my long term fund of knowledge. When the attending asks me yet another question where I'm like a deer caught in the headlights and my only recourse is to smile sheepishly and say I don't know. When I kick myself figuratively and sometimes almost literally when I failed to check something on a patient that I shouldn't have missed. When I wonder if everyone that I meet secretly thinks I have an IQ of 70 and wondered how I ended up in medical school.
It doesn't help that I feel like I might secretly be a misanthrope and I'm still in denial. That would be the ultimate joke. What is a misanthrope doing in medical school? You don't even LIKE people, why would you want a career of dealing with them? (incidentally, I once got "beach bum" as my ideal job on some prospective career survey) It's not that I don't like people per se. It's just that I find myself struggling often with very critical and angry thoughts (inside of course, and never showing on my naturally masked facies) Thoughts like "why can't these people grow up? Why can't they take a look in the mirror and realize the problem is THEM, and not everyone else? Why can't they take responsibility for their own lives instead of feeling like it's their God given right to be catered to and taken care of like a baby? I've had even worse thoughts, but I'll refrain in case you all think I'm a monster.
So two things have made me very unhappy this year. My insecurity in my fund of knowledge and my deficient or scant sense of compassion to many of the patients I've come across. It's not everyone of course. If I feel a patient is genuine, I'm all heart and Hallmark central. But those times are few and far between.
However...to this strong and potent toxin of insecurity and absolute denegration of self is a rising, surging strong and potent counterbalance. Those are the times when I soak up the knowledge of those around me. When I get excited because I'm starting to see the bigger picture of how doctors ought to approach each and every patient, and how to figure out the right way to help them. When the methodology is reinforced in my mind, and all that is left is to configure all the random facts floating around in my head so that they fall neatly into the puzzle. Yes, it's like completing a puzzle and the satisfaction of seeing the bigger pictures. Everyday, I'm realizing how the stuff we were learning back in the first two years DO matter. How biochemistry matters, how anatomy matters, how pharm matters. It's amazing to me when a doctor effortlessly criss-crosses among all these various disciplines and tie together all the knowledge from each field. I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and medicine is actually starting to make more sense to me now. When I think, to help a patient is my duty as a future doctor, whether or not I personally like the guy is irrelevant, but that I can use my skills and expertise to help because it is the right thing to do.
So, how is this the secret to being just a little happier? Well...in conclusion, if I just learn finally to stop focusing so much on myself, and more on the medicine, the care of patients, the integration of all the knowledge fields, I ought to be one damn happy person.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dogville
Maybe it was because I let myself identify too deeply with the main character. Maybe it was because we were both female and at many times in my life, I have felt helpless and rather at the mercy of beings more powerful than myself. In any case, I was surprised that I had such a strong visceral emotional response to this movie. At the times when the protagonist is brutalized, subjected to the lowest of degradations, I felt myself gripping my knees and protesting in horror. It's strange really...that such an unassuming film, at least in the beginning, has the ability to build up such a crushing momentum.
Unfortunately, the film also troubled me deeply at the end of it. It lingered, it stayed, it insisted on staying there to make me continue to puzzle over the human condition. Maybe people would be confused at my puzzlement. Pick a side already. Humans are good. Humans are evil. Decide what would be your world view, your paradigm. This film certainly makes a strong case for the latter. It brings to mind a biblical parable. I believe it was the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where God decided to smite the town for the evil that was within. To purify through destruction. And one man pleaded and bargained with God to not destroy the town if only, if only 20 good people could be found. No No, if only 10. No no, if only 5. As a child, I thought this was rather a ridiculous situation, and wondered why God kept relenting. Perhaps as a child, I had thought this was to show God's mercifulness and grace. But now, I see that God knew all along that there was not even 10 good and righteous souls could be found in that town. How could he not?
The end of Dogville was somewhat similar, a cleansing takes place and it was good. I watched it with satisfaction, with not the least bit of horror or sadness or pity for the dogvillians. But even as it satisfied me as a film watcher, I had to admit, it made me question deeply what it means for anyone to pass judgement.
Damn, it's too late and I'm sleepy, so I feel I'm only semi-coherent about my thoughts about this film. It's such a powerful piece and it gets under your skin (how could it not?) and it stings very deeply. I wish I could let it go, because I feel I've been tainted somewhat in my view of humanity now, and while I always wished to believe in the good of humanity, now I feel there is only suspicion and mistrust and self-doubt.
Unfortunately, the film also troubled me deeply at the end of it. It lingered, it stayed, it insisted on staying there to make me continue to puzzle over the human condition. Maybe people would be confused at my puzzlement. Pick a side already. Humans are good. Humans are evil. Decide what would be your world view, your paradigm. This film certainly makes a strong case for the latter. It brings to mind a biblical parable. I believe it was the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where God decided to smite the town for the evil that was within. To purify through destruction. And one man pleaded and bargained with God to not destroy the town if only, if only 20 good people could be found. No No, if only 10. No no, if only 5. As a child, I thought this was rather a ridiculous situation, and wondered why God kept relenting. Perhaps as a child, I had thought this was to show God's mercifulness and grace. But now, I see that God knew all along that there was not even 10 good and righteous souls could be found in that town. How could he not?
The end of Dogville was somewhat similar, a cleansing takes place and it was good. I watched it with satisfaction, with not the least bit of horror or sadness or pity for the dogvillians. But even as it satisfied me as a film watcher, I had to admit, it made me question deeply what it means for anyone to pass judgement.
Damn, it's too late and I'm sleepy, so I feel I'm only semi-coherent about my thoughts about this film. It's such a powerful piece and it gets under your skin (how could it not?) and it stings very deeply. I wish I could let it go, because I feel I've been tainted somewhat in my view of humanity now, and while I always wished to believe in the good of humanity, now I feel there is only suspicion and mistrust and self-doubt.
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