Saturday, October 23, 2004 Still - Alanis Morissette
I am the harm which you inflict I am your brilliance and frustration I'm the nuclear bombs if they're to hit I'm your immaturity and your indignance
I am your misfits and your praised I am your doubt and your conviction I am your charity and your rape I am your grasping and expectation
I see you averting your glances I see you cheering on the war I see you ignoring your children And I love you still And I love you still
I am your joy and your regret I am your fury and your elation I am your yearning and your sweat I am your faithless and your religion
I see you altering history I see you abusing the land I see you and your selective amnesia And I love you still And I love you still
I am your tragedy and your fortune I am your crisis and delight I am your profits and your prophets I am your art, I am your bytes I am your death and your decisions I am your passion and your plights I am your sickness and convalescence I am your weapons and your light
I see you holding your grudges I see you gunning them down I see you silencing your sisters And I love you still And I love you (still) I see you lie to your country I see you forcing them out I see you blaming each other And I love you still I love you still
I've been listening to this song on endless loop - Alanis Morissette's otherworldly vocals and weird pronunciation take some getting used to, but the song is hynoptic and the Middle Eastern instrumentation makes for interesting listening.
It also happens to be the showpiece song of Dogma, which I doubt anyone around here has watched. It's a religious comic satire, featuring Alan Rickman as an amazingly British Metatron, Alanis Morissette as... erm, God, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as 2 fallen angels exiled to... of all places, Wisconsin. And along the way there's much disparaging commentary on the Catholic Church, abuse of icons, Biblical revisionism and amusing heresy.
Usually, I take the ten-foot-pole approach to religion (being preached at by Jehovah Witnesses who turn up regularly on my doorstep doesn't help), so religious offensiveness doesn't bother me too much. But Dogma is ultimately a devout film, albeit in unorthodox ways. Well worth a download, since it's probably too non-mainstream for Singapore stores.
Speaking of local video availability, Se7en and Fight Club are out on DVD. They are brilliant; David Fincher's a genius.
... I can't believe that I'm reviewing obscure films. I have far better things to do, like lying through my teeth for scholarships, or downloading academically-useful information into my brain. Instead of wondering why, say, Georgetown University seems to be so closely identified with US intelligence.
I've had a John le Carre relapse. His Cold War novels are superb, but he seems to have turned into a cranky anti-Bush campaigner in his old age. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that - in fact, he's probably a far better qualified critic than Sean Astin aka 'the fat hobbit' (who annoys me with his political radicalism and ego). Still, I'd prefer that he stick to his writing, or his autobiography.
According to an old Straits Times article, some NUS literature professor (hopefully not representative of the faculty) thinks that The Da Vinci Code is 'better-written' than le Carre. My thought on that? An emphatic 'NO'. We're talking about completely different levels of writing here, and there's no question as to which is superior.
I also believe that George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language' should be made required reading in schools. There's too much sloppiness and lack of linguistic economy being tolerated here. I should know, because I'm often guilty of it.
Brenda - resolutely dedicated to a life of tedious stability and relentless obsession,
stuck with a mental age that is increasingly failing to keep pace with physical age.
Addicted to methyxanthines, NSAIDs, monosodium glutamate, instant gratification and certain forms of mindless entertainment.
Now with a newfound addiction to pretty sweaters, online movie rental and solitary urban hikes in foreign countries.
