Hello all Let me first welcome Gouri Patwardhan, a filmmaker to this group and post an article she forwarded me just now Warmly
Cinematic politics Print <http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print.php?storyid=369791> Email<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cinematic-politics/369791/#> Feedback <http://www.indianexpress.com/static.php?q=feed> Discuss<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cinematic-politics/369791/#post> Rate Article <javascript:setRating(1,369791)> <javascript:setRating(2,369791)> <javascript:setRating(3,369791)> <javascript:setRating(4,369791)> <javascript:setRating(5,369791)> <javascript:setRating(6,369791)> <javascript:setRating(7,369791)> <javascript:setRating(8,369791)> <javascript:setRating(9,369791)> <javascript:setRating(10,369791)> Rating: * : 4 based on 3 vote* *Kamal Mohammad <http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/kamalmohammad/>*Posted: Oct 06, 2008 at 0011 hrs IST <http://banners.expressindia.com/adsnew/adclick.php?bannerid=3445&zoneid=690&source=&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shaadi.com%2Fregistration%2Fuser%2Findex.php%3Fptnr%3Die300x250> Kamal Mohammad * * They don't know it, but they are doing it": the most elementary definition of Ideology from Marx's Capital. He describes a situation in which acts are committed in society without knowing the inherent meaning of the Ideology that precipitated them. Here the concept of ideology implies the misrecognition of its own presuppositions, a divergence/contradiction between social reality and our distorted representation, our false or mistaken consciousness of that reality. Eventually this becomes society's "naïve consciousness". A Wednesday is a film like that, embedded in misrecognition. A film which is unknowingly dangerous but surprisingly well-appreciated all over. It was celebrated as a patriotic, serious non-Bollywood drama with a sense of realism by some of India's most well-known film critics. The film was applauded with four stars for its strong depiction of a "stupid common man who takes up Terror <http://www.indianexpress.com/special/terror,%20world/>in his hands" — as the film's screenplay describes it. Viewers were led to the theatres by playing on their prejudices, on false nationalism, under titles saying "It has got the power" and "The movie of cult status". One is forced to suppose that here, as well, the critics were writing without understanding or appreciating the ideology of the film — the validation of random bomb blasts<http://www.indianexpress.com/fullcoverage/Blasts-hit-Delhi/108/>for a cause. What does A Wednesday speak of, knowingly or unknowingly? An anonymous self-styled common man, played by Naseeruddin Shah, calls up Mumbai's police commissioner saying that he has planted bombs in various parts of the city. He demands the release of four terrorists, making the police get the terrorists to a particular place. The police later realise that the man wanted to kill all the terrorists using the same bomb they had used for their ideological war. The man kills the terrorists and he forces the police to conduct a fake encounter to kill the last man in the group. At the end of the film, the police commissioner goes and meets the man to congratulate him for this act. Twice the police commissioner asks the name of the man behind this individual terror plot. The first time the man himself hides it; the second time the police commissioner hides it from the viewers. -- Bobby Kunhu http://community.eldis.org/myshkin/Blog/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
