Being poor can be good sometimes… quite amusingly good really. I suddenly find a variety of things to do that either does not need much money, or are totally free.
Movies – $2 Tuesdays via Blockbuster – i rented some tonight, that are partially related to what i am doing. i say partially because i cave in on a couple of DVDs, especially what i considered as literary classics.
What i rented:
Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth
The Company (a ballet movie with neve campbell in it)
CSI: Miami
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
V for Vendetta
Hotel Rwanda
The Emperor’s Wife
A State of Mind
Quite a mix range, in my opinion. but what caught my attention most has to be “A State of Mind”, which is a documentary of sorts, chronicling a pair of girls training over a 6 months period or so, by BBC – in North Korea. When i took this dvd, my main point was to find out how a normal person lives in Korea. Considering recent developments between DPRK vs the rest of the world, i thought it’s a good time to get a little educated about them.
i am not quite sure how to describe my feelings and thoughts derived from it. it’s a mix between horror, shock, annoyance and simple pleasure.
To start off with, what i actually liked about the whole DPRK thing was how they preserved the entire 1970s lifestyle into their country, sans the boom that we had… well of some sorts anyways. the housing, the materials used, even the rationing coupons, were partially pre-war british/colonial life, and partly some of the hippy era of clothings and etc. Teachers were shown to be wearing the traditional kisaeng, although i don’t know if it was a daily thing (since there were a few teachers in the school wearing it) or was it because they know bbc was filming them.
The girls that were picked by bbc in this entire filming were gymnasts. Rhythmic gymnasts might be the right classification, however they don’t seem to compete much, nor was it stated that they compete at all. they are very normal girls otherwise, going to school and what not. the difference is – their mentality.
Their training for gymnastics, another starting point, is different because of the lack of competition in the sense that we know. instead, it’s all geared towards the “mass games” that was being held that year (2003), and it seemed that they resumed training after the filming was over too. These mass games, just like any major event in DPRK, was just another self gratification event that Kim Jong Il created. Don’t get the movie wrong, while they didn’t heavily emphasise on it, it was pretty obvious from everything from before i started the film. so after the dvd, it was just even more heavily ingrained in my head:
this guy is a psychotic Narcissist.
Every year, the main holidays revolves around his dad’s holiday, his holiday, the national day (or well, celebration of the triumph against “aggression”). I am not saying that’s an entirely wrong thing to do (after all, people celebrate queen’s birthday!). But when every single national event involves putting his face repeatedly up, from photos that dates back to before his grey hair set in, i think that guy needs a reality check.
What pissed me off, and got to me the most i guess, was the heavy propaganda. i have experienced this before in Myanmar, and i don’t know why, every time i see propaganda, it irks me to no end. The school lessons, and everything that the people do, are reminded that they are to do it for “The General”, and for the people, but most importantly, “The General”. a typical history class induced some puke from me:
“It is because of (Kim Jong Il’s) great leadership… that meant that we are destinied for eternal happiness” exclaim the history teacher to her students in the secondary school class of 13 years old girls. “So… What are the 3 greatness of our Great Leader?”
everyone chanted with the teacher, “Great Ideology…. Great Leadership…. Great Aura!”
excuse me a sec while i go sit and puke, and then figure out – wtf aura has got to do with politics and economy?
it’s true, propaganda is one of the methods of perpetuating your ideas, your ideology to people, to ensure acceptance and adaptations. However, i guess because i am so used to it, LYING to people and then not fulfilling those roles is not exactly a healthy relationship. I mean, every political ideology has its own benefits. Infact, if carried out right, with the right resources, good relationship with the international peers and such, as well as various other balance of power structures set in place: it might work out.
i had like to think, none of these political methods are made with the worst intentions in mind. but over the years, the grasp of power CAN make someone stupid. If rightly managed, there’s a possibility that DPRK might have a nice equal society. They did showcase really nice strong teamwork and loyalty. However, if all those false propaganda wasn’t set in place… would people still be there? still be loyal? perhaps.
It got scary too, the type of propandic (sic) lies that they were spreading. I don’t particularly trust america anymore than most people do, but i won’t go so far as to blame every shit on them. Every time something happens, electricity got cut, etc, the first thing they say is: “BLOODY AMERICANS! IT’S ALL THEIR FAULT!” =_=”
not that i had blame them though. Before the Arduous March, the event that started everything rolling was the bombing by Americans, that resulted in casulaties and atrocities no man should ever commit on another human being. infact, every day now, this “long war” that Bush is pushing and keeping, someone’s dying, someone’s mother, someone’s son.
However, i believe a reality check needs to be called in. these people need to know that with the right governance, right diplomacy with the rest of the world, it is not entirely impossible that their country can come out of those marginal poverty lines.
I mean, they are so deluded into some aspects of their military power that they simply assume it is because of their unity…. from the grandma of one of the girls when watching how coordinated everyone is in the parades, “no wonder even arrogant americans tremble with fear to see this. as long as we have the general, we are fine.” I don’t want to burst your bubble ma’am, but it seems your general gets bored every now and then and try to incur the ire of his neighbouring countries and powerful ones too. and whoever told you that display coordination equates military might?
if i own a nuclear weapon now, anyone near me would be fearing me too. but they will also combine their military powers to kick my ass.
what i worry at the end, is their entire trust in their leader, and the capabilities of their leader. he’s not entirely sane. he’s neither emphathetic or sympathetic. Everyone trained their arse off, and he didn’t bother to turn up for the grandest of the shows, despite it being performed twice over 20 days. so the girls trained for nothing. and all they ever wanted to do, was that he had review their performance, to see him smile and clap and wave. one of the girls even stated that she was gearing herself for The General, that she conditions herself, despite the pain and fatigue, by thinking of how much she is doing for The General.
yes, they “won over the American Aggressors”, and took down “planes that dropped insects that contained plagues and all other diseases”. but i really wonder, what exactly have they won?
it gets a little sad.
you can watch some of the mass games here on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOXLQethoMo
and here’s a trailer for A State of Mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVBcYEV6Wgs (it’s also the first 2.30 mins of the actual documentary)
technorati tags:DPRK, North, Korea, Oppression, propaganda, A state of mind, Documentary, personal, blog
and the flash, OMG THE FLASH!!!! it’s truly a flash. who ever said it’s weak should just die. it’s so fucking bright that while i was “inspecting” it after work at the bus stop tonight, i think i blinded myself. and everyone stared at me while i was gaping at my mobile. i felt so retarded at that point.
) every like 30 minutes or something. i have also discovered how my stupid ipod is going to heaven. yesterday, it decided to die every 3 mins, claiming it was out of batt, after i have charged it for 24 hours.