Friday night...time to reflect on the week that was...
- If you’re looking for a feel-good film to watch this weekend…don’t watch Biutiful. If you’re looking for a film that will make you want to go home afterwards, sit on the couch, and stare at the wall for 4 to 5 hours…then do watch Biutiful. In a nutshell, this Spanish film starring Javier Bardem attempts to prove Murphy’s Law (what can go wrong, will go wrong). And does it ever go wrong for Javier’s character and literally everyone he comes in contact with. Now, while this film is extremely intense and very depressing, it’s probably worth it because it’s important to put things in perspective every now and then. This is kind of like Crash, but to a whole different level.
What this film really reminded me of is just how lucky I am. It’s easy to forget that sometimes, but there are literally billions of people in the world living unspeakably painful lives. The full extent of the pain we humans can inflict on each other is really hard to fathom. And none of us are really innocent. Every time we buy a knock-off t-shirt or even some vegetables in the supermarket, it’s almost certain that some level of human suffering and injustice has touched that item somewhere in the production chain. But perhaps the most difficult thing to accept is that there are no easy answers or solutions. There are many things we should do better or more fairly, but powerful forces are lined up to maintain the status quo. And on an even deeper level, there are so many ambiguities that make determining what is right and wrong a fundamental challenge.
- On a more upbeat note, I pulled a fairly impressive 4 days out of 5 event week. Would have been 5 for 5 if Dambisa Moyo hadn’t reneged. We didn’t want to hear her contrarian views anyway. A few highlights…
1. Monday – Humanitarian Centre with the Pakistani NGO…already talked about this one so not much to add…good event
2. Tuesday – Dambisa Moyo ruined my night
3. Wednesday – CRASSH, ostensibly something about post-colonial empires…but turned out to be a slightly questionable professor from somewhere obscure talking about some Pakistani guy she met through a friend of a friend’s sister’s cousin (or something) who happened to show up at some point on some conspiracy websites about Islamic terrorists…apparently she tracked down his history by use of internet search engines such as Google and based her entire research report on internet rumor sites. She actually asked the audience (all 8 of us, literally) if anyone had ever done internet research. I was like, is that a serious question? A couple of take home points…(1) Apparently it’s hard to tell which rumor websites are reliable for the purposes of academic research. I was so tempted to ask, did any of the sites you researched suggest that the person in question was Obama’s personal sheikh? If so, might be a good indication that they’re not so reliable... (2) The professor was highly disturbed that Pakistanis had such horrible misconceptions about westerners. I’m certainly glad no such misconceptions run in the other direction…shaking my head. In sum, as one audience member aptly noted after the event, “There is so much that was (messed) up about that last hour and a half.”
4. Thursday – PPS Society (no idea what that stands for…but trust me, you don’t want to question it…apparently it’s a touchy subject with the members) talk on Sudan in the aftermath of the Southern Sudan independence referendum. Excellent lecture, very informative. Take home points, look out for what happens in north Sudan as much as in the south post independence as the north has a lot of internal issues yet to resolve. Personal commentary, I wonder how Southern Sudan will be able to survive or hopefully thrive with such a small population and a relatively large area. Will certainly be hoping for the best.
5. Friday – The venerable Dr. George Joffe (a man who apparently needs no introduction) at St. Edmund’s College talking on Tunisia and Egypt. Very solid presentation with lots of information. Perhaps some of his opinions and proclamations attempt to be a bit too black and white…but that’s kind of nice for a change. Plus, he totally looks like a guy you could picture sitting in a small outdoor café under the desert sun with sand blowing in the wind around him, wearing a Banana Republic shirt, Panama hat, and sandals, smoking a cigar, stroking his bushy gray beard, and expounding on the prospects for world peace…awesome. (Oops, just noticed I didn’t mention pants…he would be wearing pants, he doesn’t give off any lascivious vibes or anything…but I didn’t get a good read on what type…guess it didn’t really figure prominently in the mental image.) Anyway, I give the talk an A and the refreshments an F-…Tropicana and individually packaged Oreos…come on. Not only is that a terrible combination…it seems very 2nd grade, where’s the crunk juice?
- One other event that I didn't put on the list, because it falls in the Careers category, also is worth a mention. Went to a career fair on Thursday for "Beyond Profit" jobs "Working to Change the World." Sounded good...turned out to be not so great. First, I hate job fairs. I really have no idea what to do. I mean, do you walk up and say, "Are you hiring?" Or is that taboo...like asking about salary during an interview (stupidest taboo ever, by the way). I suppose you're supposed to feign interest in their work or something...but that just seems like pandering. So confusing. Anyway, the best part though, is going to a job fair designed for 18-21-year-olds when you're pushing 30. Very humbling and depressing (not Biutiful depressing, but it's all relative). I feel like I'm a bit old to be paying someone to let me volunteer with them, but there you have it...
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