Ledger mania

Image Courtesy: http://www.moviepulp.be

Another superhero movie. Don't they just make the perfect summer releases? But this one seems to be the most awaited of them all, not to mention the most successful release in recent film history. With due respect to Heath Ledger, I wonder if this movie could have possibly gained the same hype, had it not been for his untimely death. Every one who has seen the movie, does nothing but to sing praises of Ledger's acting. Being one of the more serious actors of the industry, its not like I expected him to mess up this role. But I've seen almost every preview, every poster and the reviews he is getting sound a little too exaggerated. Weepy movie watchers, emotionally charged co-actors hail him the Joker ever. Most of this over-appreciation has to stem from his death.
To praise his acting is one thing, to brand him the best Joker ever is just....

Nicholson's Joker was everything the Joker was supposed to be, and so much more! A supervillian with the power to instill a mixed sense of humor and fear, a pairing that is the first of its kind; and Nicholson outdid himself in what was one of his rare displays of acting talent. The comedy element came as a relief in the otherwise too dark movie, without going over the top. Moviegoers argue that Ledger played his part to perfection. But what people refuse to see is that his character was always written up as dark and intimidating, and play that well, he did. But its a pretty easy part to play. Imagine any other actor with a single serious bone in him, reprising Ledger's role. See how easy it is?!..
The gossip rags are abuzz with news of Ledger being up for a posthumous Oscar. The odds of him winning it are plenty. If not for best actor, then I assure you he will bag "special awards" at the various award ceremonies. Another news making its rounds on the grapevine is that of Terry Gillian accusing Warner Bros of 'shamelessly capitalizing in on Ledger's death'; and of course, their denial of the same.
Had it been Nicholson who kicked the bucket instead of Ledger, the latter would have been subject to a volley of comparisons, each one concluding that Nicholson was the better Joker. Today a man needs to die to prove his worth. Not having seen the movie yet, I will gladly eat my words should Ledger live up to the all the ballyhoo.
Here's a video currently making its rounds on the web:

In all fairness..

The world of television programming is peppered.. to sneezing point, with advertisements of just about every product imaginable.
I'm still reeling with disgust at having seen an ad for a fairness cream. It actually made me turn of the television in revulsion. If you knew me, you'd know how difficult it is to get me to turn off the TV.
The ad had a young and UNsucessful woman, finding success at her feet as soon as she begins to use a particular fairness cream. Not only does the glop take away her previously dark skin, it also allows her to overcome every obstacle she couldn't earlier. Fair skin supposedly gives the women confidence in themselves, which leads them to try new avenues and in the end, succeed in everything. Relationships, careers, material possessions....All by the power of fair skin..?
DISGUSTING! What sort of message does this send out to dark/not so fair skinned women world wide..? Not just women, isn't this an indirect message to men to choose fair skinned women over others..? Even men are not spared from the clutches of the fairness cream. Move over 'tall, dark and handsome'; here comes metrosexuality.

The very root of racial differences is the supposed superiority of fair skinned over the non.
"Skin color has nothing to do with how beautiful, or successful a person is." While accepted by most. There are some who find the above statement very hard to digest. Who is to tell whether such thoughts are not the seeds sown by exposure to such propaganda..? South Asia is the prime market for these corporations,where sales of skin lightening products are sky high. This can be attributed to a pre-established cultural belief of the characteristically darker skinned people of the region who equate fairness with high caste status, good looks and high eligibility for marriage.

I am aware that they are a profit oriented industry with little else to lose. But I wonder if these people are aware of the effects of such adverts? Cashing in on the South East Asian mentality where fair skin rules the roost is not very commendable and to top that they do it while hiding beneath the cover of such cosmetics being a matter of 'personal choice'.

Image Courtesy: www.indiantelevision.com

45 seconds of a fairness cream ad. That's 45 seconds of luring gullible customers into buying these products, 45 whole seconds of driving home the carelessly veiled message of the 'superiority' of fairer skin; not to mention the constant repetition of the same ads. These figures may be slightly dated, but with the advent of fairness creams for men, I can safely assume the 45 second segment has only increased further.
Click here for more figures of fairness creams TV advertising.

I find it difficult to believe that in a world like ours, with rising literacy rates and increasing global integration, one is still exposed to and influenced by such propaganda. Rather pitiful actually. And don't even get me started on the effectiveness of these products.
Tut tut cosmetics industry!... more on that later!


Here's a rather comprehensive article I found while surfing:
http://www.mcphate.com/clips/fairness.htm


On a lighter note, thanks to Muaz, my knight in shining armor when it comes to all my computer related problems, for helping me with this seemingly simple photoshop effect.

I hate...

I write because I need to. I write for the sheer joy of having overcome the crippling writer's block that I face every time I look at a blank page. But once I do manage to squeeze the words out; I hate how the words almost always sound way better when they're in my head rather than out on the final draft. I hate how I want to talk about so many important things but still end up talking about myself. I hate that my posts are so irregularly spaced , simply because I can never stop obsessing on a draft I'm working on; and how I can never get myself to hit the Publish Post button unless I'm completely satisfied with the post, which I never am.

'Write to express, not to impress' they say, but even that proves difficult most of the time. I'm handicapped with an irrational fear of being judged by people reading my words. I hate how most people have it easy, how they can write up absolutely anything without any of the drama that ensues whenever I sit down to write. And I hate how this post makes me seem like a whiny, disorganized, attention seeking negativist; the desperate call for appreciation this post seems to send out to any unfortunate soul reading my blog.

Image Courtesy: www.forensic-computing.nhs.uk