Strictly Ballroom

The term Strictly Ballroom is an oxymoron; it is a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in a conjunction. I think the movie was entitled that way because, dancing supposed to be an individual expression, it is a way for us to express how we feel, allows us to be and feel free, and to find a sense of self. However, in a ballroom dancing competition, there are rules and regulations for us to comply; hence, we have the freedom to express, but, to a certain degree. Henceforth, with the presence of rules and regulations, influence ensues. Social influence to be exact. Social influence can be divided into three components, which are Conformity, Compliance and Obedience.

            Conformity within a group brings about members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match to those people within the group, and furthermore, those who conform tend to be either compliant or obedient. One very prominent example that we can observe conformity in this movies was when Scott’s father, Doug Hastings was the first person to clap, when Ms. Leachman unplugged the music cable. Shortly after that, Fran’s elders started to clap as well, followed by the two kids, and suddenly the hall was filled with thousands of hands clapping for Scott and Fran. Here, we can see the ripple effect, how powerful conformity is. It only takes one person to break or make a pattern, as how Asch’s experiment on conformity, it shows how easily it is to make an individual conform in a group situation.

            Compliant is a form of conformity, but differ a slight degree. Compliance occurs when one adapts his or her action, behaviours or beliefs to another’s wishes or rules. In my opinion, the scene where Mr. Barry Fife persuaded Scott Hastings into dancing with a better dancer than Fran is a good example to explain compliance from the movie. Mr. Fife, brought up Doug’s past on how he did not win the Pan Pacific during his time, and that Scott could make his father’s dream come true by winning it this time around. Cunning as he is, Mr. Fife, managed to influence Scott to dance with Liz Holt. Scott complied with Mr.Fife’s wish or requests to shake Fran off as his partner and replace her with Liz.  

            The final aspect of social influence is Obedience. Obedience is a type of conformity in which an individual follow orders without any question because they come from a legitimate authority or someone superior to us. Generally, this whole movie is about how Scott wanting to incorporate his own steps, which are non-federation steps, and how the people around him disapprove his believes about dancing.  Few characters in the movie displayed some sort of obedient conformity. For instances, Scott’s mother, Shirley Hastings, adhere to the rules so much, that she danced with Les Kendall instead of her husband during her times in the Pan Pacific’s, after being persuaded by Mr.Fife. She was so afraid to question the authority and thus, to not tarnish her reputation as a dancer, she obeyed the rules. Another character that displayed this type of social influence was by Liz Holt. After Scott danced his own “crowd-pleasing” steps during the first few minutes into the movie, Liz made an ultimatum to him saying that she will not dance with him, until he dance like he supposed to be. Again, Liz shows that she wants to obey the rules of the federation, which influenced her to select another partner who does obey the rules.

            In a nut shell, the aspects of social influence can be found in any social situations, be it dancing, answering questions in a group or even riots and protests. This movie has showcased creatively how social influence can affect dancing in a very clever way. 

Eat Drink Man Woman

I like how the movie starts off by showcasing the intricate skills of Master Chef Chu, you can see that he had years and years of experiences with how he works his knife, the amount of skills he possess, the precision he has, and the step-by-step methods he uses to prepare those dishes. Then the movie introduces to the three daughters, each of them with very different personalities. The eldest child, Jia-Jen the chemistry school teacher, the middle child, Jia-Chen, the beautiful and successful business woman, and the youngest child, Jia-Ning, who works at a fast food restaurant.

Throughout the whole movie, we can observe how these three daughters communicate with their father. As Asian parents, we rarely explicitly verbalize love, unlike the Westerns who most often utter the words “I love you”. Asians would express their love in more of the act of giving and subtle actions, for example, a mother saving the biggest piece of cake for her youngest son. This can be seen during the Sunday weekly dinner in the movie, where Master Chef Chu, would serve each of his daughter before he take his first bite. Other act of love that has been showcased in the movie is when, Master Chef Chu, makes lunch for Shan-Shan, and when he wakes his daughters up every morning before he goes for his morning jog. Besides that, we can notice how each of the daughters communicate differently with their father. Jia-Jen is more conservative, and soft-spoken, similar to Jia-Ning, who obeys what the father says, and is not as straightforward as Jia-Chen, who expresses what is on her mind, and is more of a rebellious type.

This movie also exhibits how the family struggles to stay as a unit, as the three grown daughters are finding their own path. The eldest Jia-Jen, battles with being single at her age, and constantly being asked by people around her about her status, but at the same time, she needs to take care of her father, as she took on the “mother-figure” after they lost their mother. Jia-Chen, the gutsy one, strives to be free from the shackles of her family, as she wants to be independent and live separately, while, for Jia-Ning, things was going swell for her, she seems happy with what she was doing. However, despite all this, all of them have a weekly ritual, which is the Sunday dinner, where Master Chef Chu whips up delicious arrays of Chinese dishes, and everyone attends it as if they are obliged to do so, but eventually, at every Sunday dinner, important announcements were made from each of the family members.

Dr.Goh, told us to think about the traffic intersection and what does it signifies. In my opinion, I feel, the traffic intersection signifies the leaving of a family member, or when a family member had already found their own path to their personal lives. For example, after the announcement of Master Chef Chu being together with Jin-Rong, if I’m not mistaken, there was a traffic intersection few minutes later.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie very much. It was filled with humour, the search for romance, poignant family moments, the unexpected plot twists, and the displays of mouth watering dishes throughout the movie. 

Gandhi

Gandhi or as the citizens of Indian called him as Gandhiji or Bapu (Father of the nation) is a remarkable human being. As how the movie started with his assassination, and when the whole world was mourning for a great loss, the commentator caught my attention, and I bet everyone who was watching or has watched the movie. He explains how Gandhi was not a ruler of mass land, has not invented anything and without any wealth on him, but you can see how he made a difference and brought the whole nation together. He fought against the rights of the woman in India and the untouchables, he went against discrimination, and brought independence to India.

Few scenes that I found interesting were the scenes when Gandhi asked a shilling from a general and when he fasted as a way to stop the riots or protest that happened. The first scene actually caught us off guard, Gandhi asking the British a shilling for a ride back home, even one of them gave a shocking expression. This first move in my opinion was a subtle way of saying there will be change, and he was on a roll to make that change.

The second scene was when he fasted as a way to tell the people to end the riots and protests which Gandhi strongly opposes, because he wanted to gain India’s Independence with non-violence. Once the people knew he went into fasting, they stopped the riots and the protest. I found this interesting, how can one human, can affect millions of people? They respected Gandhi, they worshiped him, and I believe most importantly, they trusted him. They trusted him that, he knows what he is and was  doing, thus, the citizens follow whatever he wanted. This dialogue was particularly captivating for me “If I fast, I will die, but if you (Gandhi) fast, people go all sorts of trouble to keep you alive”.

After watching the movie, I could gather some of his characteristics and strategies that made him a great leader, which gained and influenced millions of followers. Initially, he was not a good talker, he did not know the tricks to be a good speaker, but once he got the hang of it, he projected his voice clearly, he used hand gestures, he had a rage in him that could be heard, but he never projected in a violent manner. He was adamant, humble and a great risk taker. He lived like the Indians live. He also knew what needs to be said and what the people wanted to hear, which is a type of good persuasion. For example, my personal analysis was when, during his speeches, he would bring up, the awful laws of British, and when he got the audience aroused, he then mentions the rights of the people of India should deserve. However, most definitely, he was determined, he did not give up on the people. No matter how many times he was in and out of prison, he always continued what he had started. I think when the people of India saw that, they knew that he would lead them to independence, which influenced everyone to be a part of the fight.

In a nutshell, I wished Gandhi was still around to witness the riots, protest and terrorism that are happening in this world, we need good souls like him, it is silly to think such way, but think about it, the world would be so much better if we follow his footsteps of non-violence, the footsteps of a small brown man in a shawl and loincloth- Gandhiji.

Running On Empty

Few minutes into the movie, I felt the movie was a bit dull, it did not catch my attention, however, when the story progressed, it was not so bad after all. Running on Empty is a good story for families, because it shows perseverance, respect towards the elders, disciplinary, individual responsibility as members of the family, and the trials and tribulations of a teenage life while being a fugitive.

There were a few scenes from the movie that I found interesting. Firstly, on how effortlessly the family communicates. This can be seen as how Arthur Pope speaks openly with their children, and even though he is a strict father, he still maintains healthy communication within the family unit. I believe, communication is essential in every family, and in this movie, I think communication was the glue that was keeping everything together, because just imagine, if Danny, the eldest son, was a rebel? Imagine if Arthur did not get involved in his son’s life? And not giving him life lessons that could be beneficial in the future? But, that is not the case in this movie, for example, as a scene goes by when Danny points out how his dad had thought him how to question authority, few scenes where they would have conversations in the kitchen during meal preparations, and when Arthur asked openly if Danny is sleeping with his girlfriend Lorna. Secondly, the scene when Annie Pope meets her father after 14 years. We can see the build up of emotions from both parties. Apart from the emotions, we can see a mother’s cry for help and her sacrifice, as she wanting to save a teenager’s life, so that he can have a better one, even if it takes not seeing him for a long time.

A few aspects caught my attention, namely, the type of parenting styles the family possesses, the culture of American families and how it differs with Asians, and most importantly, the function of the family as a unit. Throughout the movie, I believe both parents uphold an authoritative parenting style. Even though they have rules to comply, the parents had a give and take policy, is responsive, and more forgiving unlike the authoritarian parenting style. Next would be how the culture of American families differ from Asians, few scenes that depicted this would be again, as mentioned earlier, on how Arthur asked Danny if he is sleeping with Lorna. This is very, very rare in the Asian culture, maybe because it is terribly awkward to ask such questions, but I wonder why. Finally, the function of the family as a unit. The Pope’s are fugitives, and they were trying their best to make ends meet, for example, the father getting clothes from the thrift shops, the mother eventually found a job to contribute to the family, and the sons being the most obedient children I have ever seen. They work together to stay as a unit, they respect each other, have good communications, and know that families should stay together to be strong. However, at the end of the movie, the parents decided that holding back their son’s future was selfish, and thus, they let him go on his own, but the assurance of their love, will keep the family together.

To sum up, I believe this movie has many moral values, and can teach us how to be respectful towards our parents, and also, how parents should also treat their children in an egalitarian manner, because compromising is also another key to all relationships.