Archive for the 'Entertainment' Category
I saw The Namesake yesterday and I enjoyed it. One of the reasons I liked it was that I could relate to a lot of what happened in the movie. Many of the things that Gogol goes through are things that all South Asians go through when growing up in America. Kal Penn did a great job portraying the main character. It was much more of a serious role than what he’s done before.
One of the only things I didn’t like about the movie was that the guy was going out with a white girl. I’d say that’s one of the biggest stereotypes about Asian guys that grow up in America. Many people automatically assume that if you’re brown and you live in America, you will, at one point, have a relationship with a white girl. I’m glad they didn’t make the Bengali girl seem like the perfect match for the guy.
The movie also showed the struggle immigrant parents go through in America. It made me see how it was for my parents when they first moved here. I, too, moved out of an old apartment and into a house when I was around the same age as Gogol in the movie.
The Namesake is definitely not one of those crappy Bollywood movies. It has a lot of meaning to it and is very enjoyable.
Quite lately, I’ve been watching many movies. I tend to stay away from most of the really mainstream stuff only because I feel they’re only meant to make money. Most of those movies are crappy anyway.
Today, I bought The Science of Sleep because I’d heard many good things about it and also because I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Maybe it’s not right to judge Michel Gondry after seeing only 2 of his movies, but I have to say, he’s an amazing director. His style is so weird.
One of the things I liked about the movie was how Stéphane’s dreams were shown. It was interesting how everything seemed to switch around between his dreams and reality and sometimes mix the two up. Also, Gael GarcÃa Bernal did a great job portraying Stéphane.
I look forward to watching more of Michel Gondry’s work.
Being a first generation American, I often was embarassed by my Bengali background as a kid. I mean, I used to hate talking to Bengali kids in Bengali. I also hated having to do stuff like going to cultural parties and whatnot. I’m starting to accept being Bengali and I’m starting to see how cool it is to be a first gen.
If there’s one thing I still hate about Bengali culture, it’s the horrible movies that are made in Bangladesh. They’re just filled with crap and mostly people of the, as much as I hate to say this kinda stuff, lower class watch that stuff. However, there are many excellent Bengali short films and mini-series that are pretty fun to watch.
While sitting in a local Bengali restaurant, a guy came and gave out some cards advertising an audition. Some company is looking to make a Bengali-American movie and they’re looking for people. Since I can speak fluent Bengali [1], I’m gonna try out for the audition. I’m pretty sure they won’t be making it as crappy as the ones in Bangladesh.
[1] Ever since I could talk, my parents spoke only Bengali to me since they knew I’d learn English in school. To this day, I speak Bengali with my parents and family.