THE SPIRIT OF OUR TIME

There is a wound in every soul. Some wound heals with time. Some wound just gets worse. But between wound and no wound, what pains the most is having a wound which does not gather memories.

a

‘Are you happy today?’ The beggar questioned the lady.

She walked away.

The beggar asked the same question to a teenager who was busy texting and also to the man holding an expensive umbrella and also to the random couple.

Then a photographer passed by, he was confronted with the same question, he looked at the beggar and instead asked, ‘Can I take a picture of you?

The beggar disappeared, the photographer went his way.

b

The photographer goes to his apartment. He lies down on the floor, takes out a coin from his pocket and looks at it. The head and tail shimmers to bring a smile on his face, with the help of his thumb and index finger he holds the coin and in an automated mode takes a shot of the coin. He emails the picture to the Editor of a reputed photo-magazine with the caption, Two Faces of Life.

Weeks later, he gets a call from the Editor of the magazine. He is hired.

He gets a call from his sister who in all sobs tells him that her marriage is falling apart.

c

The photographer goes to comfort her. When he is about to leave, he hands over the coin to his sister saying it might bring luck.

She in full skepticism pulls the drawer, keeps the coin.

Months later, before she leaves for a new city, she pulls out her drawer, the coin shows its majestic silence. She gives it to her neighbour’s daughter.

d

After reaching her room, the young girl smiles with the belief that the coin is doing some kind magic on her. She goes to school, under her skirt’s pocket sleeps the coin.

The answer sheet is distributed she gets an A+ in her Physics paper giving her the guarantee that she will be eligible to go to the best college in the town. A celebration party is hosted for her success. Everyone is happy except her elder brother who is tensed for the upcoming dance audition. She goes to her room, picks up the coin from the bowl and gives it to her brother. Her brother keeps the coin in his bag which he carries the next day.

e

The auditorium is packed by dancers anxiously waiting to show their skill.

He tries his best. Alas! It’s apparent from the faces of the judges that he will not be qualified.

The list comes out, his name is not in the slot. He takes out the coin from the bag, tightly holds it in his fist and throws it on the floor cursing, ‘stupid coin, this is where you belong.’

The janitor in charge of the hall picks it up and puts it on his pocket.

f

The janitor is a man in his early sixties. He pulls out the coin from his shirt’s pocket.  It starts to rain, his vision gets blur. He is drunk and he knows he won’t be able to cross the road. He looks at the sky and feels alive; he opens his arms wide as if to embrace the moody sky.

A black limousine comes in great speed. It hits the street light. The driver steps out.

‘Sir, a man has been run down,’ he panics.

‘Relax, just get in the car,’ the gentleman suggests.

After few minutes, people gather at the spot. The rain is gone; the blood of the janitor is washed away finding its way in the drainage.  The coin that fell from his pocket lies on the road unattended.

Such was the chance, such was the injustice, such were the lives that was before us and will be after us.

Such is the spirit of our time.

BETWEEN THE WHITE WALL AND THE SILVER SCREEN

 

The infallible link between music and medicine can be stretched through the former’s interventions and applications use in clinical medicine as a strategy for curing ailments. If one has to talk about medical science and cinema, then cinetraphy too has been considered as an interesting remedy for treating patients with mood disorders and depression etc. Cinema entertains us, hence, it is a great stress buster too. However, this essay does not deal with the therapies which can be propagated by watching movies. In fact, this is about the different medical themes which found its place in the movies, selected Hollywood and Bollywood flicks, and which in a way reflects the indispensable link that medical science and movie shares through the platform of society.

After reading the introduction of this essay, some of the readers might get images of Dr.Zhivago (1965), the Oscar-winning romantic drama which was loosely adapted from the novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak. It is true, movie-goers throughout the ages has given importance to the script, the acting, and the casting without noticing how medicine has been highlighted in some of the record breaking movies whether it be romantic movie, comedy, drama or sci-fi. If a movie lover is asked to pick ten of her favourite movies, then unsurprisingly at least one of the movies could be related with medical science (my assumption, but it won't be wrong). Needless to say, the bond between medicine and cinema has been an enthralling one and it can hardly be ignored. In this essay, medicine is used synonymously with the institutions of hospital and clinics and also in its literal sense.

 

In recent times, many movies of different genres plotting on various themes has been made. Movie with themes of courage and overcoming obstacles has inspired many viewers, John Nash’s biopic titled, A Beautiful Mind (2001) where Russell Crowe has portrayed the role of Mr. Nash whose brilliance is overshadowed by his Schizophrenic attacks, however as the years passes Nash learns to ignore his hallucinations. This movie was not only a commercial hit and an Oscar winner, but also, it won the appreciation of many. Lamhe (2006) which was loosely based on the life of a Bollywood actress’ battle with schizophrenia was heart wrecking and conveyed a subtle message of how painful a mental disorder can be to the patient and to those who love and care for them.

 

The issue of ‘surrogacy’ has not escaped movies, focusing mainly on the emotional journey of women when her womb becomes the shelter of hope for childless couples. The Bollywood movie Filhaal… (2002) was one of such kind, where the acceptance and the denial of the new found responsibilities was highlighted. Interestingly, the hit Indian Bollywood comedy Vicky Donor (2012), wherein the protagonist donates sperm to meet the expenses of his luxurious lifestyle, does not only take the audience for a ride of laughter, but amidst all the confusion the issue of sperm donation is highlighted in such a manner that we feel empathy for the protagonist. On a serious note, it does not only sprinkle the issue as to whether the sperm donation as a means of business is a money- making franchise in itself but also it makes us ponder as to whether it is ethically justifiable. My Sister’s Keeper (2009), an American drama, a story about a girl conceived by means of in-vitro fertilization just to save her older sister from acute promyelocytic leukemia, makes the viewer to feel the blend of emotions of love, hope, and devotion often surpasses the magnificence of medical science.

 

Apart from all the glorious things the medical science has performed, one cannot ignore the fact the discrimination and the exclusion which a patient undergoes due to the society’s shallow understanding of this disease is quite painful. It destroys not only the optimistic life of the patient but also acts as an hurdle for the medical science, as at the end of the day the relationship between medical science and society cannot be ignored. Some of the movies have highlighted this issue as in a larger scale it forms a social issue to deal with, the 1993 movie Philadelphia where Tom Hanks plays the role of AIDS patient who has to face discrimination in his workplace and finds rejection among his peer groups was an eye opener for many; it was one of the first mainstream Hollywood movie to come up with the issue of HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia. And the Band played on (1993), an American docudrama, based on a book by Randy Shilts and directed by Roger Spottiswoods was a highly applauded for it dealt with the discovery of the AIDS virus wherein the actor Matthew Modin, who plays the role of Don Francis, a researcher at the Center for Disease Control, battles with apathy in the public, government, and healthcare system. The film hovers around Francis who seeks to find the cause behind a mysterious series of death in the gay community in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City starting around 1978. Bollywood movies, Phir Milenga (2004) and My Brother… Nikhil (2005) are based on the themes of the discriminations faced by the patients of HIV/AIDS.

 

Notably, laughter as a medicine has not been neglected by the scriptwriters. Patch Adams (1998) the comedy-drama starring Robbie William where humour and compassion are used as medicine for treating patients is something challenging, it breaks the medical norm of maintaining a strict professional relationship between the patients and the doctors. National Award winning Bollywood comedy drama, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S (2003) runs on the same theme, where the protagonist tries to treat the patients with ‘laughter therapy’ and is successful in doing so.

 

Furthermore, in Bollywood depiction of the use of traditional medicines has not been ignored. If we pick a period movie we can see, there are no such thing as brand medicines. Hilarious, but berries and leaves from deep forests acts as the healing ointment for the injured protagonist which leads to a remarkable recovery. If someone has a huge interest in action movies and has not escape the reels of Asian martial art movies then they would agree that in some of the movies the relationship between the hero getting injured and being treated by the traditional medicinal knowledge of his master is inescapable. As cliché can have it, classic cowboy movies too depict scenes where the hero gets shot by the despicable villain, and the bullet on his arm is removed by heating the knife on a candle so as to disinfect the wound, which in a way can be considered as a layman’s understanding towards the knowledge of septic, in good humour, it might be something the movie script had demanded.

 

The universal appeal of a movies is such that no matter what the genre is, be it be action, comedy or drama, movies entertain us irrespective of social strata. Movies based on social realities bring awareness to people at large, inspirational movies benefits us by inspiring us, movies on historical figures and biopics gives us an opportunity to contemplate on simple truth of life. Apart from the beam lights of the silver screen, and the applause of a commercial hit, what cinema can do for the medical science is an interesting subject to deal with. The much praised Indian movie, 3Idiots (2009) best scenes revolve around the hospital, and the one where the woman (the female protagonist’s sister) delivers her baby with the help of a vacuum (not in hospital though) is epic. One of the striking points will be of bringing the cultural, political and social issues on diseases and highlighting it in the cinema, also to show how policies have been failing (if it does) time and again, and to bring about measures to control such problems but not in a sharp and suggestive tone.