I cannot remember the last time I was so deeply disturbed by a piece of reporting. NPR redeems the meaning of public media in these two outstanding pieces by Jackie Northam on the Guantanamo Gulag. Listen to Leaving Guantanamo I: Enduring a Harsh Stay and
Leaving Guantanamo II: Bahrainis Protest Prison.
We will be screening Raj Kapoor’s classic film Shree 420 at Goosebump Graphics on Tuesday 9 May from 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., with discussion to follow.
Shree 420 names itself in a contradiction. Article 420 of the postcolonial Indian Penal Code provides juridical sanction for the prosecution of acts of cheating or fraud; Shree is a standard appellation of respect, naming a modern Mister, or denoting a gentleman. And this gentlemanly cheat is, in the text of the film examined here, embodied in the equally ambiguous figure of the subaltern hero Raj Kapoor — the tramp bumbling his way through the gullies and crowded, inhospitable streets of that favoured location of the 1950s popular Hindi cinema: the metropolis of Bombay, the privileged place for the production of the newly independent nation’s identity and the social relations of its capitalist modernity. Hailed by cinema audiences throughout the new republic on its release in 1955, Raj Kapoor’s tramp-hero Raju was the cinematic embodiment of an unique historical conjuncture of the new Indian republic. The educated unemployed, the urban proletariat, Partition refugees, and the reformist petty bourgeoisie could all identify with Raju, newly arrived in the steamy concrete jungle of Bombay, following the noisy and irresistible path of the new expansive capitalism in search of distinction, prosperity, and a certain experience of modernity.
Location of Goosebump Graphics
When you arrive at the concierge, please ring Pandit on +1.617.412.6334.
i am about to officially become an old codger, and would like to invite all of you to join me on the evening of saturday 25 february after 8pm to usher out my twenties with vigor, vim, spite, malice and great festivity. the bash will be hosted at the goosebump graphics lounge, easily accessible from the red line kendall square stop.
Location of Goosebump Graphics
Hope to see all of you there - feel free to bring a couple of friends. drop a line and let me know if you will be joining us so i can plan accordingly. some libations and snacks will be provided, but please bring additional beverages and so forth to keep the night going (food can be ordered from outside). please get in touch if you need any further information or would like to arrange for accommodations in boston.
Our next screening is tomorrow SATURDAY 3 DECEMBER at 8.00 P.M
We will be watching The Dream of Sparrows (Dir. Hayder Daffar, 2005), produced by the Iraq Eye Group. For more information on the film, see http://www.iraqeye.org/
Our next screening is tomorrow SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER at 9.00 P.M.
Based on the Godfather, Sarkar (2005) is the last in an unique trilogy of films by director Ram Gopal Varma on the Mumbai criminal-political underworld. Satya (1998), the first film in the series, was a new kind of gangster film which hit the theatres when the city was the setting of major gangland warfare in the mid-nineties. Company (2002), its sequel, was a fictionalised tale of the rise of the real-world Mumbai dons Dawood Ibrahim and his understudy Chhota Rajan (Small Rajan), their subsequent split and war with each other, and the criminal-politician nexus which extends to the highest levels of the state. ‘Satya’ is the Gandhian-Ashokan motto of the Indian state, and ‘Company’ signifies the modern firm, but also the earlier form of the colonial state and its commercial empire. ‘Sarkar’ appropriately finishes this trilogy. Literally translated as ‘government’ but also a term of address to superiors in colloquial Hindi, Sarkar is a cognate for Godfather. Amitabh Bacchan plays a character based on the nativist political boss of Mumbai, Balasaheb Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (Army of Shiv), the party machine which still rules Mumbai politics. Sarkar is about the rise and fall of this party and its ruling family. Along with Satya and Company, Sarkar explores the split domains of organised crime and politics in Mumbai, and related themes of business, morality, and the law.
Please join us and bring your own bottles. On request, we will also screen either Satya or Company around 6.30 p.m. tomorrow before the main film.
COMING SOON TO A STREET CORNER NEAR YOU
Pandit and Daku (aka ‘The Axis of Evil’)
Co-Proprietors, Goosebump Graphics
Soon Introducing Thiru
Our proud partners in crime include The Acetarium, The Iconoclast and Chapati Mystery