One day this world will wake up. The aim is to make certain it’s during sunshine and not long after darkness. 

– Girish Rathna

Been a while I posted a blog. But like everything, blog posts have their eminent time and place in history too. As it had been a custom of mine or a routine I sincerely follow as a storyteller, I would like to start this blog post by telling you all a story yet again. This might be the most sublime narrative yet.

Far away at the corner of the Earth, smothered by the rising waves of the unsettled sea, a lone island waited yet unexplored. A majestic ship sailed in its direction, not intentional but way off course, now standing at the shores hoping for a mutual concord. A set of kings descended from this vessel, like matching glory but sometimes deplored.

They had many games and routines that they loved to share; the three kings rejoiced for their strength and care. A, B and C were they honorably called, A for Almighty, B for Boss and C for Corrupt as they were deemed to bear.

After all, the island needed them all.

Months passed, the island heavily disrupted and disoriented. Time had come for the ship to sail with wealth, fruits and wine fermented. Sailing on the azure waters a discovery of larceny was hinted. The crew was havocked; it was one of the kings who had illegally minted. 

A picture to help you mentally frame the story

Too far from land, the corrupt was cast into the water. The C and his indulgence swam back to the same island as a hater. Doomed were they to live on that mass of land for ages now and later. For the ship was out of sight never to turn around or to cater.

An unstable but fair shelter was soon erected on the land. The C and his subordinates were on their plans to build cities with brick and sand. Oh, what a wonderful place this had shaped, every structure going hand in hand. Everything they had planned seemed like it was forever going to stand.

Unknown was the C, that his kingdom flourished only of ships that docked secretly on his land. Giving him supplies and wealth which he thought just fell into his hand.

One fine day on a shiny morning arrived the ship worthy of a king. Stepping outside it was the B for Boss who had returned without all the bling. The B was not welcomed; he was mistaken for a mole with a selfish setting. The C’s arrogance rippled across the aquatic world reaching the ears of Almighty king.

The ships arrived, more in strength this time. For the A was incensed of the corrupt who had failed time to time. But this time the kingdom was efficient, for B and C both stood as prime. The battle eased, for A saw what had changed drastically this time.

Once again, the three kings together stood on the island. For it was revealed that it was A himself who had sent those supplies inland. The C realized his mistake, for he now understood his true place. While B had come to his aid, he had also come to save his ace.

The three kings A, B and C now once again ruled the kingdom. For they all now knew who is the Almighty, the Boss and the one who was no longer random.

Now that’s a happy ending, isn’t it?

Recently I have been noticing a strange phenomenon in the field of movie-making. Actually, it's quite obvious to any person as it is, I just like to make it interesting by calling it a phenomenon.

Growing up as a boy, I have to say my vision of the fictional world and to the places uncharted by me was through a window; or should I say a screen. It was a window that was almost like magic; an enchanted place where I could put my eyes on and travel into places unknown. Like books and comics, this window would inspire me, motivate me, thrill me, and compel me to do great things. That magical place was called Hollywood. One might wonder why I used the word ‘was’ and not ‘is’. Well, simply because I can now see the magic fading away. 

The Sun is setting

Currently, we are noticing that Hollywood or any movie industry like Bollywood, which seems like a cheap rip-off of the original is losing its sense of creativity. I don’t even want to mention the other so-called whatever’wood movies that follow them. They are not even worth my attention.

Behold… for Hollywood, once known as the holy woodland is now suffering serious phenomenon called ‘sequel syndrome’.

It’s like every great movie created on this magical world of Hollywood is suddenly attacked by this ‘sequel syndrome’ and won't leave it until the credibility of the original ‘first’ movie is destroyed. I have no time to talk about this or give suggestions; I am a busy writer myself. But I will just pick some of the many movies that have suffered this ‘sequel syndrome’ phenomenon.

Jurassic Park – 

I don’t know much about dinosaurs or their bones or how tall they really were. I am not an expert. But as a child, most of us agreed as we stood ignorant to even acknowledge what a dinosaur was until we got to see those enticing movie posters all over the city. I remember watching this movie with my family in an old British-era theatre that still stood functional in Bangalore at that time. It was an 18th-century British building and the last row in the balcony where we sat was missing a wall behind. Come on, it was not that bad. 

This poster was everywhere

What I am trying to say is that instead of a wall there was a ten feet passageway with speakers hidden in the wall beyond. This gave my little boyish imagination the boost to make me jump every time I heard the T-rex thump. I actually believed that a dinosaur was crawling behind me and I spent half of the time looking over my shoulder. My question is, will the kids of today experience the same experience or are they already too grown up because their imagination is ruined by this ‘sequel syndrome’?

The Fast And The Furious –   

Racing cars… hot babes… action… stunts… It was every youth’s dream. The story was one of the best too; even more if you can understand it metaphorically. An undercover cop hunting a team of criminals only ends up seeing the other side of this world – perfect plot.

I personally loved the last drag race in this movie, where the two cars speed across a train track, later leading into a crash where the criminal Dominic (occasionally hero) was forced to give up. Then Brian lets him go by offering his own car. See, there is a reason why that happened.

I personally think that the Brian character did not oblige to let Dominic go in the entire movie even after understanding his side of the story. Only in the end, when he stopped running when he was genuinely willing to give up, was he saved. It’s almost like repenting to Jesus Christ. Na, I am just kidding. Personally, I think these are the kind of elements that make a plot (or the movie) interesting. Stop trying so hard.

The last race

The Matrix – 

Wow, this movie came to theaters when computers were accepted as ‘personal’ computers that could sit on the desk in your home and shouldn’t look weird. It was at that time promoted as a friendly technology that would make your work and living better. I have no time to debate about what it has turned into now, that is for another time.

This movie had the potential to take the viewers to a whole new dimension, and yes it did indeed. Why wasn’t that enough?

It had a perfect beginning, a perfect storyline, and a perfect ending. Then came the sequels to flip this great movie upside down and confuse the viewers so much, one would almost believe it’s the work of the Sentinels. You know, to keep the humans under control?

It was almost like a reply to the question Neo (the one) quotes at the end of the first movie – “Where we go from there, is a choice I leave it to you.”

Looks like they made a choice, a choice to make movies to suppress the truth Neo wanted to tell. 

But frankly if you notice it, in the second and the third movies, the ones Neo is fighting are not the sentinel machines, but the people around him. Mahn, this almost makes me laugh because intentionally or unintentionally those movies revealed the structure of this world we live in. It’s like, in the first movie he was the ‘one’ the chosen one who destroyed Smith. He won; the end. Then it was like someone felt the pinch, hated the movie so much that it had to be recreated with a bunch of clutter that no one would understand.

In the later movies, Neo is portrayed as some dude who keeps flying and saving people for no reason, while a hundred other characters act like they are very important. So basically it’s like saying – “Who cares if he is the One, we are better than him.”

I don’t even want to talk about the ending of the trilogy, it’s embarrassing. Yeah, so Neo sacrifices himself to beat Smith, whom he had already defeated in the first. Not to mention he duplicates himself into 1000 more in the second one to fight him. Wow, from the basic knowledge of any competition I know, it is clear that when an opponent chooses to cheat he/she is automatically disqualified, thus losing the game. But somehow not only is Neo being bombarded with 1000 Smiths, but he also had to go through dramatic tantrum by a French-speaking bully, his perverted wife, a bunch of ‘know-it-alls’ around him within his team, an Asian kung-fu master who likes to test Neo with a fight session, an Architect who sits and snoops on him all day, and an old lady on some kind of drugs giving him oracles that would make little sense to him as much as it does to her.

In simple words – They all wanted to be the ‘One’ and hate him so much for not getting lucky (or being worthy). 

When Neo becomes Smith

Haha, Neo my friend, if there is one advice I would like to give – Just kick back, sip on your Coca Cola and let these “know-it-alls’ figure things out themselves. Let’s see if they would last a day; including the ones who made the movies (or the ones who are funding propaganda).

Iron Man – 

Ok this one is quite recent, and it annoys me how they act like it’s a classic. That’s red-flag right away.

Frankly, I didn’t sit and watch the entire length of Iron Man movies until recently. And although they claim superficial release dates and success stories, I forthrightly don’t remember hearing about this movie or even seeing it anywhere close to the dates mentioned online. Maybe the movies were in stealth-mode in theaters even though Tony’s suit was missing that technology.

Yet, I would agree that the first movie is quite inspiring. It is a story that would resonate in the minds of every whiz-kid who loves technology, aviation, and a huge heart to help people in need. And that is exactly what the first movie portrayed. And like in every great man’s story, when you are the ‘best’ and when you know what is ‘right’, it’s hard for anyone else to even contemplate your actions, let alone your thoughts. 

I am still here

Then came the ‘sequel syndrome’, like as if being attacked for creating an inspiring story that would pinch the ego of a few who don’t really believe in the concept of “having a huge heart and helping people in need”. Even Tony’s girlfriend Pepper is against this man while she is appointed CEO by him of his own company. This is the time we laugh. I mean even in the rule-book of employees or if there was a rule-book for girlfriends, this would be total nonsense. And his best buddy, who thought Tony doesn’t deserve the suit and chooses to steal it, looked like a bigger d**k than the villains in the movie.

The third movie is seriously weird. To me, it is not even a superhero movie. It looked more like a “how to annoy a rich, successful, handsome man in 100 different ways”.

And by the time the character Iron Man reached the Avengers Infinity War movie, I became aware of what and who was behind this complete eradication of this superhero. 

I wonder

In the above picture, one can notice the evolution of Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor through the storyline. You know, the very force that helps make him Iron Man? And if you care to look closely, you will get your answers.

In the first movie, the Arc Reactor looked more in the shape of the Sun, as a circular disk with rays spurting out. The Sun is a symbolic representation of God in ancient cultures. Also notice the three notches that roughly form an upward facing triangle, the symbol for progress. Now you can see the others and formulate your own theories about it. Clearly, they are trying to bring the character Iron Man down.

Particularly, the Infinity War one is bizarre yet obvious in all levels. To me, it clearly looked like something that is in total contrast to the concept of God. What the hell happened here? Oh and don’t forget the two horns quite pompously protruding on the top. Right, go home Marvel Studios, you clearly have lost touch with reality.

That one clearly showed the world their intentions.

It's like, in the first movie Tony fought the villain Obadiah, but by Infinity War they are forcing Tony to be Obadiah.

It’s like in reference to the story I mentioned above, the character of ‘C’ is being portrayed as B or even A, using a tool called confusion. Also vice versa. But some movie-makers have also created two more letters out of thin air in recent times – D for Darling and E for Everyone. So any time the tool of confusion doesn’t work for them, they will use this D and try to fabricate it as B, making it B for B***h. And if that doesn’t do the job, they will use the E as a last resort and try to fit it too. Basically, it’s a clever way to put D and E in front of C to keep it protected. It’s like saying – “Even D or E can be A or B so that I will hide behind them and act like I don’t exist.” The struggle is so real and ugly. This is why I think, in this real story-of-life we are yet to find a happy ending.

In all your so-called virtue, if Hollywood wants to continue to make such movies, at least stop calling yourself Hollywood. Because there is nothing holly or ‘holy’ about anything you are doing. Call it by a new name if you like (something opposite to holy) and continue doing your claptrap. At least the movie-goers would know what they are watching.

Because although I do understand that entertainment has many colors of life, and I do understand that ‘life imitates art’, the fact that almost every successful entertainment spear is picked and then propagated to appear something totally different from its original form shows a certain level of desperation. It’s like identity theft on a whole new level.

Speaking (typing) of desperation, I have to pull out a few words that have been embedded in my deepest thoughts since the year 2012; the year I published my first book.

Like going back in time, I am slipping into the memory lane to specifically write about an experience that I had to undergo during the editing of my first book. This was the time I was not a published writer yet; no one knew who I was; they treated me like shhh… you know?

Since the book ‘2012 is light years away’ was cemented on the year 2012, I was quite desperate. I had made a mental allegory, a vision that the book had to be published in the same year; no matter what. I wrote the second half of the manuscript for that book in just five months before going on a “need to find a publisher” quest for another four months. It’s a struggle every new author faces, some would say. But I am sure not many had a time constraint to publish the book in a few months or die. You know the typical ‘do or die’ scenario. The book would have made little impact, and the manuscript would have lost its pitch if I had missed the timing.

During the editing of the book, among the many email communications sent to me to juggle between reviews and approvals, I came across a rather strange incident. As a naïve first-book writer, I thought that the editors are the ones who would make the book great. I can’t argue with that.

But during the final stages of my editing, I received a particular email from the editor praising my story and congratulating me on my first book. Wow, what a great moment. It was an uplifting email with words elevating a budding author like me about how great a story it is and how well I have placed it. But then I read another sentence where the editor was conveying something that really didn’t catch my attention at that time. To roughly paraphrase it – “and although you come from a country where English is not your first language, I appreciate your attempt at it. I couldn’t even dream of tackling your mother tongue.”

What?

Here the editor is not only telling me that he/she has failed to do the job well (editing) but also pressing on a notion that coming from a South Asian country like India should automatically mean that my English is not well polished. This intellectually pissed me off. To me, it sounded like a cheap story-plot of a Bollywood movie, where the director has no real understanding or even has done any substantial research, but claims that everyone who makes a typo has some kind of reading and writing disability. Maybe Aamir Khan edited my first book. *sarcasm*

While I was under the impression that my manuscript is in safe hands and that I need not have to edit it myself before sending it to my editor to save time, the editor was in some fairyland dreaming that not doing his/her job (editing) would make a silly filmy point. Only when I had already received the first copy did I notice that it was published almost in the same shape as I had sent it to them. That was the moment I made a promise to myself…

A promise is a promise

I stood on rock-heels that day that I would not make an attempt to correct the book at all. I stood my ground that I would let the book be the way it is and told myself that ‘one day’ I will tell the whole world about it. I also promised myself that this book will become a relic and people will flock to see the mistakes. I guess the day is today.

I personally don’t lean on blaming the editor; I genuinely think that he/she was doing the job ‘instructed’ by someone superior. And to understand how the literature world works, most of the editors make money by deliberately leaving mistakes in books and later demanding extra money for re-correction. It’s like re-publishing. And when you try to convince them intellectually, all they offer is a reply stating that –

“You should have checked the mistakes before approving”.

Yeah sure, if I had all the time to do my job (writing) and your job (editing) and still be desperate enough to publish the book in the time stipulated, I must have been a dumb author to even choose an editing service anyway. Oh ya, aspiring authors, that’s how they try to make money out of a newcomer who has no influential elders to back them up (or if there are influential people trying to bring them down).

The blame is not directed towards the editors, but the blame is directed towards the overall crony-capitalistic world we live in, which had also infected the world of literature. And like I said before, I made a promise that one day I will reveal this.

The day has come.

Besides, I also promised that I can always re-publish it once I become a zillionaire soon (because billionaire suddenly sounds a little low for me, I know my worth now).

And how do you know your worth? For this, I personally think that one needs to go through three stages of self-awareness. It’s like a personal spiritual quest in the direction life leads and to surpass three levels of enlightenment.

Although some spiritual leaders with the “oh, I have all the answers” mentality will technically break this same process into many levels and ask you to make donations to their ashrams and visit their temples and teach you about why you should kill (eat) plants but should never hurt an animal, I will just say it the way I memorize it myself.

For me its just three levels – Discovery… Depth… Surface…

Discovery – This is the most interesting and also wonderful stage, the stage in your life when you begin to discover the being and existence of yourself. This is mostly when people realize that the world around them is too sedated, fake, mundane, not up-to-mark.

Depth – The second and the most crucial stage. This is when the person who has already surpassed the first stage finds himself/herself lost. Feeling lost is good at this stage. I call it the ‘depth’ as to represent the deepness of whatever hole you are sinking into. And if you like to interpret the ‘hole’ in a sarcastic or funny way, trust me that is your hole. This is also the stage when all the ‘wrongs’ will try to recruit you, literally sometimes. Only a few can come back from the depth. 

Whatever you see

Surface – The final stage. This is when you surface from all the depth and rise. That’s all I can say. Because to each their own, no one can tell what the surface is showing you. It’s your own path. Just don’t expect me to tell you mine.

P.S. My work on my third book is going great. I will keep updating more as it goes. Currently, I have no name for the third book. The work at ‘penKcil studio’ is going great too; I have some pleasant surprises this year.