The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
Couldn’t put this book down once I opened it’s covers. Maybe because I am a product of American and Belgian missionaries, just like the Africans whose story is told in the book. And yes, it’s not exactly an eye-opener for me. A theme of the book is that of the Christian God and the Bible--that Christianity does not hold the sole Truth in this multicultural, multiperspective, multiple-Truths world. It is one truth that I have learned a long time ago, but one that many people still have to come to terms with.
Kingsolver's novel is an eye-opener in many ways.
It talks about American politics in the diamond-rich Congo, where children starve. It’s about missionary girls who realize the oppressive power of a Christian God as interpreted by their missionary father. It’s about being different from the common definitions of beauty, normality. It’s even about God the dictatorial father-figure coming face-to-face with God whose essence is found in the trees that provide shelter, and in the ravenous black ants that eat and destroy.
Christian missionaries from the US, believing that the Africans are condemned to hell unless they learn about Jesus and his offer of salvation, enter the Congo with their holy mission. A preacher and his wife and four daughters arrive in the forest village called Kilanga. Reverend Nathan Price,like all zealous preachers who listen to no one but to the Christian God (through the Bible of course), does not bother to truly encounter the people he plans to baptize and convert. It is his wife and daughters, all in fear of him, who tell the story of the consequences of his beliefs.
The story is told from the perspectives of the wife, and the four daughters, each having her own unique encounter with the Africans. The story comes in multiple perspectives, the African experience viewed in different angles. In this way, the story comes out fuller and richer.
In one way, it is saying that the Christian zeal is misdirected with its intention to save the world. It is the arrogance of claiming that it is the sole religion that holds the spiritual truth and all those who have not encountered Jesus will go to hell. And it’s their fault if they did not come to know Jesus before they die, because they lived in the farthest parts of the earth where the missionaries could not reach them on time.
Why Poisonwood Bible?
While clearing the ground to set up their backyard garden, the Reverend Price wrestled with a small tree, the Poisonwood. The African woman househelp warned them about the tree, but the self-important Reverend ignored her as he does to the other Africans, his wife and his four daughters who, in his mind, are lesser in wisdom than him.
It’s named Poisonwood because anyone who comes in contact with its bark and branches and white sap will soon suffer welts and inflammation of the skin. The Reverend Price soon learned about this as he himself felt his skin burn, to his dismay. It was just the first lesson not learned in this side of Africa, for the Reverend went on to commit the same mistakes.
The missionary kept telling the Africans that Jesus is Balanga, the local word for precious, but pronounced in a different way this same word means the poisonwood tree.The missionary who did not care enough to know the difference between balanga Jesus and balanga poison kept saying the poisonwood word, and thus preached the gospel of Jesus the poisonwood tree.
To the Africans in Congo, the Christian Bible is indeed poisonwood. It is poison to them who are forced to accept a foreign god and give up their local gods who have been guiding them and their ancestors.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
In the Mood for Love
Watched this film "In the Mood for Love" by Wong Kar-Wai, starring Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. The plot is typical love story actually, so it's not the story that really caught my attention; it's the cinematography. And the music. Although I was truly hooked on the story too, no matter how ordinary it is. It's about a love that wasn't meant to be. Or a love that could not be. Or doomed love.
I had to read the subtitles because the film was in Chinese, by Chinese actors. I would have enjoyed looking at the characters' facial nuances as they said their lines, and more of the details of the cinematography, but I had to concentrate on the words being said so part of my attention was on reading the subtitles.
There is something enigmatic about the face of the woman protagonist. Beautiful, well-proportioned face, with almond eyes and an expression that remains serene with all the sentiments and emotions. Maybe it is the Chinese way of being. They handle emotions in a subtle way, without having to wail out their angst as the westerners do.And so you see her sitting on a stool, alone in her room, silent. Just silent, unmoving, still, the room is as quiet as she is. I think that is a very meaningful scene.The camera does not focus on her face, it focuses on her still body on a stool, in the room. And the silence.
Westerners would say she is repressing her emotions, stuck-up. But I think it's her Chinese blood; she's not repressed or stuck up, she just handles emotions in a serene way. Strong emotions at that. It's the stillness in her that allows those strong emotions to be there and yet not repressed. If she represses her emotions, she would get cancer, which westerners usually do. There is a difference between being still and yet feel ones emotions on one hand, and on the other, repressing ones emotions, trying hard to be still, which means controlling ones emotions. The first is a Buddhist frame of mind, the other is the typical Western way of controlling, even of ones emotions.
This is just a psychological reading of the film of course, because the film is more than this.
And that street corner shot; the angle remains the same even as the time of day changes and other people apart from our protagonists, pass by, and the weather changes too, rain and shine, but the shot remains the same. Our protagonists pass by that street in different moods, in different clothes. The street remains the same all throught the days, but its a different street all the time too, different sun that shines different shades of light depending on the time of day, different rain everytime it rains, different moods of the same people who pass by everyday. And you see the streetwalls in different hues too, depending on the tone of the day. It is such a beautiful way of rendering the essence of time and change and people and the ephemeral nature of it all.
There is that scene where the man finds his way to Cambodia, where a shot of an old temple in ruins, a monk in orange robes sits by, violin playing in the background, and the camera gives us a long while to fully take in this scene. The man finds a hole in the wall and whispers his secrets in there, again several minutes is devoted to this scene, with all the music and the temple ruins and the monk in orange robe flooding our senses. Finally the hole where the man whispered his secrets is shown filled up with mud. The man's lonely, love secret is sealed in there. It is the mud, the earth, the ruined temple, the skies above the temple, that are witness to the unraveling of the secret in the hole. And the beautiful violin music that expresses the scene in sound.
The film opens with lines of love poetry, and ends with more lines of love poetry. How romantic, and yet there is no anguish of tragedy, because the sadness is tempered with a sense of beauty.
Watch the film. So many symbolisms, allusions (watch the clock e.g). I got a copy from a friend who was all too willing to have copies of my film collection.
I had to read the subtitles because the film was in Chinese, by Chinese actors. I would have enjoyed looking at the characters' facial nuances as they said their lines, and more of the details of the cinematography, but I had to concentrate on the words being said so part of my attention was on reading the subtitles.
There is something enigmatic about the face of the woman protagonist. Beautiful, well-proportioned face, with almond eyes and an expression that remains serene with all the sentiments and emotions. Maybe it is the Chinese way of being. They handle emotions in a subtle way, without having to wail out their angst as the westerners do.And so you see her sitting on a stool, alone in her room, silent. Just silent, unmoving, still, the room is as quiet as she is. I think that is a very meaningful scene.The camera does not focus on her face, it focuses on her still body on a stool, in the room. And the silence.
Westerners would say she is repressing her emotions, stuck-up. But I think it's her Chinese blood; she's not repressed or stuck up, she just handles emotions in a serene way. Strong emotions at that. It's the stillness in her that allows those strong emotions to be there and yet not repressed. If she represses her emotions, she would get cancer, which westerners usually do. There is a difference between being still and yet feel ones emotions on one hand, and on the other, repressing ones emotions, trying hard to be still, which means controlling ones emotions. The first is a Buddhist frame of mind, the other is the typical Western way of controlling, even of ones emotions.
This is just a psychological reading of the film of course, because the film is more than this.
And that street corner shot; the angle remains the same even as the time of day changes and other people apart from our protagonists, pass by, and the weather changes too, rain and shine, but the shot remains the same. Our protagonists pass by that street in different moods, in different clothes. The street remains the same all throught the days, but its a different street all the time too, different sun that shines different shades of light depending on the time of day, different rain everytime it rains, different moods of the same people who pass by everyday. And you see the streetwalls in different hues too, depending on the tone of the day. It is such a beautiful way of rendering the essence of time and change and people and the ephemeral nature of it all.
There is that scene where the man finds his way to Cambodia, where a shot of an old temple in ruins, a monk in orange robes sits by, violin playing in the background, and the camera gives us a long while to fully take in this scene. The man finds a hole in the wall and whispers his secrets in there, again several minutes is devoted to this scene, with all the music and the temple ruins and the monk in orange robe flooding our senses. Finally the hole where the man whispered his secrets is shown filled up with mud. The man's lonely, love secret is sealed in there. It is the mud, the earth, the ruined temple, the skies above the temple, that are witness to the unraveling of the secret in the hole. And the beautiful violin music that expresses the scene in sound.
The film opens with lines of love poetry, and ends with more lines of love poetry. How romantic, and yet there is no anguish of tragedy, because the sadness is tempered with a sense of beauty.
Watch the film. So many symbolisms, allusions (watch the clock e.g). I got a copy from a friend who was all too willing to have copies of my film collection.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
painting in time
A slice of the painting I've been doing lately, photoshop version. I had to put it here to remind me that I have to have to have to finish this painting already which I started last year. I left it untouched due to a fickle mind but have now resumed. I think I aimed too high. The project is a bit too complicated; when I started this I truly believed that it's a worthy aim, complications and all. But honestly….i have to keep picturing in my mind that it's a finished painting already. So God/Allah/Shiva-Shakti/World Spirit help me.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
tina's food
tina cooked dinner last night after yoga class. it's a treat to have delicious, fresh from the stove home-cooked meal: salted fresh fish in olive oil, tomato sauce with capers, carrots and potatoes. yes not strictly vegetarian, and i love it.
eggplant omelette, pineapple, organic red rice
a close-up version so you can see how sarap it is
tsk wrong camera angle, inside is brewed avocado leaves with lemon-mint leaf plucked from tina's gardenhad rice tea and chocolate bars for dessert while we talked about sri aurobindo and pondicherry, zen, the various gurus, the dalai lama
Monday, May 5, 2008
downdogs at sunset
downdogs, mw yoga 5:30pm class at the UP gym.
the sun sends lightrays into the dance studio, casting shadows and bright yellow splashes, reflected by the wall mirrors.
the heat is bearable, and the people love it that they can sweat so much.
tanay in may
First three days of may, i found myself unexpectedly freed from a 3-day psycho drama workshop which did not push thru. having canceled my yoga and pilates classes for those days, i took advantage of the sudden freedom by going to tanay and getting more tan and enjoying the plants and animals.
we have an unresolved argument between my brother, his wife, and me. they both say this is a water lily. i always thought this is a lotus, with pink and white variations....
so many summer fruits to eat! papaya and magoes are all there for the picking but i devoted my efforts in consuming the lanka
sitting in the nipa hut on a hot summer afternoon, trying to read a book (walden's pond) after the swim...you can say so much about me by just looking at my feet
my favorite subjects, apart from the potbelly pigs
friday afternoon was sooo hot, one couldn't possibly think straight with the heat. then it rained hard that night, a welcome respite from the heat.
i woke up in the morning with the wetness of the rain covering the leaves, the ground, the air. it started to become hot again by noon. by late afternoon the sky turned dark while i was practicing my freestyle strokes, then the rain came,
along with thunder, along with the wind. swimming out there in the open became a nature event as i felt the elements impress their presence on me. what else is one to do except open ones arms and welcome the rain! it rained throughout the night.
so even on hot summer days there are days when the rain comes to cool the earth...i never really noticed this in previous years...or i wonder is it the global warming that turns hot days into stormy nights? it's not that bad...
we have an unresolved argument between my brother, his wife, and me. they both say this is a water lily. i always thought this is a lotus, with pink and white variations....
so many summer fruits to eat! papaya and magoes are all there for the picking but i devoted my efforts in consuming the lanka
sitting in the nipa hut on a hot summer afternoon, trying to read a book (walden's pond) after the swim...you can say so much about me by just looking at my feet
my favorite subjects, apart from the potbelly pigs
friday afternoon was sooo hot, one couldn't possibly think straight with the heat. then it rained hard that night, a welcome respite from the heat.
i woke up in the morning with the wetness of the rain covering the leaves, the ground, the air. it started to become hot again by noon. by late afternoon the sky turned dark while i was practicing my freestyle strokes, then the rain came,
along with thunder, along with the wind. swimming out there in the open became a nature event as i felt the elements impress their presence on me. what else is one to do except open ones arms and welcome the rain! it rained throughout the night.
so even on hot summer days there are days when the rain comes to cool the earth...i never really noticed this in previous years...or i wonder is it the global warming that turns hot days into stormy nights? it's not that bad...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
ducks
the way the duck and the goose and the ostrich
dance
to the wind and water
as if rain falling
nowwhere
everywhere
dance
to the wind and water
as if rain falling
nowwhere
everywhere
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