Based on the novel of the same name by Kenta Fukusaku, Battle Royale shook the world when it first appeared on screen in 2000. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku, the movie raised quite a furor in Japan at its time of release and caused many eyebrows to be raised in film circles. However despite the gore fest that the movie undoubtedly is, its theme was finally endorsed by critics for the disturbing insight it led into the workings of power, and the critique of cruel and authoritarian governing systems that it engaged with.
Set in the near future, the premise of the story is set by the prologue title card, which reads: “At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act—AKA: The BR Act…”
With juvenile delinquency on the rise and the increasing discomfiture of the government, the Battle Royale Act or the BR Act serves to create the means of keeping the youth in check and frightening them into submission. The Act allows for a randomly selected class of students to be selected each year to participate in the Battle Royale, a three day programme in which the students are whisked off to a remote isolated area where they are fenced in, given basic survival packaging and weapons and told to kill each other off. Only one person, the last one alive at the end of three days, may be allowed to go home safe, and if there are more than one left at the end of three days the explosive collars they have been forced to wear will detonate, killing them all.
The movie begins with a Ninth Grade class ragging their teacher Takeshi Kitano. One of the students slashes him with a knife but is protected from resulting prosecution by one of the protagonists Noriko. Kitano resigns soon after in frustration.
A year later while on a school trip the class finds itself gassed and kidnapped only to find they have been selected for the military sponsored Battle Royale programme and Kitano is the one behind it all. Now if any of them wants to get out alive, they must ensure that all their classmates are dead. Armed with an arbitrary weapon contained in their safety kit, which could range from a paper fan to a tin shield to a submachine gun, they are now set lose in an island where suddenly age old classmates have become a threat and friendships hold no value. We see how even as different people react differently, either by joining wholeheartedly in the blood fest, refusing to be party to it, hiding away or rebelling against the ones responsible for it, ultimately almost all fall victim to a game constructed by a power much larger than any one of them. The excessive gore, violence and bloodshed hence gets sidelined by the deep emotional and psychological trauma of the experience and it’s the latter which ends up being the more horrifying aspect of the film.
Apparently influenced by both his own experiences when his class was drafted to help out during World War II and the highly competitive educational and work environment stifling the youth, the movie simply shows us in an extreme form problems which already exist today and solutions which governing bodies already recourse too albeit in a less palpable manner.
Although often compared to Lord of the Flies, the movie’s premise is different in that this is the controlled aware adult world knowingly, consciously and deliberately manipulating the hapless youth into engaging in gory violence. The violence is never shown to be a natural impulse on the part of the youth in ungoverned situations, though it is shown to be an easy way out in times of desperation.
This notion of organized planned state authorized barbaric toying with helpless citizens has been oft used in fiction, most notably in the recent bestselling book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which has often been compared to Battle Royale by critics. Indeed as far as dystopian Sci-fi or indeed cult movies go, Battle Royale is a must watch for every true connoisseur of films.
My Rating: 4.5/5 ]]>
Wikipedia describes rock and roll as a genre of music that originated in America in the 1950s and is played with a lead guitar, a rhythm guitar, a string bass and a drum kit…or is it?
Rock and roll proved to be much more than just music. It was the sound that truly shook conservative America for good, and eventually took pretty much the whole world by storm. It wasn’t just music, it was a provocation.
It was an affront to authority and the oh-so-propah world with its set rules, rules the youth was desperately trying to find a way to break away from. As rock critic Jim Miller put it, “the name itself was sexual, derived from black slang for copulation.” There was something about the music itself, which with it’s out of the world back- beat and amplified guitars broke all conventions, perhaps it was the crudeness and utter madness of it all. But can we really blame music for bringing a revolution in a quiet, conventional world? Well, the music then itself was pretty simple, with plain riffs and casual lyrics. However its origins were not. In fact, rock and roll was the result of more than a century of musical cross-pollination between white and black, master and slave; a music born of miscegenation. It was a symbol of fighting back and breaking the chains of subordination and slavery. It thus went on to become one of the first signs of democracy and a true product of the consumer society. It was also its easy availability which soon led to its rapid base growth followed by an ever increasing fan following. And this was only the beginning.
Then came the (in)famous 60s when it became official- the new mantra was that of ‘sex, drugs and rock n roll’ (President John F. Kennedy being a notorious icon and consequently a victim of the age himself). This is when bands like The Beatles, The Doors and the Rolling Stones came into the mainstream with path breaking music defying conventional thoughts and gave their listeners a new zest, the freedom to question, to fight. At that point of time, any kid who could muster up the finances for a new guitar and find some like – minded people could start a band of his own, and not surprisingly this is how many of the most famous bands came into existence. Thus this is where rebellion took its initial shape and was molded further. It definitely had its pros and cons, as this was followed by the hippie culture which was more subtled down yet deeply influenced nonetheless. And Elvis Presley, Queen and AC/DC et al prove it. The 70s will always be remembered for the revolution it brought which changed the way people thought around the world.
Forty years have passed since then but the impact remains deeply embedded in our beings, mostly passed on to us as legacy by our parents by having been contributors to the age themselves, the age of sheer rebellion, the age we feel we deserved to have been born in, the age that started it all…the age of rock n roll. ]]>
The structure of CAT has changed quite a bit. Firstly, it shall be an online test this year instead of the written test which had been going on from time immemorial. Secondly, the number of questions has been reduced to 60-70 and the time duration has been cut short by 15 minutes (Initially, it had been a two and a half hour paper). Since this is the first time CAT is being conducted online, there will be a 15 min tutorial that will take place prior to the examination to make the aspirants familiar with the new pattern. Though the syllabus has not changed significantly, the decrease in the number of questions makes selective studying a highly inadvisable option.
In order to be well prepared for the test just be particular about going through the CAT papers of the last ten years. As for scoring remember that since there is negative marking, it is always better to rely on the accuracy rather than the number of questions answered.
Are the hikes in Metro and bus fares or the overall inflation of food prices affecting you? Or are the problems college fee hikes, diminishing monthly allowances and rising expenditures? Well, don’t let these hamper your spirits. Looking at the general student reaction to rising prices, DUB conducted a study and came up with ways to rid you of financial woes.
Delhi University’s official website houses many advertisements regarding requirements for the posts of Project Fellow, Research Fellow, and Field Assistant for a decent stipend and convenient hours which is open to all DU students.
One can also contact the campus placement cell of his/her college regarding summer internships. Aditi, a student of JMC who interned with Fab India tells us, “Well, the work load wasn’t a lot. We were supposed to create a database of student responses to Fab products. It was fun since we got to travel and meet new people and I also earned Rs. 2000 in less than a month.”
Those interested in writing can apply to various newspapers. Event management companies routinely need the younger lot to manage events where they can earn a whopping Rs. 500-1000 a day! A usual internship process comprises of selecting candidates on the basis of their C.V., followed in most cases by an interview.
Divya from St. Stephen’s College interned with the reputed PricewaterhouseCoopers where she had to work on transfer pricing as well as go through annual reports of various automobile firms. She says, “Since I worked under a mentor, I received valuable and enriching work experience. Besides, I also did a voluntary project on gaming and gambling and earned a total of Rs. 6000 in 6 weeks.”
A common problem faced by undergraduate students is that they are not usually considered for internships given their lack of experience and limited course coverage. Here MSF (Mathematical Science Foundation) provides relief. It is a student oriented body and considers them on the basis of merit, past experiences, and recommendations from professors. A lot of Commerce, Mathematics and Economics students also turn to banking internships which are easy to get and good for the pocket.
Of course, DU cannot be left behind in creative ways to earn extra bucks. A few girls were selected and paid for ushering in guests and visitors in the recent Pragati Maidan Trade Fair. Many people earn their way through their blogs. In fact, Geetika from the DUB team got a job offer to work with a New York based newspaper from somebody who happened to read her blog!
News around campus is that market research companies need respondents for Group Discussions and surveys. A decent pay per respondent, food and travel is your return if you decide to work with them.
North campus students may especially be familiar with the lucrative business of selling books and notes at the end of University exams to many book shops in Kamla Nagar.
BACK THEN
So let’s accept it. Till a few years back, life was convenient.
There was a school bus that was paid for. There were some parents who went a step ahead to ensure their dainty darlings don’t miss the air conditioned travelling too much. There was the majority who stood in the balcony in their night suits, asking the driver to wait for two minutes after five minutes of the repetitive plea.
AND NOW
So let’s accept it. Life is tough. This crib started a year or two back and is going to remain.
There’s a budget.
There’s a need to be everywhere, there’s a need to fit everything in, there’s a need to convince yourself that you’ve grown up and there’s a need to check everything off that ‘to-do-list’.
All this without commuting?
We’re students and we’re commuting in the capital city of the country. The former brings us a fast life and the latter sprinkles us with distances we always assume will shrink. How we wish the former guaranteed us our own vehicles and the latter provided smooth travel. The reality lies in inevitable dependence on auto walas who can never assure you a safe travel. The reality lies in congested buses where marking a territory for the toes proves to be difficult. Completely ignoring the lack of space they provide, we’ll be kind and give them some space here.
AGONY AUTOS
As students of the varsity ,each one of us has a long drawn association with autos and have often complained of being overcharged. A list of some preposterous excuses students claim to have encountered, Pardon the use of a not-so-alien language for authenticity cannot be compromised.
- “10 rupaiye zaada lagenge kyunki traffic hai.”
- “Hum nahi jaenge kyunki sawaari nahi milegi.”
- “Jab se gaon se waapas aaye hai,meter nahi chal raha.”
- “Meter se fayeda nahi hai kyunki chillar nahi hai.”
- “ Wahaan toh jam hai. Aap bhi mat jao.”
It won’t be soon before their importance fades away. Need I say, they’re crawling all over the city. All the whining and tomorrow morning you’ll still be seated on those jazzy auto seats staring at the meter and hoping for it to work.
BUMPY BUSES
They’re frequent, cheap and safe. If you’re uncomfortable, try re discovering the best playlist on your I Pod. The rugged journey will transform into an extraordinary drive. The DTC and Blue line buses dominate bus travel in Delhi. The past few years has seen buses connecting Delhi to the NCR as well. Also with CWG round the corner, the service has seen the addition of low floor ac buses which guarantees an inclination towards the commuter’s comfort, now, high on priority. For beginners at bus travel, confidence is the key word. Be sure of your route and travelling from Point A to Point B will never be a task, left incomplete.
MANIC METRO
It’s still fragmented, but when asked about the amount of relief the Delhi Metro has brought, to the commuters and the traffic alike, one only sees heads nod in agreement. It’s on the verge of connecting the entire city and the city to the NCR and it certainly is doing wonders. The concept is magnificent but admittedly the recent past has highlighted its defects as well. However, the convenience it provides to the students of Delhi University is a glorious achievement. Vishwavidyalaya Metro station of North Campus is a mere twenty minutes from CP which is suitably connected to almost all parts of the city. It has marked its existence in West, East and Central Delhi. Last week saw it’s gracious entry into Noida. For students commuting from there, the long wait for buses has now been replaced by a simplified card swipe. Saying that it’s widely used is an understatement. The stations are well-equipped, the service efficient and the overall system, user-friendly. The Metro has almost fallen victim to inflation and thus, like any other essential commodity, we got to pay more to use it!
CLASSY CARS
Let’s not be unkind to a those who’re lucky enough to steer their own vehicles. It’s not essential for everyone to experience the “tough life”, really. For those bestowed this rare privelegel. Realization must not have struck yet, but you can and must at least consider converting your vehicle to CNG. One ride from North Campus, all the way to South will cost you not more than twelve bucks. It fits your budget with ease, doesn’t it? Also, you’re doing your bit to benefit the environment. And if this isn’t motivation enough, catch the next show of 2012!
Two things. One, they’ve taken leaps to make our life easy. Two, it’s our birth right to crib. So amongst all the whining, waiting and hyper-ventilating; amongst all the irritation, frustration and dissatisfaction; let’s not take a moment and instead, do our “own thing” to say cheers to the mad travelling that Delhi has to offer with a constant hope that OUR DELHI, OUR CITY, STAYS CONNECTED.
Are we tired of Living?
Judgement Day, The End of the world, Apocalypse, whatever be the nomenclature destruction theories have existed from time immemorial. Religions, cultures and races all embrace the concept with disturbing enthusiasm. Atleast in days of old the destruction of the world was still spoken of something likely to happen far into the future. An End was inevitable, but all those who preached it lived comfortably with the thought that they would be long gone by the time it chanced to occur, by when it would be someone else’s problem.
Now however people, and the youth especially, are over eager to believe in ancient and vague predictions which predict the end of the world as we know it, literally or metaphorically. The morbid fascination of recent generations with large-scale destruction and disintegration of society can be seen through countless highly grossing and often critically acclaimed films such as The Day After Tomorrow, Terminator, Artificial Intelligence, War of the Worlds, Total Recall, On the Beach, Akira, Battle Royale, Ghost in the Shell, Serenity, Twelve Monkeys, The Matrix, and most recently 2012. Dystopian novels, graphic novels and movies are on the rise, which see no future for man save either complete social breakdown or an apocalyptic future. Ridiculously old and arbitrary predictions are taken seriously not because the sources are deemed particularly trustworthy, (indeed countless such destruction theories in the past have proven to be mere hogwash, in the event of the fact that we are still alive today) but rather because people want the predictions to come true. People rather seem to want the day of complete annihilation to arrive and to experience the excitement of it in their own lives, an ironical wish considering there won’t be much of that life left afterwards.
Many Psychologists have argued that the rise of dystopian (as opposed to utopian) theories, i.e. bleak pessimistic theories which see anarchy and destruction as the only future for mankind, is a direct result of the depression felt after witnessing the barbaric uses science and technology, the epitome of human progress, has been put to. The most pessimistic and cynical literature for example came from Japan after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Similarly after the World Wars there was a back lash of dystopian science fiction and after the recent concern over excessive global warming came the movie The Day After Tomorrow, which began with the scenario that there was snow in Delhi due to the warped weather conditions caused by Global Warming and ended with, you guessed it, total destruction. Again after the announcement of the experiment to simulate the Big Bang in 2008 a string of emails, websites and newspaper stories discussed the possible destruction of the world due to a ‘black hole’ the Collider may generate. As it stands the experiment was delayed and is now scheduled for 2012, the very year the famous Mayan Long Count Calendar ends at and which has sparked the latest End of World debates, even going so far as to inspire the latest sci-fi release 2012.
So perhaps it really is us getting wary of science and its consequences. Perhaps we have finally realized that humans are now speeding down a steady path of self destruction from which it would be impossible to turn back, so that a sudden and large scale destruction of the world might indeed be more palatable than a slow but steady decline.
On the other hand one could argue that it is simply a lot of people who are very bored with an increasingly clockwork existence who are forced to indulge in these imminent destruction theories so that atleast the portion of their lives between now and the destruction date seems slightly more worth living. Daily frustrations seem unimportant when we believe that the institutions causing our problems will soon be wiped off the face of the earth. Exams aren’t so irksome when you can imagine your examiner’s face blown into smithereens. Losses don’t matter at a time when everyone’s going to lose their lives in one big gala party!
In other words with the finality of Doomsday around the corner, life, or whatever is left of it, seems to get interesting again. It’s only a greatly messed up generation which needs to look forward to a doomsday to be infused with the enthusiasm to live through daily lackluster life. Worse still the promised apocalypse is probably not even going to happen, leaving our generation even more disillusioned than before.
So it’s best to pull out of this morbid comfort group before you get in too deep. Deal with the thought that the world is not going to end. That terrible though it may sound you shall live through it. Just enjoy the dystopian movies for their special effects, eat a chocolate when depressed and bung yourself out of the window if you can’t stand classes anymore. Whatever you do, for God’s sake (he did put in a lot of effort creating it after all) stop wishing for the world to end. The world has enough problems as it is.
Adding to the list of eating joints in Kamala Nagar is 9 75, a multi cuisine restaurant, literally located right in the heart of the market. In the same lane as QD’s and other such restaurants, 9 75 simply stands due to the sheer attractiveness of its ambiance both from the outside as well as the inside. Another high point of the restaurant is the expertly prepared wide range of cuisines available here. The restaurant offers Chinese, Italian, Mexican and Indian besides a host of scrumptious deserts. The pastas are good to taste, prepared in a wide variety of sauces and made available in numerous pasta types and accompanying toppings. I would even recommend the Mexican food here! Its my personal opinion that the pizza could certainly be improved upon, specially if one was to compare it to the other tasty dishes being offered. A word of caution: Do not be driven away from the swanky appearance of the restaurant presuming it out to be of your budget for 975 is a total value for money. It is definitely worth a try once, if not regular visits. A thumbs up for 9 75. ]]>
So what do you get when a botany honours graduate, a graphics designer, an astrophysicist and an electronics honours genius get together to make some music? One of the best rock bands in the history of music of course. As is justly said by music critic Rickey Wright, “Queen brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘over the top’ The quartet’s canny sense of melody and sophisticated vocal harmonies–not to mention Mercury’s raised eyebrow–have travelled well through the years.” The band was formed in 1969 but it was not until 1974 that they marked their first milestone in rock music, and it is also the period, which made music reach an all new landmark. What makes Queen’s music so different from the others in the age is their originality, flow, diversity, zeal and the ability to connect with their audience. And Queen- Greatest Hits 1 gives you just that. It is a culmination of all their biggest highlights from the period of 1974 to 1981. And as is unanimously declared according to popular demand and global votes, out of all the three compilations, Queen’s Greatest Hits 1 is arguably the best Greatest Hits compilation ever released by any band. This best selling album of UK was first released in November 1981 under the label of EMI/ Parlophone. Although a US version later became available with quite a few editions, the UK version with its 17 hit singles remains the one still in popular demand. The U.S. however was able to add “Under Pressure” (Queen’s duet with David Bowie) to its collection, as it was released during that interim of the month taken by the album to be released in the US. The album opens with Bohemian Rhapsody, perhaps Queen’s most famous song till date, which with its blend of various musical styles including acappella, ballad, guitar solo, opera and hard rock in one piece of music created a whole new definition of fusion in rock. The same versatility can be seen throughout the album, with each song an original magnum opus in its own rights. And though it wouldn’t be wholly fair to mention just a handful, their other famous favourites include Another One Bites the Dust, Killer Queen, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Somebody to Love, Play the Game and the unanimously loved, We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions, whose covers can be seen being done by many a famous artist to this date. The multi-layered crazy vocal harmonies of these songs definitely heighten their appeal. The lyrics for all their songs have mostly been written by Freddie Mercury, the founder of the band, and consist of a lot of experimentation and innovation, which has played a vital role in the success of Queen’s music. With more than 60 platinum certifications and millions of copies sold till date, Queen has not just become music but a way of life and the Queen Greatest Hits 1 album is a must keep for every new and true Queen fan]]>
The 3rd Atelier Youth Theatre Week was held from 15th– 21st November. Organised by Atelier Expressions, the week-long event offered college teams a chance to perform in front of audiences outside of the regular competitive fests. 10 street plays and 10 stage plays were chosen from among various college entries through rigorous line-reading sessions.
Asmita Theatre’s “Ambedkar Aur Gandhi” was the opening play at the Hotel Ashok amphitheatre on the 15th. The next two days were devoted entirely to street plays. Colleges from across campus performed plays that dealt with a broad variety of problems, from drugs to terrorism to poverty to time-wastage. Colleges on the first day were Hansraj, Khalsa, SRCC and Kamla Nehru and Hindu College. The second day’s teams were Sri Venkateshwara, IP College, JMC, Lady Irwin and LSR.
The last three days saw college teams as well as professional groups performing stage plays at the Sri Ram Centre. LSR was the first to perform its English play “Hairy tales from Here and There”, followed by SRCC with “Maujood”, “Kindertransport” performed by Miranda House and finally “Lights Out” by Gargi College. These were followed by a professional performance of “iLHAM” by the aRanya Theatre Group.
The next day started with Hansraj performing “A Million Little Pieces”, followed by Hindu with a Hindi adaptation of “The Black Comedy”, Ramjas with “On a Muggy Night in Mumbai” and Kamla Nehru with “Bravely Fought the Queen”. The day ended with Atelier and Ankur’s professional performance of “Antigone”.
The last day of the festival opened with “Aadhe Adhure”, performed by Hansraj, followed by Deen Dayal Upadhyay College’s “Gul-Guli Circus”, “Bombshells” by Gargi College and finally “Romeo Juliet Aur Andhera” performed by Khalsa. The final theatrical performance was “The Leela Tapes” performed by the Actor Factor Theatre Company.
The 3rd AYTW was attended by well-known theatre personalities such as Piyush Misra, Saurabh Shukla Gul Panag, Lushin Dubey and Vinay Pathak. They not only watched the plays, but also offered their feedback and advice to the performing teams. The closing ceremony was held at Turquoise Cottage, with a headline performance by Them Clones, who were supported by U8 Noise, the winners of the Rock Castle Acoustic Hunt.
Annual Rajpal Memorial Inter College One-Act Competition
The Shakespeare Society of St. Stephens College organized its Annual Rajpal Memorial Inter College One-Act Competition. It was a three- day event, which commenced on the19th of November and culminated on the 21st. The event saw the participation of 12 colleges including Hansraj College, Kirori Mal College, Lady Shri Ram College, Miranda House and St. Stephens itself.It was judged by the famous Sabina Mehta Jaitly and Bhaskar Ghosh of the Yatric Theatre Group . Rajpal saw Dramatics Societies of various colleges in DU taking theater to another level altogether. As always, the quality of all the scripts was outstanding and the event, like every year, maintained its prestige.
“The Problem” ,- the St. Stephens play directed by Mikhail Sen was adjudged the best. This was followed by Hansraj College who were the first runner-up. Their play was the famous translation of “Aadhe Adhure”. It also won Shireen Parihee the Best Director title. Miranda House was the second runner-up. The Best Actor was tied between Anuja Vaidya From St. Stephens and Sahil Chawla from Hansraj College.