The Great Gatsby

Every once in a while, I arrive at a cross road and actually manage to choose the one feeling like the right one. In this case, it is the night of my last exam and once again I had a decision to make, and I am so glad I decided to spend the night watching a movie. To be fair, the other option was training which quite frankly I did not feel like doing, at all. But I had such a great night with a lovely group of people and it is truly one of those rare occasions that I feel like the stars are aligned. (Get ready for more melodramatic ranting here, I'm just in one of those moods, you know).

So tonight, I went and watched the Great Gatsby. I have to say if it wasn't for my friends inviting me I may have never watched it at all. The American 20s isn't exactly one of the periods I'm most familiar with, and I've never read the book. And yes I'm one of those annoying people who get real fidgety about watching a movie before a book. But I just needed to do something other than being in college and out of the whole air of study that had been drowning me for just about 5 weeks now. My exam being on the third last day, meant that my torture was long and slow. And slow it really was. People had started partying long before the adrenaline even kicked in, and slowly waned off, and yet I still wake every morning with notes and thoughts on all things economics. I am finally liberated. First year, I can finally say goodbye to you (I had a really long first year, I'll might get into that at some point, but not today.)

If I were to sum up the whole movie in one sentence, I will pick a question instead. And this is it, "What is life?". I know this may not be the typical reaction but about halfway through the movie, I kept wandering over and over again on the question. The movie itself was a brilliant production and my friend who loves the book loves the movie and claims it has remained faithful. She even said it cleared out certain ambiguity that the book contained. The music was superbly chosen to create atmospheres of illuminance and of course the cinematography was amazing. It was really well made. But naturally what hits home are the emotions it stirs up in you.

It displays a New York all glitz and glamour, complete with sex lies and betrayal hiding beneath the thin veil of glitter. It lets you have a glimpse of the impossibly rich, money at their disposable and the world as their playground. What more could they possibly want? Nothing and everything. The walls patterned with gold lining accented with dark shades of black, majestic and awe inspiring when it hosts a bevy of people drinking their minds silly. But in the morning, silence rings so loudly it deafens your ears. The hallways stretched so long your legs feel tired just by looking at it. Is it all really worth it?

So I have to say here that this may not be what every one feels when watching the movie. But it certainly is to me. I see a portrayal of vacuous and empty lives desperate for some sense of gravity to pull them back down to earth. And I don't want to be like that. I'm so afraid that humanity has lost its vigour and passion, its empathy and love for one another, and this movie amplifies these fears. The irony was a few hours before I was having my last paper writing about the Great Depression. Yes, the Great Depression was the direct result of the spending habits of the roaring twenties.

I shall end talk of this here now because I have a feeling that I could go on forever. This is more a reflection on life rather than a review itself and so I apologise for that. This is also my first post after a long hibernation due to exams, therefore the words are pouring out of mind incoherently. I might just be glad that after a whole month of economic writing I can think about something besides supply and demand it all its glorious lives it takes (I'm talking mathematically, conceptually, historically, environmentally. Oh yes, the whole range). So again I'm sorry if this post makes no sense whatsoever, but thanks for sticking through anyway.

I guess I should end with saying a little bit more on the movie. It was great. The actors were awesome, and as mentioned, music cinematography, just the whole package. It would be so well worth your money and so much more.

You can get a copy of the book from Amazon or The Book Depository. As for me, I'll wait for my friend's promised book to arrive, in October.

Would I recommend it?
A million times over.
How much do I rate it?
9/10
Would I watch it again?
Yes, definitely.

ps exams are officially over. Ahmahgad. Still need to get to cleaning up my lovely desk. And trust me, it has been much much worst than this.

Hope you have a great day. The sun is shining over here up north.

Thanks for reading!

Only see the light when its burning low...

I have a theory that I love Edinburgh. I know it sounds rather odd because don't you just know when you love something? Well, it doesn't work like that for me. I don't really know why either, but I just know I keep making decisions I question later on. Like the one I'm in right now, which is why am I even in this country?

But one thing I know is every time I go to Edinburgh (and I always end up going there for reasons outside my control) I think to myself God I love this place. I think that's pretty telling.

This last time I went there was for something bank related and I only had time to explore Arthur's Seat which I oddly never did before, because I booked a late train. Cheap train tickets people, I'm a student here...

It was rather gloomy that day, as you can see. But Edinburgh has such a romantic feel to it. Its lovely.

Lately I have been pondering upon too many life questions. I'm in one of my mood periods where the pendulum is swinging backwards and everything seems shit. I'm blaming the fact that half my entire family is celebrating a wedding in lovely Gold Coast while I'm stuck here in the grim North. And I'm blaming my upcoming exams which I have somehow failed to be bullet proof prepared for. 

The other day for the first time I told an old friend that things are not all pretty and fine for me. I struggle and I cry and I hate everything but I move on. I could have told him earlier but there're walls preventing us from being as honest as we used to be. Our youthful teenage years and promises are starting to fade away and these walls that I face with him, I face with many if not all of my other good friends. When it comes down to it, I don't know who to turn to when the burdens become to heavy for me to bear. I've found myself very lonely and isolated so many times I keep wondering where it all went wrong.

So I leave you dear readers here now, first apologising for this rather random depressing post, and then apologising for not having written anything for the past I don't know how long. And lastly to tell you that more posts will probably not be pouring in anytime soon due to the aforementioned exams. 

Thanks for reading. I hope, and I really do hope, that you're having a much better day than I am.

Love

xx