Ryan's Journal

I spent the evening with good ol' chosetec chowing at a near-campus haunt before catching a special showing of Monsoon Wedding, a showing with the director, one Mira Nair of Punjabi descent and a Harvard education, amongst other things. Besides being charming, the director brought some key perspective to her most commercially successful film to date. Having never seen it until tonight, my only impression of it -- besides the fantastic color and set design -- was that it was a parable of enjoying life deeply, even in horrible circumstances. She later proceeded to say that was exactly what she was trying to convey (in one Punjabi word, I believe; if you know Punjabi and a word meaning "joy in life," I'd love to hear from you). Besides making a beautiful film, the artist communicated exactly what she intended to this audience despite our obvious cultural differences. Her movie deserved its accolades and success. If you haven't seen it yet, see it.

As Ms. Nair put it, once you bring something local to life, really to life the way it is, you've made something universal.

Well, ok, I also left wondering what marigolds taste like.

On the ride home, the subway engineer announced to us at Central Square that the Yankees had lost 2 - 0. Ah, Boston. How elegantly he conveyed the Boston Red Sox fans' attitude: they're not rooting for the Marlins, they're rooting against the Yankees.

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