Chris Hedges Talks About Collapsing Civilizations and Emergence of the "Crisis Cult"

                Please do watch Abby Martin's brilliantly informative RT Cable TV Talk Show "Breaking the Set" on YouTube.

               I am uploading here Abby Martin's interviews with  Chris Hedges (an investigative journalist) broadcast on Breaking the Set on February 6th 2014 where Chris Hedges quotes Nietzsche as he explains how during a civilization's collapse Intellectuals or "Truth Tellers" from that civilization who have looked into the harsh reality (Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader etc.) try to tell the people about the crisis and the collapse facing them and how the people cannot comprehend it so that the Truth Tellers are shut out from maintream society...they wander the wastelands alone while the people retreat into a "Crisis Cult" .
             Chris Hedges explains that anthropologists who have  studied civilizations in collapse define the Crisis Cult as the creation of a Fantasy or a "Magical Reality" e.g. when the Native Peoples of North America were defeated by the European settlers, the Native People communities started the Ghost Dance in which the people chanted and believed that the Native Warriors will return, their Lands would be freed, the Buffalo herds will return and the White Man would retreat and leave North America.
            Similarly, Chris Hedges hypothesizes that as Corporate Greed destroys Earth's fragile ecosystems and starts killing increasing numbers of rural populations in USA by ravaging local habitats and local environments as a direct consequence of dangerous offshore drilling, fracking, irresponsibly built oil pipelines etc. the American population is witnessing the emergence of its own Crisis Cult in the form of  the steady rise of the Religious Right which denies Evolution, believes the solution to all problems is being "saved" by Jesus, directs hatred at and blames many minority groups including homosexuals, illegal immigrant workers, Muslims etc. for American society's collapse.

       Abby Martin is doing an excellent job in informing the public through her RT cable TV talk show "Breaking the Set".

Chris Hedges Talks about Collapsing Civilizations and the Crisis Cult 

http://youtu.be/_5uPf9SzeyM

Chris Hedges Talks about Fighting Corporate Totalitarianism even if we don't win !!

Dr Manzur Ejaz Reminisces about Munir Niazi

Wichaar web cast posted this interview with Pakistani literary critic Dr Manzur Ejaz about his recollections of Munir Niazi     a must watch for all Pakistanis and all poetry lovers   Dr. Ejaz speaks in Punjabi about Munir Niazi's poetic craft, his diction and his overall personality. Since YouTube is banned in Pakistan, I have uploaded this interview here so that Pakistanis living in Pakistan may watch and enjoy it. Kudos to Wichaar web cast for a great job in popularizing Punjabi poetry... both modern and classical Punjabi poetry !!

Talat's Cinema Notes - Watch Basu Bhattacharya's Art Film "Anubhav" at Na-ee Manzil ... Na-ee Raahein !!

             I have always been a great fan of Basu Bhattacharya (1934-1997), especially his classic 1971 Urdu Art Film "Anubhav" (Experience) which became the first of his Film Trilogy showcasing marital discord and dysfunctional marriages (Anubhav 1971, Avishkar 1973, Griha Pravesh 1979 ).

Excerpt from Wikipedia's page about the movie Anubhav (Experience):
Anubhav (English: Experience; Hindi: अनुभव) is a 1971 Hindi film by noted director Basu Bhattacharya, which stars Sanjeev Kumar, Tanuja Samarth and Dinesh Thakur as leads. The film was the first part of Basu Battacharya's introspective trilogy on marital discord in an urban setting, which included Avishkaar (1973) and Griha Pravesh (1979); and went on to win the 1972 National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film and started a trend later picked even by the mainstream cinema.^[1] The film Anubhav is also remembered for playback singer, Geeta Dutt's finest songs composed by music director Kanu Roy and mesmerizing lyrics by the legendary Indian Urdu Song Writer  Gulzar,  for songs including
 Mayree JaaN!! Mujhay Jaa Naa Kaho Mayree JaaN!
(capital N denotes the nasal 'n' sound or "Noon Ghunna" )
Koee Chupkay Say Aa-kay and
Mayraa Dil Jo Mayraa Hotaa ^{[2]
Manna Dey's riveting song "Phir kaheeN koee Phool Khilaa"}

 

Excerpt from Wikipedia's page about Basu Bhattacharya:
Basu Bhattacharya (1934–1997) was a Hindi film director,^[2][3] most famous for his 1966 film Teesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman (based on a short story - "Maare Gaye Gulfam" by Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1967; he also produced Sparsh in 1985 starring Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah, which won the Filmfare Best Movie Award and the most famous box office hit and critically acclaimed film directed by him remains Avishkaar starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore which received five stars in Bollywood Guide "Collections"^[4] and Rajesh Khanna received Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1975. In 1981 he was a member of the jury at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival.^[5]
He started his career in 1958 by assisting, Bimal Roy in films like, Madhumati and Sujata and later married, Bimal Roy's daughter, Rinki Bhattacharya, much to Bimal Roy's disapproval. This created a rift between him and his mentor.^[6][7] The couple had a son Aditya Bhattacharya (director), and two daughters: Chimmu and Anwesha Arya (a writer). Later after much domestic abuse, his wife Rinki moved out in 1983, and the couple formally divorced in 1990. Rinki went on to write an anthology on Domestic Violence in India, titled, Behind Closed Doors – Domestic Violence in India and became a successful writer, columnist and documentary filmmaker.^[8]

 

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Anubhav  Part-2

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Talat's Cinema Notes - Agnes Varda and Susan Sontag Interview 1969

Agnes Varda, an avant-garde French Art Film Director, who made the shocking and controversial art film "Vagabond" depicting the predicament of a young homeless woman, her attempts to fit in to modern day society and her ultimate failure to do so  is shown being interviewed here on American Television in 1969 along with Susan Sontag, another brilliant writer and film maker  . . .  a rare interview.

Talat's Cinema Notes - Sagar Sarhadi Interview: Art Film "Baazaar" and Spreading Urdu in India

Sagar Sarhadi, a Screenplay Writer and Playwright who wrote the screenplay for the Indian Parallel Cinema Art film "Baazaar" starring Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil as well as "Bhagat Singh Kee Vaapsee" and many other plays, speaks in favor of appreciating and spreading the Urdu language in modern day India. Terrific Interview in two parts.

Talat's Cinema Notes - Chinese Art Film Chungking Express starring Hong Kong Diva Faye Wong!

Watch Chungking Express by clicking on the embedded link here.

Chungking Express is a Chinese Art Film that I enjoyed particularly because of the short monologues that the main character in this movie (a Hong Kong Policeman) engages in while puttering about lonesomely in his empty apartment once his girlfriend (an air hostess) has dumped him and he is not sure whether he is still in love with her or should he make an effort to move on with his life. The monologues with his bathroom soap and bath towel were really funny yet poignant!! 

Chungking  Express stars two leading actors of the Hong Kong movie industry... the girl's part is played by Faye Wong, a particularly talented Diva-like actress who made this role her own by deftly combining meaning silences and facial expressions with improvised dialogue to create an unforgettable modern day heroine . . . a young  mischievous but endearing woman who works in a Fast Food restaurant.

Talat's Cinema Notes - Jim Jarmusch's American Art Film "Stranger than Paradise"

As a PhD student in the U.S. in the mid-80s to the early 90s, I was exposed to many Art films . . . among these were movies by Jim Jarmusch.

Jim Jarmusch uses a light touch (unlike Tarantino !!) in telling his stories.

 Watch "Stranger than Paradise"  by clicking on the link embedded here.

I particularly like Jarmusch's film "Stranger than Paradise" . . . it has a lightly sketched plot, sparse dialogue and the emphasis is on the actors' body language and facial expressions, so that one becomes visually immersed in the story-telling experience. Simply wonderful.