The Middle Ground

So I went to watch Wonder Woman after reading and hearing rave reviews. The movie lives up to all the hype about the fighting sequences, the costumes and the weapons. It indeed has tear-jerking moments where groups of tall, strong women live and train together, learn sword-fighting, archery and shoot arrows while hanging sideways on horseback. A strong value system based on ability, honour, justice and compassion lies behind the decisions made by these Amazonian women. But I couldn't watch it till finish. Something about it resonated with my general disillusionment with the type of characters women end up playing in cinema. On my way back home, I reflected on what I was expecting to be different in the first ever movie about a woman super hero. Did wonder woman actually break any stereotypes at all? I think not. Here's why : The archetype of a Superman, the first glimpse of which I came across in Man vs Superman, has a set of unique features that our collective fantasies ...

When Consciousness manifested as Creation, that was the only instance that anything ever happened without a memory. Since then, everything that has been happening has been crystallized into space time. Thus our minds keep repeating to us what our ancestors told themselves subconsciously. This collective ancestral memory perhaps passes through our genes. Perhaps there is an algorithm for every individual that decides exactly which nerves fire up in the event of rejection, criticism or failure and which kind of childhood memories these incidents trigger.  And perhaps, how each person consequently deals with this new crisis coupled with the sudden onslaught of unpleasant memories, makes each of us so uniquely beautiful. These agonizing internal battles mostly end in 2 ways - 1) The storm causes too much destruction around in the form of blaming, fault-finding, feeling victimised, seeking closure outside, plotting and exacting revenge, feeling guilty for being wra...