Men at Malls

A lot of those who were distraught by reading one of my previous posts asked me “then what do men actually do?” well there is lot that men do/don’t/can’t or are forced to do at mall.

Making payment was actually the thing that most of the men are proud of, though most of men still swing their wallets at payment counter but they can’t claim to be the only one as nowadays women does the same.

So what do they do?
If there are two or more guys together then window shopping and bird watching is subconscious outcome. Men don’t do window shopping but as there is usually confusion about what to buy and what not, men usually end up doing window shopping. And with women, men are perpetually confused and they don’t mind adding distraction to their confused state.

The funniest one that you will ever see is men holding women’s purse and waiting near trial rooms. Nowhere else you will every see so many men holding their partner’s purses and waiting patiently. You really got to see it, how funny it looks with so many men are holding women’s purse and are totally clueless what to do next.

Flirting with sales-woman is not habitual act for men (though, there are always some exception) but every shop expects this to happen. So, they have already worked on to steal man’s charm and when man is thinking that he has charmed the lady, the sales-woman knows her counter charm is very well working.

Walking around the shop is certainly what most of men don’t prefer especially when they don’t have to buy anything. Meandering around the shop mentally tires men faster then gym routine; you see men looking out for chair to relax. You will always find some men at a corner on chair, perfectly relaxed knowing why he is there.

What men don’t do (here) is checking out woman’s section and you would rarely find men checking out women’s clothes. If you are standing and find other people giving strange look then it is more likely that you are standing in front of lingerie section. In last five years I have seen only one person (man) in lingerie section actually trying to buy something, I could see other men at distance really wondering “what the hell this guy is doing” and sales-women was actually blushing (as they are hardly used to sell lingerie to men).

One thing that men are not allowed to do at certain malls is standing near woman’s trial room, they are kept at some distance. I can understand, men are supposed to be perverts, always looking at other women. But then, how many men would be really interested in watching their women when their comment really doesn’t count.

District 9

This is one of few movies that comes once in a while and when you sit down to watch it you really don't expect too much out it. District 9 is pathbreaking in all sense for a sci-fi movie especially those dealing with extraterrestrial lives. The beginning bugs you off with its docu-type depiction of events and that keeps on going throughout the movie. Even the climax fades out in similar fashion, then you think what the f**k!!

By the time credits starts rolling you realise that you have never seen movie like before, not because it has news documentary feature-film kind of treatment ( which nowadays lot of movies have) but its paradigm shift in a depiction of handling of an issue- what happens when aliens visit our planet? Normally most of the movies depict such scenario with a resultant clash of species (which i don’t deny is the possibility) but they have never tried to look into other aspects.

District9 brings to light different such scenarios.
What if aliens lands to take asylum? How do we deal with them? How we going to live with them?
What happens when aliens visit a developing/poor country instead of new york/london, how do people deal with it?
How a poor/developing country is going to manage this mess?
What if aliens are not strong enough despite being technologically advanced? Are we going to rule over them just like we do over other animals? Do we gonna give them any fundamental rights? Will we give our piece of land to aliens?

The movie tries to explore many such issues. The news commentary/documentary style does help keeping the flow of the movie in check (though it could have been avoided to some extent as you continuously feel like watching news documentary). It is fast movie which sticks to its plot. The cacophonic in-charge of alien handling unit does his job, as it has been played by a lesser known international actor we aren’t too bothered by him though he turns out to be a pivotal character and you may even end up sympathizing and sobbing for him in the end.

Portrayal and the setup of movie is very realistic (and that’s the reason it remains in your head). I was amazed by the scale of production design, the whole district 9, the sci-fi setup, army and the weapons, didn’t much look like indie film. It was only in the end I realized the culprit- peter Jackson, when his name rolled up. Finally, this guy well spent his money on something. He will be very happy because I’m sure this movie will become a cult classic, sooner or later.