Understanding Summer Finn: A Mirror to Modern Relationships

Watching the movie “(500) Days of Summer” from Summer Finn’s perspective is an uncommon approach, but for those who see reflections of themselves in her character, it offers profound insights. Summer Finn is more than just a character in a romantic comedy; she embodies the complexity and autonomy that many women experience but are seldom depicted in film. My connection with Summer stems from our shared traits and experiences—understanding her as a person provides a deeper appreciation of her character and the movie’s message.Summer’s decision to cut her hair short symbolizes more than a simple change in style; it reflects her autonomy and desire for change.

Throughout the film, Tom Hansen views Summer as a broken girl in need of fixing, failing to see her for who she truly is: a woman seeking fun and spontaneity without the need for a conventional relationship. Summer’s clarity about her intentions from the beginning is often overshadowed by Tom’s idealized perception of her. This dynamic highlights a broader societal issue where women are often viewed as concepts rather than individuals. “It’s official. I’m in love with Summer. I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love it when she sleeps.” -note how Tom only compliments her physical attributes and not a single thing that reveals anything about her as a person. While summer from the very beginning announces her intentions towards Tom-“I like you, Tom. I just don’t want a relationship”. If this was narrated from the perspective of Summer, we the audience would have had a much deeper peek into the struggles of Summer’s own personhood.

Summer Finn stands out in the realm of romantic comedies. Unlike the typical heroine who bends to fit the male protagonist’s narrative, Summer walks away, confident in her desires and unbothered by the need to please. If the story had been told from Summer’s perspective, her autonomy and clear intentions would have been more pronounced, challenging the manic pixie dream girl stereotype she is often mislabeled with. Her character illustrates the irony of being misunderstood and stereotyped in a world that struggles with genuine self-awareness.

In today’s culture of fleeting relationships, “(500) Days of Summer” serves as a cautionary tale. It portrays the reality of situationships where one person is overly invested, and the other remains detached. The film warns against delusions in romantic relationships and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness. Summer’s recounting of her past relationships, marked by naive reasons for dating, holds a mirror to many viewers’ experiences. It underscores the need for self-discovery before seeking meaningful connections.Tom’s perception of Summer, fueled by superficial commonalities like shared music tastes, underscores a common mistake in relationships—confusing surface-level similarities with deep compatibility. Summer’s story is not one of doomed romance but a lesson in understanding oneself and recognizing the realities of modern relationships. It urges viewers to pay attention to themselves and the world around them, finding personal clarity before seeking their “Autumn.”

Reflecting on my connection with Summer Finn, I realize that she has been both a mirror and a window for me. Through her character, I have seen parts of myself and gained insights into the experiences of others. “(500) Days of Summer” made Summer’s character relatable in ways that transcend the typical romantic comedy narrative, offering a profound commentary on love, self-awareness, and personal growth.

Summer Finn’s journey in “(500) Days of Summer” parallels Clementine Kruczynski from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Both characters resist conventional romantic roles and emphasize emotional autonomy. They challenge their partners to see them as individuals, not fantasies, highlighting the need for self-discovery and authenticity in relationships. Even though Clementine had her own mental mess to compartmentalise and also she was way more present and active in her relationship emotionally than summer ever was. Yet her ” Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive. But I’m just a fucked-up girl who’s lookin’ for my own peace of mind” quote directly resonates with summer and her situation. Thus, creating a connection between the two seemingly ‘manic pixie’ heroines of our favourite ‘doomed romance’ films.

Also, I asked chatgpt to rephrase my essay cause I am too tired+ busy to edit it myself. (-1000 aura points to me for that)

To end this, let us view “500 Days of Summer” as a cautionary tale rather than a doomed romance, recognizing Summer as a real person rather than blaming her. Fifteen years after this masterpiece! Lastly, thanks to my friend P. for recommending both the movies. Miss having the same taste in music as him 😉

Trying to imagine Sisyphus happy

I don’t know who Sisyphus is. General information says that he was some Greek king in exile who had been punished by the gods to roll a rock on a mountain, but before the rock could reach the other side, everytime, would come back down rolling to the beginning point and he’d have to begin all over again.

image courtsey- https://www.behance.net/gallery/44067829/Albert-Camus-The-Myth-of-Sisyphus-Illustration

why did Albert Camus make Sisyphus famous?

Man loved myths, man was a French philosopher, man invented the phrase “one must imagine Sisyphus happy”, to which I add “one must imagine Sisyphus winning”. Now, what did he mean? pretty simple- that life has no inherent meaning and we are bound to repeat the same boring tasks over and over again throughout our life, but at least, to have the will to do so, we must find joy in the process. It also reflects the Hindu Philosophy of fulfilling your duties and not waiting for any reward. Now, my peers in academia will be extremely eager to find flaws in my definition and theory. But one thing I know for certain is that the success of Abraham Cowley’s odes was based on his misinterpretation of Pindar’s odes. Maybe I understand why Samuel Beckett wrote his play Waiting for Godot in French- that is to avoid the Anxiety of Influence (a term coined by Harold Bloom)- he did not want to worry while writing if his individual talent is following the long glorious traditions of English Drama or not. Okay, looks like someone got lost in their stream of consciousness . Anyway, how can I connect this all together? This philosophy of Camus has given birth to a school of thought named Absurdism. Absurdism is nothing but the belief that life has no meaning or purpose (I sound like Sadh guru with all this “nothing but”). And from all the bits of pieces of literature that I have mentioned in this paragraph, Waiting for Godot is one such text that flashes out Absurdism- In the play, we are given a time: a certain day and it’s yesterday and tomorrow, a place: a land with a drying tree, the land might be anywhere, and action: waiting. Yet, nothing happens.

Martin Esslin in his Theatre of the Absurd writes how when this play was first staged, a bunch of erudite theatre goer audience was heavily disappointed in the play as they expected the play to have a deeper meaning-which it lacked, but on the other hand, in 1957 when the play was staged before a bunch of prisoners, they could relate to it. Perhaps it was the endless waiting that had drawn them in, or the lack of intellectual show-off. However, the interesting thing is , in Camus’ own absurdist novel The Outsider, the protagonist, Camus’ ideal ‘absurd man’ Meursault, by the end of the play, finds himself in the prison, waiting to be executed. The absurd man according to Camus is the man for whom life holds no purpose or meaning, he who does not believe in divine existence or judgement, and is ‘amoral’- meaning that he is guided by his own integrity rather than the moral codes set by the society. This amorality might lead to the commitment of ‘crime’ by the absurd man (as when Meursault kills the Arab) and might also be the reason why many prison convicts found Godot easier to comprehend than the learned men- to them, the absurdity made sense.

Why did absurdism emerge?

Many reasons. As a response to Sartre’s Existentialism, the growing self awareness of man in this rapidly changing modern world, and one thing that I could comprehend to be the main catalyst is the first and the second world war. Pre world-war man had a blueprint of his life: the pre-Darwinian man would be driven by his divine duties, and a bit more skeptical post-Darwinian man would be driven by his moral and social duties. Suppose you wake up today, you have in interview in 2 hours, this interview is very vital as it determines your livelihood, you are prepared to give your best….and suddenly a war breaks out! by the time you get a grasp of what’s happening, the whole company building is turned to a heap of dust. That makes us question how much of in control of our own lives are we truly?(the closest to this uncertainty I’ve experienced in COVID 19 personally. But let’s not forget that while I’m writing this inside my airconditioned room, half of the Palestinian population is wiped out from the face of this earth as Israel is engaged in committing genocide.) A world where individual life has no meaning and neither can we say that it’s up to the individual to direct it’s course, is truly absurd. So can Sisyphus truly be happy always? nobody can say for sure. Remove Sisyphus from a certain time, situation, and place and he is free to be happy. But rolling the rock in a certain time and space was his punishment. Now let’s take a look at his situation: a punishment that required groundbreaking work but also gave him time to introspect. Now what if he had been sent to a Nazi concentration camp instead, as a punishment- I’d argue how inhumane it is to imagine him happy in that situation. so there is the crux, one must face the absurdity head on but also is ‘happy’ truly a sensible word to use in certain contexts? However, it is what it is. If or when one has the liberty to think in the first place, then one must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Then why do I imagine Sisyphus winning?

Recently in a friends group chat, I playfully remarked, “While some call it the law of attraction, I prefer to call it healthy delusion.”( It reminds me of that white-haired guy who, despite repeatedly saying “Nah, I’d Win”, found himself sliced in half. It’s a witty example that aligns with Aristotle’s philosophy of fate versus free will.) This tagline is an invitation for those enthusiastic about the law of attraction and readers of books like “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” to consider exploring genuine philosophy instead of pseudoscience.

By the way, if you’re interested in delving further into Absurdist fiction, I’d recommend not only the well-known figures like Camus, Beckett, and Ionesco but also the captivating works of Franz Kafka, who happens to be your favorite “insect guy.” His writings offer a unique perspective for those seeking to explore the realms of Absurdist literature.

Are There Really Turtles All The Way Down?

When I heard the phrase “Turtles All The Way Down” a familiar image of a four elephants holding the earth, standing on the back of a turtle flashed in front of my eyes. Perhaps we’ve seen this image on history or mythology books. But what does it have to do with John Green‘s coming of age novel? Well, clever enough Green is!

Famous scientist Bertand Russell once gave a lecture where a old woman contradicting him told that the earth is standing on turtles and its turtles all the way down. I wonder where those turtles end? And the answer is probably it’s endless. Similarly the phrase now works as a metaphor for endless spirals, just like the endless thought spirals of Aza; our heroine from the book titled….you guessed it haha. And the links don’t end here, guess what is the name of one of the most mysterious characters in the book- it’s RUSSEL Pickett.

Anyway so this Russel Pickett guy is a not-so-clean billionaire who goes missing, leaving his whole property behind to a Tuatara, a reptile [also, a living fossil] . So now his two sons are not only orphan but also penniless [and you thought you’ve got the most toxic father?] and while the older son [and our manic pixie dream boy] Davis wishes his father better not comes back, the younger guy Noah still idolizes his father [a phase we’ve all been through]. And if you cross one weird river; filled with algae and turtles; there lives our protagonist, Aza Holmes. It’s technically the river that brings Davis and Aza together as they once shared it as a playing ground when they were kids.

They meet again, The ‘sick girl’ and the ‘manic pixie’, but it’s anxiety this time instead of cancer!

You’ve probably got the reference! And this time they’re not bound by sickness but by the missing person ,Russel Picket, and the mystery revolving around his disappearance. So anyway, Aza is one day notified by her friend Daisy that the father of her childhood crush has gone missing, and Daisy doesn’t want to miss the chance of winning the prize-money. Thus they go to David’s and there once again they meet, Daisy and Tua….. okay no, David and Aza. And I don’t know if it is odd or natural or just destiny that Aza’s feelings are reciprocated by David.

The establishment of a secondary character to glorify the main lead – Daisy the e-girl

Ah Daisy! my favourite character whom John Green decided to portray in a not-so-good light. I would not be surprised if her theme song was Daisy by Ashnikko. And for me, it felt like the book was more about Aza and Daisy than Daisy’s romance with Davis. Daisy is bold, eccentric, alternative, has dyed hair, is open about her sexuality, and doesn’t give a F about honesty and chastity. These characters exist for two reasons mainly in books and movies- first, to be a cool breeze and free spirited heroine who ultimately brings chaos in the hero’s life and gives him a life lesson, and secondly, to be a supportive best friend to a more simple, lighter and reserved heroine. And it’s the second case here. Daisy was a really catchy character until Green made her look like selfish, money hungry and immature. It is like her whole point of existence was to highlight Aza’s kindness, her struggle with anxiety and how she is misunderstood when she can’t pay attention to others due to her internal turmoil. It’s simply victimizing one character and villainizing the others. If I were Daisy I would’ve felt too that Aza’s been a shitty friend! I mean I know dude you have struggles but I don’t want a bestie who doesn’t appreciate me or listen to me or doesn’t try to know anything about me. On the other hand Daisy is shown to be pure dumb, relating everything to her poverty , her mood fluctuates all the time and she makes hasty decisions and gives shallow reasonings- overall, childish and shallow and vengeful. Meanwhile Aza is self loathing and we have to sympathize with her because she has OCD and anxiety. I do think that Daisy making Aza a negative character in her fanfic is somewhat cruel but wow, are we forgetting that Aza started reading the fanfic only after David points out that she’s IN THEM. I would’ve loved Daisy if she wasn’t sooooo immature and relating everything with her poverty and using her poverty as an excuse of spending money, and duh her bitchy attitude when she acts like she’s better and superior than everything. But I still like Daisy more than Aza I’M SORRY.

The doomed teen romance

It’s typical ,nothing special. David is a good writer I must admit. Their romance doesn’t have any special elements other than Aza freaking out everytime they kiss because she thinks not only exchanging saliva is gross but also it can go as far as being the cause of her c.diff infections.

Apart than that I’m happy that Aza moves on and David stays as a sweet memory. And god bless David, the boy stayed strong in tough times, the most normal and unproblematic character imo, but just a character for me; he lacked the charms of being a ‘hero’.

And I think the pond of turtles plays some kind of significance in their romance.

The side characters

Aza’s teacher mom who villainizes and misunderstands David just because he’s rich. She is a typical helicopter mom who lost her husband and wants to be a good [over-protective] mother to her teen daughter with mental health issues.

Noah, the kid who hopes his dad will return. Outside he’s cool but inside he’s breaking. He’s seen causing trouble that draws attention to him, it is also described that it’s result of him wanting attention and affection but lacking a good parent figure.

Mychal, the artsy kid who looks like a giant baby as described by Daisy, he’s not that interesting but atleast good at making out.

The therapist Dr. Singh who’s a therapist.

A billionaire tuatara.

The Good and the Bad aspects in brief-

The good aspects-

> Sweet teen romance

> Realistic portrayal of OCD and Anxiety

> The friendship between Aza and Daisy lasts lifetime surprisingly

> Lighthearted story, not too much intellectual work to be done.

The bad aspects-

> Characters are not well written

> Story lacks depth

> Not every interesting

> Extremely repetitive storyline

Worth reading?

Depends on you. But if Your favourite movie ranges between “The Fault In Our Stars” or “To All The Boys” then you will surely love it.

Rating–

I’ll give it 4/10

okay 5/10 cause I enjoyed reading Daizy and Aza’s fights and friendship goals.

6 REASONS WHY A CONTENT FAILS TO CREATE A DRIVING FACTOR

When we are talking about content or copy there are some general factors why your copy might not generate as much traffic as others, here’s why-

1.BORING WRITING
There are countless numbers of content we consume on the internet daily, to make your content stand out you need to make it interesting and catchy so it attracts your audience instantly to take action.

2. UNCLEAR CONCEPT
You need to clear the concept of your product or organisation to drive the intended audience.

3. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
Even great content can fail due to grammatical errors, so make sure to proofread before publishing.

4. UNNECESSARY LENGTH
Nobody wants to read an unnecessarily lengthy article, so keep the word count in mind and cut out unnecessary parts.

5. PASSIVE LANGUAGE
You want to sound confident and engaging while presenting yourself to others, so always use active language as if you are talking to a person in front of you and explaining something to them.

6. PLAGIARISM
Lastly, remember, you might want to write a good copy or good content but you shouldn’t be a copycat. Taking inspiration is play but don’t directly copy other’s work.

And you will need other factors like a good page layout and relevant pictures and quotes to add on.
Now you are good to go.

Bulbul – A new era of horror movie?

Warning: spoilers ahead!

So a few days ago Netflix India released a horror genre movie named Bulbul. From the trailer, the movie was very predictable but there was also an hype created among the audience after watching the trailer. After a few minutes of the movie I knew exactly where this was going and still I was willing to continue watching! I watched till the end and I DO NOT REGRET MY DECISION! I totally loved it.

The premises are set in 19th century, presidency Bengal. The story revolves around a Girl who gets married in a Royal family and her story of living the nightmare that people only listen in folkloers. The age Gap between the bride and the groom made a platonic relationship grow between them and romantic relationships outside their marriage for both of them. In contrast to the the Bari Bahu Bulbul (Tripti Dimri) carefree,respected, who gets all the love of her husband and family, there is Choti Bahu Binodini(Paoli Dam); Older but inferior, jealous, trying to set Bulbul’s life on fire intentionally while she says how she wants the best for her. And the men of the family, the respected head of the patriarchy Indra(Rahul Bose) who tries to Cage Bulbul, the disabled man Mahendra (Rahul Bose) who has his eyes on the girl, and lastly the one Bulbul loved, Satya(Avinash Tiwari);who at the end tried to cage her as well when he got jealous of the friendly Doctor Sudip Sen(Parambrata Chatterjee) – these three men cause the girl ultimate damage,which in the end burns her out.

Physical assaulted and mentally caged Bulbul finds herself on the edge, she’s totally damaged and her innocence comes to an end. Silently with a Sinister Smile she seeks for Revenge. Thus Taking the form of Devi ma or the Chudail to end the evil.

The controversial part for some is how a mentally underdeveloped man can rape a person, well we have seen that in other Hindi movies too, treating the girl as a doll ..this pattern was too familiar for me to know what’s going to happen next. And from the beginning we could see Mahendra had an eye on Bulbul, from the first scene of the marriage to the scene of the family gathered in a garden. And physically and from blood lineage he was still the member of the family where the males has the right over the lives of the women and the women are bound to cover up their dirty secrets in return of jewelry and respect.

WHY TO WATCH THE MOVIE

• The acting – The cast was brilliant! Specially the ladies, Tripti Dimri as Bulbul and Paoli Dam as Binodini. Rahul Bose was Brilliant too!

• The plot – I loved the Plot! It’s not a regular horror story, it’s a story of destroying the evil! Women Empowerment but not only limited to that, it is a story of fighting back, a story of the victory of good against the evil.

• The symbolism – There are some important symbols like the toe ring which symbolizes to be a spell to tie the women to not have romantic relationship outside marriage, and Bulbul’s ring coming loose, indicating her love for Satya. Or in the first scene we see her climbing the tree which connects with the chudail or woman Devil who lives in the trees.Or her leg which gets damaged by the evil and the main reason which makes her look like the evil demon for the villagers Or the outfit she wears while hunting the evil is Similar to Dakini (In mythology women who are killed by their husbands on night of their wedding and they destroy the evil with Kali ma after becoming Devils) are a thing to look forward to.

• The Visuals – The whole movie has red filters to show the Blood thirst of the Chudail or in contrast the Anger and Rage of Devi ma.

UNDERWHELMING PARTS

As I’ve already mentioned the movie is too predictable.

FINAL WORDS

I personally don’t think horror is what explains the movie or the horror you should expect Should be related to ghosts or such. The true horror of the movie for me was the gore scenes or the brutal torture scenes while were unbearable to watch. The pain the main character felt and her rage is the true aspect of terror here, the exact same terror that the Asura had for Devi ma.

And in the movie the name character Bulbul was a Devil to the people who did evil themselves, for them she was a threat and she was a Goddess to the good,the Pure. So it is up to how you view her role. Overall the experience of Watching Bulbul was Splendid.

Living the Covid 19 pandemic :Uncertainty and Clueless future

It was 31st December 2019, I was making a planner or to-do list for the upcoming year. Not even in my wildest dreams I had the clue about what awaits me.

As 2020 started with a great enthusiasm I daydreamt about how this year will be life changing for me.

I started creating artworks seriously, with great passion. Many obstacles were to come but I knew it’d be a fun adventure learning new things, as I knew nobody is born with it ; practice and patience is what makes you master of any domain! I was equally energetic and determined about my academic career; to secure my best marks . But after two months, the picture started changing slowly.

At first, I slowly became aware that some kind of flu broke out and we needed to wear masks. Then my exams got postponed and after a few weeks they got cancelled. I couldn’t get a grasp on the reality. What was going on? I’d never faced such a situation before. “Is it something similar to the Black death? Am I living an historical event? ” I asked myself in wonder. It was weird but at the same time exiting for me. Then before realizing I was locked at home. Not only me, the whole world was now in self quarantine. At first it was easy, I was making art daily and cooking new recipes. I never knew before junk food like pizza, burger were so easy to cook at home, and of course delicious enough to sort your carvings. But after a few weeks, it was unbearable, I hadn’t seen my friends for so long, I could see all my dreams coming to an end, I could see myself trapped in this never ending lockdown cycle. None of my dreams found out a way to come true, my dreams now questioned me, are they ever going to become reality? Will time ever move? Will this situation ever end?

I, till date, can’t see a way out. I can’t meet new people, or can’t go out for movies or lunch. Academic session began online but there’s no surety of the end. Here we need to thank our technology, thanks to smart gadgets we made our way out of loneliness. Otherwise paranoia would’ve drowned me.

But living with this uncertainty, not knowing if exams are even gonna take place, can we ever get out freely? Will things ever go back to normal , makes me feel like I’m chasing a mirage! When I think I’m almost there, it’ll come to an end soon, it just extends. Feels like I’m never gonna make it. My motivation is totally destroyed, and every move feels like throwing stones into the darkness.

-Adrija Dasgupta. Date: June16,2020