2 Films

I’m writing this blog while my chicken and seafood are marinating in preparation for my paella.  I tweaked the recipe so much that I doubt it can be still considered paella….  I have just also realized that the recipe says it serves six…, which means I’ve got six portions, but no one else to feed, as there’s no one here today… I’m not sure I can freeze it.

Anyway let’s put the cooking aside for a while and let me share with you my thoughts for the week.  This week I watched two movies: ‘The Social Network” and “The Iron Lady”.  Without going into the merit if these two movies are good or not, the stories are quite interesting especially because they represent personal stories which have become World history.

The thing that struck me most (maybe because I have now some more experience of the American Culture), is that both films shed lights on the difference between American culture and British culture.  And by British culture I mean Maltese and European because in a way they’re more related than I perceived they were. 

Sometime during the film, Margaret Thatcher says something on the lines: We base ourselves on our rich history whereas they (Americans) base themselves on what they can achieve (my words).  This struck me because I’ve been experiencing this for a while.  Our rich history and traditions are a blessing, but sometimes these limit our way of thinking. 

The Americans on the other hand, have this American dream, in which if you work hard you can achieve whatever you want.  It is perhaps this forward looking mentality that has given us Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and so many more innovative ideas.

These were all people with a dream.  We too have plenty of dreams, but how many of us have the guts to make these dreams come true?  These people had enough faith in themselves that they could do it, and they indeed succeeded.  They dared to break boundaries; question limits which had been imposed.  They dared to be different and this brought about success.

From the Social Network I got: It’s not about seeking a job, but inventing one.  Yet again we come across the idea of not fitting any particular pre-set notion, but of being what you are to be. 

Mind you I’m not infatuated with this American way of thinking I’ve just discovered.   As much as it is successful, the American Dream renders also millions of people homeless, and strips them of their dignity, because in a world were whoever works hard, achieves whatever he needs, low achievers are surely not working enough, and this is not necessarily true.

For us that are comfortable in our lives, have plenty of opportunities, we must break free of notions which limit our thinking, and render us cynic.  We must however also think of those who through circumstances in life have not had the opportunities we had.  Opportunities are not just a matter of hard work, but also of luck.   

Needless to say, history is not to be thrown away.  It too should play a role, because sometimes ambitions blind us and through our greed we forget about anything else which makes us human.  In this process such as portrayed in both films we may be successful but end up alone, and that to me is very sad.