how to be (normal).

work at T is drawing to a close in a week's time. and reflecting on the past 9 weeks, i wouldn't say time has gone by in a flash, because it certainly doesn't feel like it.

i'm glad for the long weekend coming up. followed by one last week of madness. followed by another long weekend. followed by going back to NIE to see all my friends once again. followed by nonsense M*OE stuff for 2 weeks, and i can finally be on my way to london and paris! i'm starting my england road trip research and will be moving on to the france road trip research and it looks super exciting! :) :) i'm extremely glad for my job which allows for longer-than-usual travels without having to take no-pay leave.

last weekend ML and i caught the film 'how to be', as part of the Singapore International Film Festival. and i'm pretty sure 7/8 of the theater was filled with robert pattinson fans, who laughed at every silly thing his character does onscreen. and it got so annoying 'cos rob's character in the film is this socially awkard, almost asperger's syndrome-like young man who struggles with being 'normal'. so you know, many awkard things he does elicited giggles and laughs.

ARGH.

anyway the film felt long, and i can assuredly attribute that to the intricacies of the film. small, tight london spaces, emotional baggage and struggles, few characters, the popularity of self-help in our society (self-help books, TV shows, podcasts, motivational talks etc.), the definitions of the social contract, and a young man's desire and his journey to becoming a 'normal' person. these are some heavy themes. but it was expertly handled by the writer-director, oliver irving and woven into the plot.

after the movie wrapped, as with film festivals, the film's producer, justin kelly, was around to give the audience (those who stayed) some insight into the film-making process. and he called oliver irving on his cell and people got to ask him questions about the process. we also talked to the film's composer and 2 of its actors (no, not rob. he's filming new moon now.) as they were at a new york film festival. it was pretty interesting hearing stories from the set and how the movie came to be from script to screen. and learning what it means to shoot on location in london's famous tiny houses and rooms.

i think robert is a natural at such roles - and not so much to blockbustery handsome and drop dead (pun intended for both HP and T) gorgeous jocks like in harry potter and twilight. although if the next 2 movies of the twilight saga follow the books faithfully, robert will be able to show his acting-as-an-emotional-wreck-prowess as edward cullen.

the music was fabulous. and i may just get my hands on the soundtrack when it's released here in Singapore (from the mouth of justin kelly). robert, the tortured artist, contributes 3 songs to the soundtrack, which he played and performed in the film.

well the themes of normalcy resonated with my thoughts - thoughts that came about when i was volunteering at autism children's center a while back. that time, i read quite widely on the issues involving people with disabilities that are trying to integrate into the mainstream society. and some articles dealt with the idea of normalcy.

who defines what's normal. is there even a definition? if there's no clear cut definition, then why do we label people as being abnormal? i think that all of us are a little bit crazy. and if you're (or were) a biology student, you'd understand if i say normalcy is a continuous variation, controlled by many factors. an example of a continuous variation is height. and a discontinuous variation: presence of ear lobes. i'm sure you can tell what i mean by now.

i think there's no such thing as 'normal' and 'abnormal'. and to see people struggling with trying to be normal just because what they are and who they are are socially unaccepted is a warped form of discrimination. in the film, because arthur felt that he was so different and abnormal as compared to other people, and how his girlfriend broke up with him, all stemmed from a rough childhood and parents who were busy with work and had strange (lacking a better descriptive) parenting styles. and the emotional roller-coaster that he went through just to become 'normal' and to be perceived as 'normal' was heartbreaking to watch.

one point that justin kelly made during the Q&A - that children who grew up with super-liberal parenting or super-conservative parenting usually turn out okay, or even great. and those children with problems/difficulties are usually ones with parents who have inconsistent parenting style - switching between liberal and conservative.

and that's a point worth thinking about.

hokay. leaving to watch x-men origins. :) sayonara.