Missing

There are a few…okay there are quite a number of films that could be used as guides to help you navigate the current age in which we live. By this i am talking about a scenario where for example you need to get help finding a lost phone or gadget of some kind or maybe if you hit a dead end with the local police in your village. Granted some of these ideas may work a little better if you are in a country where there is some form of surveillance in place. There are those who oppose such major shifts in the modus operandi that are taking place in many geographies where for example under the guise of security and the fight against terrorism, many nations have found there citizens almost trapped in prison like states where everything and everyone is monitored and observed. Some countries are better equipped at this than others so average people need to get ahead of the game too. The ideas behind censorship and surveillance have been studied and written about by many. Perhaps the best and most adequate prophetic insight into a world gripped and controlled by this type of thinking is George Orwell’s 1984. Okay i may not have read it but i have seen us steadily drift into that sort of reality. While we agree that there may be some situations where some level of surveillance is necessary, how deep this goes remains to be a subject of concern. 

Here is a story from an actress who featured in the captivating and very well written tale about a few high school friends growing up post 2001 (911)-Euphoria. She plays the role of the protagonists sister. Supportive and brave fighting to defend her sister who she clearly looks up to but facing challenges of her own as she comes of age in a world she knows little about. Tossed to and fro from position to position in defence of her sister on one hand and support of her mother on the other. 

In this story she is a daughter who must harness all her resources to find her missing mother. And that is all i am going to say about that. Anything more would have me in the spoiler category. 

Watch this amazing film if you want to know what sort of resources are available to the citizen of most developed countries that can help you find a missing one. From tips about the use of Google Mail, Facebook (now META), to google maps to shopping records (for those who use Credit Cards) and much much more. 

Euphoria Season 1

People who are smarter than me and that studied literature (read my sister), tell me that romance and eros is often used in literature in critical parts of the story to draw the audience’s attention to particular subjects or ideas. I say this because accross the series Euphoria after someone on twitter mentioned it but emphasized that it was ‘porn’. If you view it through this narrow lense you will miss the point. 

It is a deep dive into the complex lives of teen and pre-teen students in post 911 America. The parents of these children were witnesses of the tragedies of September 11th 2001 and so the series serves as an exploration of these young people. 

First off, the narrative style is really appealing and we have Zendaya (Rue Bennet) of Spiderman fame to thank for that. Everything about this season revolves around her and those who form her inner circle. She is cast as a tomboyish slightly troubled (mentally) young person who goes through life trying to make sense of all the difficulties that she has gone through after the death of her father. In her household is her younger sister played by Storm Reid (Gia Bennet). Gia adores her sister and has every hope of becoming just like her. The trouble is that her ‘mentor’ is really troubled and struggling with addiction challenges. We have a single mum managing the affairs of this household with Nika King (Lesslie Bennet) handling that well. She is supportive and firm performing spot checks (read piss tests) on her daughter but the younger version of herself is often much too smart for mum in that regard. 

Throughout this work, i am amazed at least the writer (Sam Levinson) wants us to realise just how informed this generation is about the medications that exist and what each can provide in terms of fixes. 

The drug related problem is aided in part by two individuals. One surprisingly young and imaginative, is nicknamed Ashtray (played by Javon Walton) but the muscle of the operation is a sentimental and on the surface weak minded Fezco (Angus Cloud). In later parts of the first season there is a sad confrontation between supplier sand addict where name calling and abuse is exchanged but a calm keen minded Fezco responds with maturity in a scene that almost brings you to tears. 

Later one we are introduced to other characters that will make the season as exciting as it is revealing. We have the family that is supposed to have it all together (The Jacobs Family with Eric Dane and Jacob Elordi). The new girl (Hunter Shaefer) from out of town who comes in to shake things up. Her backstory is heart wrenching with neglect and abandonment from noneother than her mother. Later issues she faces will stem from this one incident. 

Then we have the slightly ovwerweight young girl who evolves into a confident person after realising that she has quite an audience online keen to gaze at her semi-dressed pictures and sessions. The writer also labors to read into the psychology of a generation that is getting used to leaking and or sharing nude images in a sense pleading with his audience to be more gentle with our judgements. 

The rest of the season is animated by some difficult but well acted scenes of blackmail and arm twisting that leave you asking for some divine power to intervene in the lives of these young victims. 

All in all a thumbs up for me!