Actually I tend to pay attentions to films released in cinemas like UA and Broadway as most of the Hong Kong people normally do. The reason I know this film is because of the popular social medium - Facebook. The clips and trailers of 3 Idiots had been shared 
among my friends and I found them quite interesting. I don’t have much interest in Bollywood films. I am not fond of this kind of films mainly because of the cultural difference that I really have no idea about the Bollywood stars and dance. I think they are not appealing to Hong Kong people as well. Though it was not released in Hong Kong and without any official promotion, the film was quite successful and has been discussed on Youtube and different forums. It is good to find out this kind of less publicized independent film with an attractive theme.
3 Idiots is mai
nly about the educational system in India. Three engineering students of the best college in India anger the dean of the college by giving creative and surprising answers, and hence they were labeled as "idiots". The film mainly features the flashbacks of how the three idiots confront the dean and criticizes the mindless rote learning practices in college.
Here are 2 of my favourite clips of this film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZv6WNNOMnU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0oxx1L_O9o
I like the theme of this film which is about criticizing the educational system in India. It is resonated to me since the learning environment in Hong Kong is similar to
the film shown. In Hong Kong, students are obsessed with exam marks conventionally. It is one of the stereotyping in Hong Kong that ones will have a bright future if you have good academic results. Otherwise, they will be looked down on by others and be regarded as useless and “idiots”. Seldom of us are really full of passion for knowledge. We only cram all the things for the exams; we don’t dare to pursue own dreams but to fulfill others people’s expectations. Traditional thought and social pressure help create an elite-oriented and spoon-feeding educational system. The film is ironic which can truly represent this phenomenon and students’ thought. I’m sure it is the reason why it is popular among netizens in Hong Kong, especially the students.
Though the theme is about education but it seldom has boring scenes and I find the Bollywood dance funny and relaxing, which is easily acceptable to Hong Kong people. It is really a pity that the film could only be released in film festival rather than in cinemas. It is not a commercial film, but still has attractive elements, which is insightful and entertaining.
p.s. It’s good to know that the film is going to be shown in HKUST in May 2011.
(http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159066200822639)
By Tsui Ka Yi, Tracy (10384576)
Thanks Tracy for introducing this rather “marginal film” which is so popular among audience using new media. I can search plenty of comments and discussion about the film on theinternet. It looks really interesting and attractive!
ReplyDeleteIn particular, the first clip on “definition of machine/textbook” fully echoes with our school experience in Hong Kong (I hope I am much more open-minded than that “foolish teacher”), which is full of laughter and tears.In addition to conducting a brief textual analysis of the foreign film, you also did a good job in decoding the story in a local context, and investigate the possible readings involved.
Regarding the scenes on Bollywood dance, it is closely linked to some other cultural connotations, for instance, the dilemma of both sexualizing and liberalizing female body. Indeed, this is also a good topic for further research.