At the Centurion Teater for the murderous, bloody Sweeney Todd. A dark twisted, methodical, sadistic, blood spraying, cannibalistic musical masterpiece by Scenario Productions. The first couple of rows and splashing zones, people are dying, blood will be spilled, put on your plastic body suit provided by the theatre. A lot of people perished, one after another, music in the background, singing dialogue, spotlight on that dreaded seat, a barber in the guise of providing a service slits your throat. Nonchalance, a pleasure to dispose of you.
Sweeney Todd is a barber in Victorian London who murders his customers with a straight razor. He works above Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, and together they dispose of the bodies by baking them into meat pies sold to unsuspecting customers. His motive is often revenge — usually against a corrupt judge or official who wronged him and destroyed his family. The lighting dark and spooky. It was raining in real life, the theatre was wet, it enhanced the experience, what a day for theatre!
Music Director Luigia Casaleggio held the show, the conductor, her presence was felt.
The performers were amazing, the choruses, the show had a opera influence. They were singing dialogue, dancing and simultaneously acting. The costumes creative and scary. In and out, the performers walked in and out the auditorium, creating a sense of unpredictability. No one knew what to expect, it was a hell of a ride!
When I was in school, I used to collect “full attendance” certificates. I came to school every day even on the day’s when I wasn’t writing. Marking the register was always priority. Exam season, we would be like 4 or 5 in the classroom, I didn’t care, it was cool. We didn’t have classwork, the teachers were liberated and you basically got a free pass to go anywhere. In the 3rd grade my teacher got pregnant and was replaced by a substitute teacher “Miss Gertrude”. Teacher Gertrude didn’t like me at all. She thought I was ‘stout’, mischievous and loud. I did all my classwork and homework but that was not enough. She used to weaponize the prize giving ceremony against me. “Do this or you won’t go to prize giving. Shut up or you won’t go to prize giving”, it got stale and lost all potency. Her threats stopped being credible, they weren’t based on anything real so they didn’t change my conduct. She would scold and shout at me. Prize giving season came and legible students got invitations, true to her word, I didn’t get an invitation, I was not going to prize giving. It didn’t hit me too hard because I knew I’d get a “full attendance” certificate. I’d been perfect all year, no missed day. Teacher Gertrude took that away from me too. She said I’d been absent for 1 day, I pleaded my case and advised her she was mistaken but she said the register doesn’t lie. I was fully present under Mrs. Bosman for three terms and I happen to miss one day under Miss Gertrude? How nice. A stain on my record. She didn’t mark me on the register. I was fuming. The first time I had ever felt injustice. That year I attended every day of school for nothing! No certificate, no recognition, just nothing! There were days when I could have missed school but I didn’t because I wanted that certificate. I went to school every day only for the substitute teacher to void my year. Teacher Gertrude took away my full attendance certificate! There was no ways of telling too because you only got that certificate on the last day of the school year. I was genuinely thunderstruck when I saw that 1 day absent on my report card. Mrs. Bosman why did you have to get pregnant and leave me with Teacher Gertrude? Everything was great, you introduced me to poetry but then you were pregnant and everything changed! Teacher Gertrude was the first person to teach me human nature. You can take prize giving away from me but don’t deny me of my full attendance certificate. Denying me of full attendance is diabolical because it’s blatant, you see me every day, it’s a lie, it’s unprofessional. If it weren’t for poetry, I never would have gotten anything that year. You didn’t win Teacher Gertrude, poetry exonerated me.
I was always disappointed with Teacher Gertrude but I forgive you. I have always been a bit of a perfectionist, Mr. Hyperacheiver, only now I see that it can be used against me just like how Teacher Gertrude once did.
When I was class captain, I strived to do things the right way. My numbers were always perfect and I made sure teachers signed the register after every period. I was exemplary, the administration side of the office loved me. I still went to school every day and I never cheated anybody out of a “full attendance” because I know how it feels. You didn’t win Teacher Gertrude.
Folie a deux is actually a masterpiece. It’s all in the name, a delusion shared by two people. Arthur Flecks life is a mess, he knows he messed up, he knows he is going away for a long time. He disassociates, he doesn’t live in the real world anymore. He is cooped up in his own world, he is disillusioned with the real world. No one treats him like a human being in the real world. He finds an escape in a girl who idolize’s “Joker”. His shadow finds an outlet and expresses itself. “Joker” manifests himself in the real world, he finds a stage and for the first time in a while, Arthur feels alive again. His “Joker” persona makes him feel alive and it makes sense too, when he is Arthur, he is dark and disillusioned with life but as “Joker”, he has on a colorful costume and make-up. “Joker” is who he wishes he can be but he doesn’t acknowledge that he is “Joker”, it’s all an act for him – entertainment. He doesn’t see and understand “Jokers” darkness, this makes him a stranger to himself. For him being “Joker” is an escape, he is stuck in a rut, he is depressed, he still hates himself because that doesn’t go away and “Joker” makes him daydream about life. When he puts on his costume and make-up, he can put on a show, the world is a stage, he can do anything, he can be anyone but that’s a delusion because we still live in a real world and he is trialed for murdering 5 people, 1 on live TV and 6 if you add his mother. When he fires his lawyer and defends himself as “Joker”, he doesn’t see the gravity of the situation, he puts on a show, the world is a stage, he is so delusional. Who could blame him? His love interest perpetuates and enhances this delusion, she enables Arthur, she gives him an escape, an avenue for “Joker” to express himself, she also dons her costume and make-up so she too can be “Joker”. Arthur thinks this girl is there for him but she is only there for “Joker”. When Arthur denounces “Joker”, the delusion stops and she goes away. She was never real. Arthur denies his shadow and it ends up murdering him because he can’t see it. It’s a delusion of two, Folie a deux but this is also a sequel.
The biggest criticism of the movie is that it’s a musical but that’s entertainment. It’s a creative decision and it’s still a psychological thriller. How else are you going to depict Arthur’s delusion and state of mind. He is literally locked-up, he is disillusioned with the world and it wants to kill him. He can only daydream about a better existence. A musical shows us his frame of mind. “Critically acclaimed” is usually jargon for realistic and accurate – the first movie was that in abundance. It chronicled Arthur’s life in a way that was believable and his dissent to hell made sense observing his character arc. The sequel explores his state of mind, his shadow is not something that is hidden anymore, it’s in the open and Arthur gives it a platform. The shadow is not logical, that’s why a musical is perfect. Musicals have illogical time frames and they are delusional in nature because they don’t happen in real life. Folie a deux = delusion shared by two people, it’s also a sequel (2) and Arthur is murdered by his shadow (his second self). This was clearly thought out, if this is not genius, I don’t know what is. Maybe the sequel was a money grab, you could certainly make a point and say it didn’t warrant one but that’s entertainment, the world demanded it! I do understand the backlash because I was initially one of the guys who pushed back. I didn’t understand, I needed to suspend my judgment and finish the damn movie but I was scared they would tarnish the legacy of the first movie and they didn’t. This is definitely a polarizing movie but as a student of Jung, I will defend this sequel to my last breath.
The box office and awards are not always everything, the product must have soul and integrity. It cannot pander to widespread perceptions about what it should be. The vision is the vision. The Director is also the writer and producer, he understands the source material better than anyone, he created it. It’s literally his story-world, to think it could have been done better is arrogant. Sometimes the media catches on and the audience loves it garnering you acclaim, awards and fortune and sometimes its a miss. Win or lose, the product still has to have soul and integrity. The story continues on Folie a deux and it is told in the best possible way. If you don’t see it, you don’t understand the premise of the movie. This was always shadow work that’s why Joker has mass appeal.
Making viral content that stretches across all fours like a tent. Clout, likes, shares, eyeballs anything for that content. Will use my kids to get likes gimme, gimme, gimme! Degenerate, attention seeker, will sell my mamma for some views. Can never be content with that 9 to 5, provides life without substance – content. Content is king. Dopamine infested existence, chasing a thrill, a high, virality, clout, shock value, sex! Celebrity, celebrity would do anything for the views. Insight disrespect and cut queues, I am on a stream, 50000 views, 50 million more and I’ll be living my dream. Bot clique, manufactured social proof, 6 million followers but no engagement. Pay attention to me, look at what I can do, I’ve got a big ass, I can dance for you, subscribe and see my cat, it’s pink!
Controversy, shock value, disrespect, violence, clout, everybody can be famous, anyone can be a celebrity. The death of mainstream has destroyed civility. Talented people used to be the celebrities, now it’s all clout. Celebrity, celebrity, has no value if everyone is one. Ruled by algorithms, hey, relax guy – I am sure you are big but I don’t know you. Celebrity, celebrity, has lost soul, lights dimmer, unhealed trauma simmers and hopes for dinner. How can you create something timeless when you are chasing clout? Steam hovers to create baseless clouds. Reign doesn’t shower to sustain a legacy. Attention, recognition, fame, thrill, money – a hell of a life! Celebrity, celebrity, everything was always fabricated, the media, press and larger than life personas. Bot clique, manufactured social proof, 6 million followers but no engagement. Kayfabe is dead, proceedings transparent, costumes off and make-up out of sight. Creating a generation of people always in character, in a role for the light. You can do it too, put up a fight. Celebrity, celebrity, has lost all value. Hey, relax guy, I don’t know you, the death of mainstream has made you another guy. Celebrity, celebrity, doesn’t do anything anymore, everyone wants to go viral, everyone wants to be a celebrity.
Gaga sent me back here, Gaga is endorsed by Sam. A troll this movie is, “Joker: Folie a deux”, it’s in the name, thought you were getting something critically acclaimed but you are getting a musical. Same camera guys, same director, same team but you are getting a musical – bring in Lady Gaga!
Caught me off guard the first time, 23 minutes in, I paused and checked the internet, I thought it was a psychological thriller. Blood on the streets, a barrage of negative reviews, still have 2 hours to go. Let it breath, let it breath, abandon the mission. I saved time, what if they butcher the memory of the first movie? Let it breath, let it breath, if it’s good, it will come back again. A couple of months later, I fall in love with Gaga and she sends me back to Folie a deux. Let’s try again.
The story continues, Arthur is trialed for the murder of 5 people, one live on TV. Arthur’s shadow catches up and engulfs his life, underrated masterpiece. Impossible to beat the former but you have the same team, exist in a different form, innovate, do something unexpected, be contrarian, it will stand the test of time, it will be a cult classic, time is the great teacher. Delusional sociopath Arthur Fleck is, defending yourself as the joker is comical, couldn’t help but laugh when he didn’t put up a defense against Harvey Dent. He was proving Dent’s point, the easiest case you’ll ever get for the prosecution. I get it now, it’s a musical, it had flashes of that in the first one. In Folie a deux, the shadow is fully manifested, the comedy continues. Arthur is guilty of murdering those 5 people, 6 if you add his mother. Interesting how people love the joker and hate Arthur, oh well, that’s entertainment. The projected image is always better, it can be enhanced, manipulated, spun in a narrative and packaged for mass consumption. The joker is a marytr, a form of escapism, a symbol, he provides hope, the chance to day-dream and busk in your primal animal urges. The joker is everything you fail to acknowledge about yourself, he lies doormat, waiting for the opportunity to burn everything to the ground.
When you live like Arthur, you attract psychopaths who are just like you. Arthur meets his demise courtesy of a man who is just like him, he stabs him multiple times and watches him die while laughing uncontrollably in the background. It’s chilling, it’s Arthur’s shadow in the flesh, inhabiting another body. The hellish city of Gotham wins again.
Another Todd Phillips classic, might not get the plaudits because it was unexpected. I understand why it had to be a musical, musicals move time. The sets are fixed to a limited few, dialogue attempts to explain, it doesn’t show and the story is straightforward. Musicals give you another dimension, they have depth, they compress time and they move timelines. Musicals also have a kind of delusion and day-dream about them, a play on Folie a deux. The world wanted a sequel, it got one. Maybe not like the former in appraisals but it is misunderstood and an underrated masterpiece. I am happy Gaga brought me back here.
I’ve found that to be successful, you have to be a monster. Integrate your darkside, shatter glass, break the forth wall. A good man is one who knows he is dangerous but controls himself. We often lie about success claiming that if you work hard enough you’ll attain everything you ever want. But that’s a lie, although not popular, success is given. You are given that corner, move product, make money. If the corner is unoccupied, take it, claim it, it’s yours now, protect your territory, move product, make money. You ascend to the top because you know someone and worked out something that is mutually beneficial. You ascend to the top because of compliance and connections. You ascend to the top because you butchered everyone on the bottom and took the top by force. Force, it displaces objects and moves matter. You have to be powerful to be on top. You work hard, you’re a good soldier but someone dictates whether you rise up in rank. You can be a soldier all your life if an opportunity is not given for you to rise up. That’s why you have to take it, show your strength, assume your destiny, live your truth. Take it, use brute force, there’s a vacuum at the top, that’s a given, it needs a leader, if you can handle the heat and roll with the punches, take it, it’s yours. Tony Montana understood the game, if you can back it up then the whole world is yours. If they won’t give it to you, just take it. Humility is a waste of time, it signals to the world that you are toothless. Street cred can win you the war before it escalates, guard your reputation, your name is your name. Gangster, gangster, I love burning things to the ground, watch them discrete like powder puffing out in the air, watch the madness crisp to black, then ash into obscurity. Why wait for the opportunity when you can just take it? If I can’t have it then I’ll spoil it for everyone, burn it to the ground, ensure it doesn’t stick around, just because I can, because I want to, because I am a gangster.
Take off your ring, anything goes, welcome to gangster’s paradise. Here you get everything, you get to fuck bitches, you get drugs, all the alcohol you can consume and the right to cross any line with impunity. You get the free reign to mess with anybody just as long as they are not a member, you are protected, the collective outranks Jesus, it is godly, all seeing, ever present and immortal. You have proved yourself with your cunning intelligence, cold demeanor, ruthless disposition and the ability to make money in all seasons. Prohibition maximizes the profit margin and the bottomline is jolly fat man. All year long, it’s Christmas, a testament to your earning prowess. Gangster, you created the life of your dreams, Vito Corleone, Thomas Shelby, Marlow, Tony Montana, Gustavo Fring, everyone is in your pocket and your enemies sing. Cause if they get out of pocket then they better be ready to swing, not that it will make a difference cause a deadman can’t swim. When you come at the king, best not miss. A wasted hit will result in the extinction of your whole family line. Just business, nobody whines, to be in the game is to play it. If you don’t take the opportunity to ascend, you’re dead, your chance was given and you missed. You don’t get to be king with a stray attempt, accident murders are flukes. The game is deliberate and concise. Welcome to gangster’s paradise, you made the best of what was given and took the reigns when it was time. Now you’re in paradise, all is fair, money doesn’t have owners, just spenders, you are in charge, you are now God.
Have blood on your hands to see clearly, a good man is a dangerous man who knows his capability. The hero has to be a monster to instill its traits, he must descend into darkness and make it out alive. Gangster, gangster, gangster take it all, they can’t stop you. If they stand on your way bury them. If they want to meet their ancestors so bad, send them through a tunnel. Darkness is what they want? Show them a real gangster. Take it all, the world is yours! X10 the profits, move into other territories, expand, put more soldiers on the ground, build emperors, connect with presidents, influence more, inspire more, gangster, gangster, gangster, keep moving forward, they can’t touch you, take it all. Gambling, bookmaking, extortion, drugs, human trafficking, sex, murder, take it, but beware, people are watching, you are not exempt from the rules of the game, everybody dies and life goes on. Gangster, understand the rules, don’t inspire hate and contempt, best to avoid the spotlight, lurk in the shadow, appear like a bad dream, Kruger, drive-by leaving bloody bodies tumbling to the floor from a hail of bullets.
Just as I feared, Fyodor Dostoevsky has ruined Literature for me. I read other books and authors and it’s not the same. They are too surface level, no depth, no risk, lazy, PG, predictable. I don’t finish reading the books because they bore me. Everything is mediocre after Dostoevsky. Maybe I will never get somebody as great as Dostoevsky. His characters are multilayered, they have fears, flaws and motivations. Fyodor Dostoevsky illuminates the darkside of human nature. Siberia made him a genius. He was scheduled to be at executed but at the very last minute, the order was changed to life imprisonment instead. Those final minutes, those last seconds when he thought he was going to die made him the writer he ultimately became. In those last moments, the colors of plants and nature were fuller, the sun was shinning just for him, for the last time, he gained clarity, he negotiated with God, begging him for another chance. He would become a new man, he now saw life as gift, something he should embrace and be grateful for. If God gave him another chance, he would do good in the world, he wouldn’t take anything for granted. Thank God, he saved Fyodor Dostoevsky. “Notes from Underground” was my first Dostoevsky book, short read, about 100 pages, I had never read anything like that in my life. It is psychological, reflective, honest, self-aware and conscious. “Notes from Underground” is brilliant! The Underground man is pitiful, weak, spiteful and pathetic. He wants to avenge himself against a man who wronged him but he is too cowardly. Dostoevsky doesn’t sugarcoat the human condition, life is suffering and difficult and we are all going to die. The storyworld and tone is dark and filled with insecurities. We get into the head of the underground man and he is pathetic, weak and flawed. I initially thought “Crime and Punishment” was the greatest book in the history of humanity. I couldn’t put it down, I loved it, it thoroughly satisfied me. “Wow” was the last thing I said after I finished the book. Then I read “The Brothers Karamazov” – I don’t think there’s a book in existence or in human history that’s better or on par with “The Brothers Karamazov”. It explores religion, atheism, love, patricide and murder. There’s also the fact that Dostoevsky is a master storyteller and unbelievable writer. I strongly believe “The Brothers Karamazov” is the greatest book of all time. His other books “The Idiot” and “Demons” are great, they all get full stars. In fact if you made a case about one of them being better, no one would argue, it’s perspective, besides all his books are masterpieces. The original psychologist, philosopher, a master of human nature and just a literary genius! He set the bar too high, his work is too great, he helped me see life differently, has inspired me so much and ruined literature for me. But I am hopeful, there has to be someone who can rival Dostoevsky.
Sometimes a Mufasa will come out of nowhere to steal your throne, you kill him, they blame you when he was the one that triggered you. I am gonna kill me a king, I am kingslayer. Heroes get set up to take the fall. Making them easy targets, the ones to save the demsel in distress, crocodile tears flooding the ocean, drowning to save a lost course.
Sometimes a Mufasa will steal your girl when you already called dibs on her, you betray him, they blame you when he was the one who did it first. You gotta hand out receipts, sometimes the disrespect gets rampant, shaking reality that they don’t see who they are next to, a little taste of their medicine levels out the playing field.
Sometimes a Mufasa will come out of nowhere to disturb the peace, you start smear campaigns and plot against him, they blame you. When you were next in line. How you gonna let an insignificant creature come out of nowhere to beat you in rank? Convincing everyone of his legibility and taking all the stanks. Running through everything like he got a full tank.
Sometimes a Mufasa will actually win the battle, you can’t blame him, it was his moment. Let him have the glory, the war is long. He will get complacent, it’s inevitable, it’s that kings disease. You let him get comfortable and busk in his false victory, wait for him to show all his weaknesses and you strike when he least expects it to regain the Throne. It’s the game, to be in it is to play it.
Mufasa, Mufasa, why do you stand in my way? Mufasa, Mufasa, what do I have to do to make you go away?
Got a lot of hate in my heart, a lot of impure, grimy thoughts so I’ll transfer it to Mufasa. He wants to be the maryr, typical Mufasa.
Dear Lord help me control my rage, I know everyone I meet is only a version of me, he makes me see the dirt in me, the scumbag in me, give me peace, prolong my reaction speed, help me see the broader picture, give me patience, to weather this storm, flood me with love so it can dilute this hate. Mufasa is my brother, help me see him as such. He is my mirror, may he be reflected as such. I don’t want to feel resentment, set me free, of the pain, entitlement, ego and the urge to control. I put everything in your hands, I am nothing, a mere sinner, crippled by thoughts that will never make me a winner. Purify my thoughts so I don’t have to be a sinner. Mufasa is my brother, help me see him as such. He is my mirror, my he be reflected as such.
Happy birthday to you. Thank you for voicing out your concerns, feedback from the world always helps. I have to be honest, I am also concerned and worried about you. Despite what you may say, you are not an old man, in fact you are operating at the peak of your powers. One might say “in your prime”. You need to get better, you can’t carry on living like that. Dignity – empower yourself, you need to start making your own money. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, life goes on, trapped in the same loop since 2009. All my friends have guidance and help to get through life and I have had nothing from you – just birthday texts, nothing that will help me progress in the real world. I am confused. Why are you worried? You never helped. Why do you have a voice? You never gave me any choice. Where’s your job? How did it turn out for you? What gives you the right to be critical? Oh, I get it, the annual “Happy birthday to you”. Passive aggressive tendencies, deeply concerned and worried and yet sitting on the sidelines, definition of theatrics, crocodile tears. Happy birthday to you, Imposing your viewpoint on me, using hypotheticals to get at me, comparing me to people to get under my skin. Happy birthday to you, it’s not enough, send something tangible, give me power, give me money, enable me with your metric of success to garner more of it. Tight fisted but you want to get it from me. I have had to start from scratch on all fronts because I’ve had no support. I am also worried, you have been stuck on the same level for years. I haven’t been able to rely on you for years. The thing about pointing fingers is that you have three pointing back. Happy birthday to you, thank you for initiating dialogue, I also have a couple of things to get off my chest. I hope we will be able to talk about these things more freely and openly. High expectations with no input, claim you want to help but won’t empower or meet me halfway. “Happy birthday to you” never bought any house. I have been lenient, too understanding, an enabler, made you feel like Superman when you struggling to just be man. Happy birthday to you, you have the gift that keeps on giving – the great man antakalipa, just press play. Made me the target because I’ve been silent, well congratulations, the target is out of it’s hole with a bang! Take your shot! The advice was to be humble but pride took over and now I have to reflect it back. Happy birthday to you, here are the receipts to go with it. Concerned, worried, definition of theatrics, crocodile tears. Worried but you never call, concerned yet you always drop the ball. Cognitive dissonance, saying one thing and doing another. Thank you for voicing out your concerns, I’ll do the same. I’ll live my life the way I see fit. Never asked for your advice, it’s counterfeit. “Happy birthday to you” once a year and you think you are fit.
antakalipa 