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<\/a><\/p>\nExploring ideas beyond the central theme of the movie, the students raised points on gender stereotypes and the gender roles defined for the society by society. They talked about the \u2018naturalisation\u2019 of certain activities in the society like bad-mouthing another community, leading to certain preconceived notions, thereby making it a part of everyday life. Strength is always measured by the physical abilities of a person and \u2018Macho\u2019 is used to define men who are perceived as being \u2018stronger\u2019 in the society while women become the \u00a0\u2018weaker\u2019 sex, since she wears a saree<\/em>. Even the so-called educated Indians, as shown in the movie are victims of superstitions, carried away by the prospect of bearing a son.<\/p>\n \u2018I feel that one of the major reasons for the aggravation of communal hatred is the media\u2019, said a student. She went on to explain how the press and media have played damaging roles in disguise, to widen the gap between the communities as well as the sexes in India.<\/p>\n \u2018It was disturbing, depressing and an eye-opener. I could not help but get \u2018pissed off\u2019 by such a scenario, which our society harvests\u2019.<\/p>\n When asked what they felt about the term \u2018feminism\u2019, most said that while they considered themselves feminists, there were certain restrictions preventing them from being, if one can call it that\u2014fully feminist. They spoke about how they could equate feminism with freedom. \u2018Travelling by yourself on the streets of Kolkata feels like liberation\u2019, said two of the students.<\/p>\n ‘Turtles Can Fly\u2019, a critically acclaimed movie was screened as a part of the festival on the second day. It is a Kurdish movie, directed by Bahman Ghobadi, which was the first film made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. After the movie ended, an aura of discomfort was sensed among the audience. They were aghast at the message the movie had to provide. Once the discussion started with the students and teachers, they had many insights on the movie, leading to discussion on topics like crisis, corruption, violence and the human condition during wars. The notion of \u2018morality\u2019 came into picture and everyone agreed that human beings are unable to hold onto their morals, when pushed to the brink\u2014for example in the case of war. The gloom that engulfed the visages of the students, made it clear how great an impact the movie made. Some were in tears while others were seething in anger.<\/p>\n \u2018The movie made me think of someone else\u2019s point of view.\u2019 said one of the students during the discussion. She explained that while what happened in the film was unfathomable, it was impossible to \u2018judge\u2019 a person unless one completely understood the situation the person was in.<\/p>\n Taking the discussion forward, one of the teachers, mentioned that war, as depicted in the film, was a realistic one, as opposed to the wars shown on news channels. Increasingly, the media is playing a role in de-sensitizing the larger community, by showing them cases of human rights violations (as in war), almost immediately juxtaposed with images of ‘celebrities’ at say, movie awards nights.<\/p>\n ‘It (the US- Iraq war) was a video-game war and this war meant good business. People watched from homes, relaxed on cushions, said one of the teachers who attended the screening.<\/p>\n When are we giving ourselves and others the time to internalize and process what is happening in the world? Are we being open enough, to address our emotions and in fact, to be emotional? Or have we just become an uniform mass of cynicism?<\/p>\n The role of cinema needs to be reexamined and given the due importance of being an agent of change.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n