1

the

DSIR Summer Issue 2022

GOODFELLAS
TAXI DRIVER
MEAN STREETS

HUGO
CASINO
THE IRISHMAN

GANGS
OF NEW YORK

RAGING THE WOLF OF

BULL SILENCE WALL THE
CAPE FEAR STREET
DEPARTED

THE AVIATOR

AFTER
SHUTTER
THE FAMILY

HOURS
ISLAND NEW YORK,
NEW YORK

NO DIRECTION HOME
The Doon School Information Review

EDITORIAL
GURMEHAR SINGH BEDI

Pop culture is a medium of expression, a form of

escapism and a moment of deliverance. For this is-
sue of the Doon School Information Review, we ex-
plore the diversity of popular culture across space
and time to allow you to appreciate the impact
it has had on our community. The review of Fight
Club and a comparison of the Star Wars sequel
trilogy to the original allow you relive the experi-
ence of watching timeless classics. Pachinko and
the Silent Voice provide a glimpse of Asian cinema
to the community, and sit in striking contrast with
the reviews of movies such as Casino and Good-
fellas from the Scorsese Section which have stood
the test of time. Speaking of the Special Section,
each article makes a deliberate effort to delve into
thematic and directorial elements and fights shy of
providing you with a mere summary of the plot. This
is done to deconstruct and consequently, celebrate
the work of a visionary whose work has managed to
captivate audiences for decades.

However, before I let you go, I must, with immense

unhappiness, convey a disturbing trend that I have
observed over my four years on this publication.
School magazines were once tools to add meaning
to the collective understanding of this community
on any subject, but, over time, there has been a se-
rious decline in their ability to do so. The passion
to write for a magazine or even the fervour to join
its editorial board appears to be missing. Why? My
guess is as good as yours, dear reader. However,
one thing is apparent. Something must be done
about this worrying trend and fortunately, the solu-
tion is entirely in your hands. Think more, read more
and write more. So as I implore you to do just that,
I hope you view this issue as our step in that direc-
tion.

I hope you enjoy reading!

 3

CONTENTS

03
The Woes of Sequels

09 SPECIAL SECTION

The Platform

05 18
GoodFellas
Looking back at the
Grammys

20
11 Casino
Top Boy

22
13 The Wolf of Wall
Street
Rescued by Ruby

30 24
Pachinko
Hugo
36
Peaky Blinders
26
38 Scorsese’s Potayal of
Masculinity
Franz Kakfa

40 28
Fight Club
Gangs of New York
42
The Adam Project

44
A Silent Voice
The Doon School Information Review
Star Wars; A legendary movie with simple straightforward plots, many times. They made the mis-
series that defined a generation. they were complicated in their take of not following the golden
Star Wars has ingrained itself own right, however, the ST were rule of showing and not telling,
in our pop culture like no other more complicated. What the orig- something which shows like “The
movie series ever has. Its pop- inal trilogy managed to do right Mandalorian ‘’ don’t make the
ularity is unmatched, especially was to have a decently complex mistake of doing. When you show
in the original trilogy. However, storyline to keep the audiences and not tell, it creates drama in a
when you get to the prequels on the edge of their seats and scene; the phrase “actions speak
and sequels made after, reactions flesh their world out in a steady louder than words” then rings
are rather polarised at best, from manner. Make sure to not over- true. The original trilogy pulls this
both critics and audiences alike. load the audience with expository off well as it manages to flesh out
lore. The ST on the other hand the trio of characters with just 3
But how did this come to be? over-complicated the plot far too movies. They show that Luke is
Surely with bigger budgets and
better technology, the newer films
should have brought greater suc-
cess than the original trilogy and
the infamous Prequels. Let’s take a
deep dive into why the sequel tril-
ogy (ST) was only able to partially
deliver on the promise of jump-
starting the Star Wars Universe;
bringing it into the 21st Century.

The sequel trilogy was not like

the original in terms of the writing
process involved in it. What many
don’t know, the original trilogy
was written as one script that was
then divided into three scripts
due to time and monetary con-
straints. This meant that the flow
of the movie was great due to it
being written as one, this made
the movies more cohesive and
gel well with each other. Another
point of difference was the sim-
plicity of the plot as compared to
the ST, don’t get me wrong, the
original trilogy was not movies

The Woes of
Sequels

beyond compassionate by dis-
“They made the playing his anguish when Obi-wan
mistake of not dies at the hands of the antag-
onist, or when he forgave Darth
following the Vader for all the pain he caused
golden rule of to the galaxy. He also told the dy-
showing and not ing Darth that he still loved him,
after everything he had done.
telling, something
which shows like Another factor was the overarch-
ing plot of the sequel trilogy, a
“The Mandalorian single movie in itself was very dis-
‘’ don’t make the jointed. It had no singular vision. It
mistake of doing.”
5
also killed off beloved characters
left right and centre, from Han
Solo to Princess Leia, who was
killed in the sequel trilogy. The
plot also seems rushed, with the
supposedly main villain (Snoke)
being killed too quickly and eas-
ily to make him a credible threat.
Then comes another plot point
that seems ripped off the original,
Rey being revealed to be a Palpa-
tine and her killing off her father?
Clone donor of her actual father?
The plot is rather messy regard-
ing what she is in terms of her re-
lation to Palpatine. However, all
of this is done and dusted in one
half of a movie, making it seem
rather lacklustre and unimagina-
tive. There is no dramatic reveal,
no signature lines like “No, I am
your father” and just no build-up
to it, it’s just there. Just like Pal-
patine being alive, there is no ex-
planation beyond just the force.

That is not to say that the ST does

Picture Credits: JoBlo
not do something right, they re-
ligiously follow George Lucas’s
vision of what a space battle
should be in the universe, with
dog fights and bombing runs,
based on WW2 air battle tactics.
The ST also managed to sort of
bringing the Star Wars universe
to a new generation even if it was
messily. All in all, even though
the ST was only able to partially
deliver on the promise of jump-
starting the Star Wars Universe;
bringing it into the 21st Century it
still managed to revitalise the uni-
verse enough to bring us amaz-
ing shows set in the universe like
“The Mandalorian”. And at least
prevented the light of Star Wars
from slowly but surely dying out.

Anant Kakkar presents his views on the

Star Wars sequel trilogy, while comparing
it to the original.
The Doon School Information Review
Artists often spend hours, months, and sometimes obviously a miraculous feat, however, they were no
even years to perfect their craft and ensure that fluke. His rich music was appreciated by fans and
their music is well received by fans and critics alike. critics alike. The biggest controversy arose from
The pinnacle of music, the Grammys, is agreed to BTS going home empty-handed. Their fans and
be one of the most prestigious entities that validate several others believed that artists of their stat-
the hard work of artists and music producers alike. ure deserve at least one Grammy if not many. The
The last year was unlike any other for the music in- Grammys provided a centre stage for several art-
dustry, as the entire landscape of music changed ists such as Doja Cat, HER and SZA, who have
after the pandemic. However, like always, the award been monumental to the recent era in mu-
ceremony brought with it criticism, ranging from un- sic. While a few were snubbed and others
deserving winners to a poorly conducted ceremony. awarded plentily, the Grammys gave the
viewers a plethora of emotions, ranging
Last year, Olivia Rodrigo came onto the scene with from solidarity for the people suffering
a sensational single, driver’s licence, and she soon in Ukraine, to nostalgia and melancholy.
became a household name. Her fame was further
cemented by the commercial success of her debut
album, Sour. This put her in the running for the four
major categories: song of the year, record of the
year, best new artist and album of the year. Howev-
er, to everyone’s surprise, Rodrigo was awarded just
the best new artist. While that in itself is not a trivial
feat, her commercial success, paired with her musi-
cal ability, led viewers to believe she was snubbed.
The Grammy for record and song of the year went
to the R&B duo Silk Sonic for their Internet-viral
record Leave the Door Open. The duo lived up
to their name, as their silky tones and vocal-heavy
song deservingly did the double over Rodrigo.

On a sadder note, the Grammy awarded to Foo

Fighters for their recent masterpiece Making a Fire
was dedicated to drummer Taylor Hawkins, who had
tragically passed away in March. The heartwarming
tribute to him was another highlight of the evening.
On the other hand, Tyler the Creator won his second
Grammy for Best Rap Album for Call Me If You Get
Lost, adding to his previous Grammy for the same
category for his critically acclaimed Igor. A recurring
problem for the Grammys, however, has been the
gross misrepresentation of hip hop and its culture.
Very few rap performances took place this year at
the Grammys, and only one rap album made its way
to the Album of the Year nominations, which was
Kanye West’s Donda. To further aggravate things,
two rap categories had very few nominations, go-
ing as low as 4 in certain categories. Previously, Tyler

THE
the Creator had also voiced his opinion about hip
hop and Grammys. His groundbreaking album Igor
was called “genre-bending” and a major deviation

S GRAMMY
from his eccentric, obnoxious style of rap that was
censored in the UK and New Zealand, however, the
Grammys still awarded it the best rap album, to which
Tyler responded by implying that his race could have
prompted his Grammy nomination in that category.

The 11 nominations by Jon Batiste for We Are were

 Picture Credits: The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter
7

GRAMMYS
VIHAN RANKA
th
E 64
The Doon School Information Review

Record of the year

Leave the Door Open (Silk Sonic)

Album of the year

We are (Jon Batiste)

Song of the year

Leave the Door Open (Silk Sonic)

Best New Artist

Olivia Rodrigo

Best Music Video

Freedom (Jon Batiste)

Best Global Music Performance

Mohabbat (Arooj Aftab)

Best Pop Solo Performance

driver’s license (Olivia Rodrigo)

Best Pop Vocal Album

SOUR (Olivia Rodrigo)

Best Rock Song

Waiting on a war (Foo Fighters)
 9

THE DSIR POLL

Should there be seperate

categories for males and
females in music awards
60% such as the Grammy’s?

40% 202 members of the

school community
40% were polled.

No Yes

Picture Credits: Consequence.net

The Doon School Information Review
KRISHNAV SACHDEV
The Platform is a relatively
unknown film, yet in my opin-
ion, it’s one of those rare films
that fall into the category of
pure genius. It offers a unique
cinematic experience by tak-
ing us on a journey along-
side the main character in a
dystopian world which plays
with the established stereo-
typical tropes of its genre.
Galder Gaztelu-Urrutias ex-
pertly executes his vision
through the limited lens of the
world depicted in the movie
and delivers a film that allowed
me to expand my own vision.
The Platform feels like a direct
narration of Urrutias’ perspec-
tive on society and it dissects
dystopian tropes such as reli-
gious conflicts and Heaven vs.
Hell. It highlights the dispari-
ty between personalities, and
how they change, depending
on what floor a person is on.
A more inflated ego for those
closer to the top, and a more
defeated tone for those un-
der them. These same differ-
ences lead to the lower floors
feeling like hell, void of hope
or any positive emotions, and
all those trapped down there
can do, is wish to be shifted
to a higher floor next month.
The film is set in a world where
one can get almost all they
want just by serving a sen-
tence inside the ‘Vertical Self
Management Centre’, a sort
of prison. From what I could
infer through the limited in-
formation the screenplay of-
fers, this centre is a gaunt-
let meant to test the body
and the mind, with the latter
also applying to the viewer.
Picture Credits: Forbes
The main character Goreng,
brilliantly portrayed by Iván
Massagué, wakes up on lev-
el 48 of the centre or as the
characters refer to it, ‘The Pit’.
The film follows his 6-month
journey through this trial,

which he undertook to get a
diploma that allows him to be-
come a Professor. As I learned
throughout the film, having no
more information than Goreng
himself, ‘The Pit’ is a series of
vertical cells with two people
each, and in the middle of
each room, there is an opening
shaped like a square. This hole
is meant to be a passageway
for the platform, after which
the movie is named. Each day,
at the same time, the platform
starts working its way down the
cells one at a time, stopping
for 2 minutes only to provide
the only meal of the prisoner’s
day to them. It starts at the
top with enough food to feed
everybody, but the people on
the higher levels take more
than they need, and thus there
are barely even scraps left for
the people on the lower levels.
The blatant disregard for oth-
ers displayed by the lucky few
who were put on the upper
floors is akin to a mirror being
held up to society. It reflects
how those at the top of the
ladder of life, don’t care about
those under them. Each month
the survivors are placed on a
different floor or are removed
from the premises if their du-
ration is up. This coin flip luck
determines one’s chances of
survival. One of the main ex-
tended metaphors through-
out the movie revolves around
this concept and how the
circumstances of where you
start your journey will closely
dictate most of your life. The
same coin flip is part of what
makes this movie so impactful
because you can’t help but be
anxious, fidgety, and stressed
when the time comes about
for our main character to
switch floors. You find yourself
11
wishing that he’d be on one
of the upper ones so that he’d
finally be able to have peace.
But, every great psycholog-
ical thriller must have at least
one pivotal moment where the
audience is extremely close
to satisfaction, and then ev-
erything is ripped away. The
Platform not only delivers on
that quota but overshoots it by
a mile. This happens when af-
ter five months of physical and
psychological torture, Goreng
wounds up on floor 6, but in-
stead of enjoying the delights
of such a high number, he fix-
ates on a new goal, to speak
up against the norms of The Pit
and get food to the bottom.
This mission also gets quickly
subsumed by the idea of de-
livering a message straight
to the top, leading to more
pain for both Goreng and us.
Eventually, led astray by his
conviction to go through with
the mission, Goreng is left
stranded at the very bottom,
with no escape and no hope.
Whilst I found the ending flat
and straightforward, taking it
at face value then, the number
of possibilities the open-end-
ed denouement bore, which
I kept wondering about for
a long while after the movie,
added to the other-worldly
mental trip this film took me
through. All in all, this movie
is a must-watch for those who
like slow-burn psychological
journeys and for those who are
just looking for another piece
of brilliant media to enhance
their views on our society.
The Doon School Information Review
Today’s television industry
is plagued with a number of
‘crime dramas’, and the genre
is only increasing in popularity.
In my opinion, however, there
are very few that stand out.
‘Top Boy’ is a diamond in this
rough; it manages to encapsu-
late the problems of a specific
culture while delivering a pow-
erful message to captivate a
wider audience. Moreover, it
achieves this in under three
seasons, with a fourth seem-
ingly underway. What makes
it a great crime show is the
fact that, beneath the guns,
gangs and violence, there are
social issues embedded in
the plot that people can re-
late to, leading to an utterly
addictive viewing experience.
‘Top Boy’ is the accurate por-
trayal of a lifestyle that exists
within the confines of London,
a raw street culture that most
people are oblivious to. We
usually associate London with
wealth and urbanisation, but
this show tells a story that con-
veys quite the opposite. It in-
troduces the audience to Lon-
don’s drug gangs that openly
compete with each other to
earn the most money, as they
try to survive in an intense en-
vironment while juggling the
problems they face in their
personal lives. Within these
gangs, a question of loyalty
always surfaces–giving rise
to a variety of situations that
form an entertaining episode.
In an attempt to become the
richest man on the block or
‘Top Boy’, fresh bonds are
forged, rivalries are ignited,
and lives are lost. Although I
am miles away from London, I
can still connect with the the-
matic aspects of the show that
make it enjoyable to watch.
Over three seasons, we are
introduced to characters who
evolve as the show progresses.
Although the main plot of the
show is based around three
main characters– Dushane,
Sully and Jamie, it is the depth
of sub-plots that makes it even
more enjoyable to watch. My
eyes were glued to the screen
at all times, with unexpected
twists and turns becoming
a frequent occurrence. The
storyline attached to each
character is uniquely curated
in such a manner that there
are no ‘bad’ or ‘good’ guys,
just individuals with their own
reasons for breaking the law.
Moreover, characters are re-
moved throughout the series,
even if they go through major
character development in pre-
vious episodes. This is where
the show accurately reflects
the nature of the real world.
Just like families lose their
children to the harsh realities
of knife crime every day (espe-
cially in these local communi-
ties), the audience is robbed
of characters who they have
developed an emotional at-
tachment with, making it a ca-
thartic experience. The heavy
use of violence and profanity
may seem overly dramatic at
first, but it is a projection of
things that happen every day.
The main cast of the show con-
sists of actors, artists and musi-
cians who have actually grown
up surrounded by the local
culture, and perhaps experi-
enced some of the things that
are being shown on screen.
Their acting is naturally pow-
erful as they are aware of the
real-life complexities that are
being portrayed in the show.
The directors were able to con-
vey the message of the show
through simple dialogues, el-
evated by the performance of
Black-British actors like Kane
Robinson, Michael Ward, Da-
vid Omoregie and Ashley Wal-
ters. As an admirer of comedy,
I particularly enjoyed the casu-
al injections of humour as well.
Music rarely plays a consis-
tent major role in crime shows,
and understandably so. How-
ever, the daring producers of
the show use hip hop sounds
of the local culture to fill the
empty dialogues between
scenes. Famous British rap
artists like Burna Boy and Cen-
tral Cee also feature on the
soundtrack. I feel that this el-
evated the show to another
level, as I often found myself
nodding uncontrollably to the
funky beats of grime music.
All in all, the brilliance of
this series can be attribut-
ed to powerful acting, real-
istic setting, and immersive
soundtrack. The show will
teleport you into a world that
you have never experienced
before. I can assure you that
you will laugh, cry and sweat
over the course of its three
seasons and that ‘Top Boy’ will
definitely be worth the watch.
 13

Picture Credits: The Independent

A RJUN PR A K A S H
The Doon School Information Review

Picture Credits: Netflix Life

S I D D H A N T S R I V A S TA V A

Rescued by Ruby is a film that
expertly exhibits the product of
hard work and determination,
pairing it with the daunting no-
tion of being unique in a cruel
world, all in 90 minutes. The film,
based on a true story, directed by
Katt Shea and distributed by Net-
flix, follows a Rhode Island State
Trooper, Daniel O’Neil (played by
Grant Gustin) on his quest to join
the elite K-9 unit. Daniel O’Neil,
the protagonist struggles with
dyslexia and hyperactivity, yet
yearns to save lives alongside a
canine companion, a companion
he finds in Ruby, a shelter dog.
Ruby is almost deemed unadopt-
able by the shelter owner until
she is finally taken in by Daniel.
Despite seeming like a film
for younger audiences at first
glance, the film masterfully por-
trays the idea of being an under-
dog, or simply being different
from others, pairing two ‘under-
dogs’, (one literal, the other figu-
rative), Daniel and Ruby, creating
a poetic relationship between a
dog and its master, something
that pertains to adults and chil-
dren alike. The film uses relat-
able problems to characterise
the film, placing them in the real
world, making it possible for the
viewer to imagine the struggles
of owning a dog, (especially one
very well depicted in a scene
where Ruby chooses to ‘mark her
territory’ inside of Daniel’s house,
even though she had just been
walked for the same purpose.
In a particularly comical scene,
where Daniel’s wife, Melissa, a
kindergarten teacher, is correct-
ing her students’ homework and
Ruby decides to eat the home-
work, or rip it up at least, giv-
ing new meaning to the phrase,
‘my dog ate my homework.’
Gustin, widely known for his role
in CW’s ‘The Flash, fits the role
incredibly well and convincingly
captures the essence of the real
Daniel, a modern-day hero of the
K-9 unit for having saved the lives
15
of multiple people. His portrayal ever, without disclosing too much,
of Daniel is immaculate, going there comes a stage in the film
as far as capturing Daniel’s spo- where Shea, the director has tried
radic stutter, fits of hyperactivity to create conflict, yet this conflict
and overall timid nature. Ruby is is far too prolonged and is most-
played by not one, but two dogs ly redundant since the suspense
called ‘Bear’ and ‘Shiloh’, who being created does not prove
tug at our heartstrings through- to have much gravitas. Though
out the film, and perform each the film is not perfect, Rescued
stunt with absolute perfection. by Ruby makes the viewer feel a
variety of emotions through the
The film makes use of colourful course of the film, mostly due to
cinematography and wide an- the human disposition to feel vast
gles to create a world of fantasy. amounts of affection for dogs.
The perspective of Ruby, a low
placed viewpoint, takes the view- Ultimately, Rescued by Ruby
er into the world of Ruby, helping proves to be a terrific watch,
the viewer perceive her observa- the film is light and easy to take
tions with ease, possibly convey- in, all the while being dramatic
ing how her entire world resides enough to engage the audience.
within Daniel, her master. The Though the plot remains fairly
use of sound and music is impec- predictable, the happy-go-lucky
cable, creating the perfect ambi- appeal of the film is neatly bal-
ence for this feel-good dramedy, anced out by the introduction of
that invokes various feelings in graphic elements such as human
the viewer, either calming the remains (the K-9 unit’s search
viewer down or making the view- objective) and the grimmer re-
er’s heartbeat out of their chest. alities of police work in general.
Side characters such as Melissa,
(played by Kaylah Zander) and
Seamus Brady (played by Tom
McBeath) add value to the film
by serving as guiding figures for
Daniel. Melissa provides a sense
of warmth to the film, we observe
a tremendous change in her at-
titude toward Ruby through the
course of the film, initially being
sceptical of Ruby, possibly even
thinking of her as a liability, to
letting Ruby sleep in the same
bed as her, showing remark-
able character development.
We must not overlook Seamus
Brady, the enigmatic sage-like
figure, whose very existence may
be questioned due to the fact
that he is only ever seen interact-
ing with Daniel, leading us to be-
lieve that he is but a fragment of
Daniel’s imagination - an imagi-
nary friend, once again reflecting
Daniel’s childlike disposition and
possible intellectual disabilities.
It is hard to criticise a film that pre-
dominantly features a dog, how-
SCOR
SPECIAL
SESE
SECTION
The Doon School Information Review

V I VA A N S O O D

CASINO A ROLL OF DICE


W hat is the one thing in com-
mon between the mafia and
Las Vegas? Both are elements that
exist outside of the rules and are
known for their expediency. Las
Vegas was the perfect playground
for the mafia. Anything and ev-
erything had a price. People felt
optimistic and were not averse to
letting go of their money at the
chance of becoming a millionaire.
Often they did strike gold, but
other times, they would lose it,
and for people making deals with
the mafia, that was never a good
idea. That was the idea of the ma-
fia and Las Vegas. Neither would
survive without the idealism and
optimism of millions of people.
And that is what Casino is about.
The movie opens with Sam Roth-
stein having his car blown up
with him in it, and subsequent-
ly recapitulates his story up to
that point. Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein,
played by Robert DeNiro, is a
gambling expert and is asked
by the Italian Mafia to oversee
operations at the Tangiers Ca-
sino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
He is supported by his eventual
wife, Ginger (Sharon Stone) and
friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci).
The cinematography in the film
is such that the entire film moves
at a singular, breakneck speed,
with snappy editing, as well
as narration by different char-
acters to facilitate the movie’s
flow. Trademark Scorsese freeze
frames, and expressive camera
work, moving it into unconven-
tional places and angles, create a
dynamic atmosphere for the audi-
ence, and give us an epic routine
of scenes over and over again.
This ceaseless narration put the
audience directly into the minds
of the characters, intensifying
the relentless tone of the movie.
Sam Rothstein is portrayed all
19
throughout the film as a me-
thodical, and often aggressive
gambler, who somehow always
manipulative and helps Sam in
his more discreet dealings with
the casino and the mafia. Rather
wins. This methodical behaviour than relegating her to the role of
is evident from the scene in the a one-dimensional wife, Ginger is
movie where he tells the casino a character with depth and com-
cooks to put “exactly the same plexity, a woman in the world of
amount of blueberries in every the male-dominated mafia, whose
muffin.” Despite his nature, he perseverance and grit allow her
often betrays himself and makes to survive. She refuses to allow
mis~takes in the movie that only herself to drown under the cha-
serve to hurt him the most, sole- os of the mafia, and instead uses
ly because of his misplaced trust. her position as the wife of a ca-
sino owner to her own advan-
The conflict in the film is creat- tage, indulging in her desires.
ed when the two closest people in
Casino is in essence a gangster
film, but balances the activity of
“Casino is in the Mafia with straight-edged ca-
essence a gangster sino business, with both elements
film, but balances feeding off of each other, to help
the activity of them grow into something wick-
the Mafia with ed, eventually damaging each oth-
straight-edged er in an unavoidable way. These
casino business, two elements fail to coexist, as
with both the walls of Sam Rothstein’s life
elements feeding come down in an almost destruc-
tive and violent manner, catalysed
off of each other,
by his own supposed friends. It
to help them grow seemed that Sam Rothstein’s win-
into something ning streak has come to an end.
wicked, eventually
damaging each
other in an
unavoidable way.”
Sam’s life, Ginger and Nicky, start
creating trouble for him. Nicky is
a killer and a thief, and as stated in
the film, “Las Vegas was like the
wild west for him.” He reflects the
sinister and gory side of the mafia
and gang life. The feisty and of-
ten unpredictable Nicky Santaro
often creates some moments of
homophobia and racism, inex-
cusable today, however, it adds
to the assertive authenticity of the
character and his reckless ways.
On the other hand, Sam’s wife,
Ginger, signifies the archetype
of a femme fatale. She is often
The Doon School Information Review

“As far back as I can

remember, I always
wanted to be a gangster.
To me, being a gangster
was better than being
president of the United
States.”
- GoodFellas

“He was, and probably

always was, totally
himself. This might
sound like a bit of a non-
answer, but it’s very rare
to interview an actor
who doesn’t bullshit you
a little. After all, they’re
trained to perform, to be
“The two leading actors
liked, to get applause. “
do a superb job of
bringing these characters
- The Guardian
to life,” Janet Maslin
wrote in The New York
Times. “Mr. Liotta, “Playing
such a menacing villain Goodfel
in ‘Something Wild,’ order, be
makes Gino a touchingly characte
devoted figure, a man different
willing to sacrifice almost complic
anything for his brother’s Ray was
welfare.” scene of
shoot.”
- New York Times
 21

A TRIBUTE TO
R A Y L I O T TA

Ray Liotta, known for his role in Martin

Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’, has passed
away aged 67. Liotta’s publicist Jennifer
told The Hollywood Reporter he died
on Wednesday night or early Thursday
in his sleep in the Dominican Republic
where he was shooting for ‘Dangerous
Waters’. “He’s way too way young to
have left us,” Liotta’s ‘Goodfellas’ co-
star Robert De Niro said.

- InShorts

g Henry Hill in
llas was a tall
ecause the
er had so many
t facets, so many
cated layers, and
s in almost every
f a long, tough

- The Times
Good
The Doon School Information Review
R O H A N TA N E J A
The American Mafia has in-
spired some of the most influ-
ential and iconic films of the
20th century, making guns,
mobs and the lust for money
staples of American Cinema.
Once in a while comes a film
that tweaks these staples to re-
define the Hollywood gangsta,
or at least expands the scope of
what a gangster movie could be.
‘The Godfather’ for instance
added a whole new layer of
depth to the mafia by showing
the importance of family, tradi-
tion and responsibility, while
films like Scarface pushed
the limits of goriness
while exploring what
can be handled by
the audience.
It was in the
aftermath
of two successful Godfather
films, when people seemed to
know what to expect from a
gangster film, when Scorsese
released GoodFellas - a gangster
film with guns, mobs, money and
drugs, yet, a film like no other.
Based on the non-fiction book
“Wiseguy” by Nicholas Pileg-
gi, GoodFellas is an account of
life in the mafia, as narrated by
Henry Hill, an Italian-American
kid whose earliest, and only,
ambition was to be a “wise
guy”, a gangster. M o r e
than anything, GoodFellas is a
study of a lifestyle - the life of
a Mafioso. It’s an exploration
of a mafioso’s power, and what
being one means, or should
mean. All three main wise guys
engage in activities society
would morally question, though
there is more than what meets
the eye. Tommy DeVito loves
his mother more than anything
but is a violent sociopath that
loves to kill. Jimmy Conway is
a kleptomaniac, and Henry Hill
cheats on his partner. These are
not just quirks added for the ele-
ment of interest, but rather piec-
es of the characters’ identities,
a prominent theme of the film.
Crime is glorified and these
activities are normalised to
the extent that Tommy’s
brutal killing of a man
is the subject of laugh-
ter, but reasonably so,
given that the narrator
for most of the film is
Hill himself. To stress
this contrast and iro-
ny, Scorsese makes
the violence as brutal-
ly realistic as possible
with no censorship.
The bare display of
broken identity cannot
be explained without
the existence of a high
degree of power which
is beautifully displayed
through Scorsese’s lens.
GoodFellas is known for pi-
oneering the long track shot
that involved Henry taking his
wife Karen to a concert from
the backdoor, through the kitch-
en and backstage, without in-
tervention. Aside from being a
beautiful piece of filmography,
this one-shot quantified the
power Hill had because of his
association with the mafia. Like
llas
23

Picture Credits: NewYorker

are still called “GoodFellas”.

More than anything, GoodFellas is a Henry explains that the term is
study of a lifestyle - the life of a Mafioso. simply a way to refer to one of
your own, a line that is often un-
It’s an exploration of a mafioso’s power, derappreciated. I think Scorsese
and what being one means, or should never meant for this title to be
ironic. Instead, he believed that
mean. these GoodFellas are actual-
many of the other characters of of the mafia’s power, Karen also ly good people who have been
the mafia, Henry held no po- explores the bonding and loyal- devoured by their own attrac-
sition or office, yet held more ty that exists amongst the mafia tion to life in the mafia. Henry
power than he would ever need. and their families. Even though may cheat and organise heists,
To him, being a mafioso meant Karen didn’t have a choice but but he is still sympathetic to
having a licence - a licence to to adapt to this life, from her Tommy’s victims. Tommy may
kill, a licence to steal, a licence point of view we see how lu- brutally murder anyone that
to do whatever is it that he crative Scorsese shows this life ticks him off but still loves his
wants to do. This element of ul- to be. Who wouldn’t want to mother like a baby. Jimmy may
timate power is often explored have ultimate power, wealth, a steal everything in his way, but
through the perspective of Hill’s community and a brotherhood? he still loves Tommy and Henry
wife Karen, who narrates multi- like his own sons. These are not
ple parts of the film and is sup- People think that the title is cold-blooded monsters, but rath-
posed to adapt to her new life as meant to be ironic. The men of er people who are too deep into
an indirect associate of the ma- the mafia steal, lie, cheat and the system to come out of it. A
fia. Aside from an exploration beat people left and right, but system they love to be a part of.
The Doon School Information Review

M
artin Scorsese’s “The
of Wall Street” is e
ing yet exhausting,
ing one perplexed as to wh
they’re appalled or enthralle
the end of the movie. It’s a
film made about not-so-
men. It’s the story of a com
man turned into a greedy
brute man. The “Wolf” is so
en, that Leonardo Dicaprio
pared his story to that of Ro
tyrant Caligula. The three h
pass by like the last thirty min
of Scorsese’s other hit, “Goo
las” as every frame in the m
is like a pointillism artwork
multiple details to explore.
spite the movie’s portraya
debauchery and use of prof
the story itself is quite fascin
and leaves the spectators
velling at the skill of the ac

It starts off showing a middle-

man, who, at first tried to ge
in the stock market through th
thodox way of working as a b
in a firm under a rich and sh
less, ever-grinning douche pl
by Matthew McConaughey.
some time under him
loses his job a
firm due to
market cras
‘87. While
the quest
another
he di

e Wolf ers a quaint penny stock selling
excit- office and plots his big break.
leav- He takes over this “firm” and gives
hether it a traditional money name, call-
ed at ing it “Stratton Oakmont” in order
great to gain the faith of the middle and
-great working-class and scam them into
mmon investing their money into worth-
y and less stocks. Around this time, he
o driv- leaves his honest, loving wife for
com- a more desirable and “younger
oman woman” played by Margot Robbie.
hours The title fits the movie appro-
nutes priately as the use of “Wolf”
odfel- generates an essence of “alpha
movie male” and barbaric energy, rep-
with resenting a carnivorous animal
. De- who treads proudly as it destroys
al of humans, strikingly similar to the
fanity, men whom this movie is about.
nating As they too seem to be simply
mar- animals dressed in designer cloth-
ctors. ing, with DiCaprio playing Belfort
as the “Wolf” who is simply a de-
-class signer dressed jock who keeps
et rich on cheering his guys up by call-
he or- ing them all “killers.” He is also
broker shown to attract women with his
hame- baby face looks and charm and
layed by flashing green, hence feed-
After ing the narrative of a supposed
m, he “Wolf ‘’ or a sort of pack leader.
at the
o the This film, like most of Scorsese’s
sh in works, isn’t really about money
e on or the animalistic beast under the
t for human hide nor is it about simply
job Belfort’s story. This movie is Scors-
iscov- ese’s masterpiece on addiction.
The addiction to money, the addic-
tion to stimulants, the addictions
to lust, addictions to all things that
blemish the purpose of humanity.
Originating from Scorsese’s heavy
cocaine addiction back in the late
80s, he successfully displays how
deep addiction has been drilled
into modern-day American cap-
italist society through not only
the storyline but also the cine-
matography and characters. The
film doesn’t depict Belfort as the
ideal man but instead does quite
the opposite by depicting him as
a brute beast, and we can hop to
that conclusion through the on-
point camerawork. The wide-an-
gle shots, slow-motion zooms,
and distorted, blurry shots in the
middle of a fast-paced film, play a
vital role in showing these flawed
characters as revolting and depict
this society that we live in as pure
chaos. Especially the Quaalude
trip scene where Belfort and his
prized sidekick are displayed so
pitifully, the movie descends into
comical madness. Belfort, in a par-
alyzed state, struggles to reach his
car, after a worrisome call about
his money, like an animal who is
on the brink of death after almost
being prey to roadkill. He is shown
as a helpless creature enslaved to
his sins, representing society as
the same. This scene also shows
how easy it is to fall into addic-
tion and lose one’s bearings, as
Belfort and his right-hand man
Donnie Azoff seem so controlled
by these substances as Donnie
throws up and passes out crawling
everywhere, it shows what a poor
state of addiction renders humans
SAI ARJUN
25
in. The directorial peak though
is McConaughey’s only impact-
ful scene as Belfort’s first boss
Mark Hanna, who in this scene
is drumming the beat of Bobby
McFerrin’s “Thinking bout your
body” which is a perfect teaser
to the movie as it is a tribal war
song, symbolising the barbarity.
“This film, like most of
Scorsese’s works, isn’t really
about money or the animal-
istic beast under the human
hide nor is it about simply
Belfort’s story. This movie is
Scorsese’s masterpiece on
addiction.”
However repulsive and sicken-
ing we find ourselves at the end
of this movie, it is crucial that it
dawns upon the viewers the re-
alisation that men like Belfort
represent the society we live in,
The characters epitomise the
modern avaricious society where
people have become slaves to
their baser emotions and end up
losing everything they have ever
loved. In the end, we see Belfort
transformed into a motivational
speaker but it is obvious that he
still longs for his past life and is
unapologetic about everything
save getting caught. This is where
Scorsese proves his mettle- he
doesn’t give in to a hypocritical
and false depiction of the incor-
rigible human instinct and leaves
the viewers with a reality check.
The Doon School Information Review

Picture Credits: IMDb

UDATHVEER
PA S R I C H A

Home. Some may call a mansion
their home, while others may call
it the roadside, but in the case of
Hugo, home would be the antique
clock in the Paris train station.
However unrealistic this sounds,
Scorsese sells it, begging the
question; is this really what ‘home’
means? This question is the prem-
ise for the film which Martin Scors-
ese aims to answer through the
portrayal of an orphan named
Hugo, who lost his father in a fire
unexpectedly. The movie explores
the need to decode a message
left to Hugo by his father. Scors-
ese, who doesn’t generally make
family-friendly movies, uses this
movie to represent the disparity
between the haves and the have
nots and to explain the concept of
finding happiness in little things.
Towards the beginning itself, there
is a sense of ambiguity after the
doting combination of father-son
is broken up. Scorsese elucidates
this by offering a puzzle. A last
wish by the father. Such an ele-
ment of remembrance is very com-
mon in family movies, and similar
to Hugo, it is upon the child to
make what he can of this puzzle.
Like every other film, Hugo too is
faced with numerous problems,
the biggest one presented in the
form of the station master. Due to
the era and scene portrayed by
Scorsese, it becomes extremely
evident that this is a representa-
tion of the real world around him.
Scorsese uses the station master
as a symbol of character growth
using the virtues of sympathy, em-
pathy and the concept of human-
ity to show the gradual change
that he goes through. From trying
to put Hugo in prison, to save his
life, Scorsese embodies the cli-
che of ‘All’s well, That ends well’.
Isabelle, a girl who Hugo meets
unexpectedly, presents a fee-
ble sense of hope to an other-
wise ill-fated boy. An immediate
spark is seen within the minds of
the viewers when the two meet
each other; it is as if they com-
27
plete each other. This concept of
completing each other, in theory,
is touched upon practically also
when Hugo sees Isabelle carry-
ing around a pendant, on which
rests a key, which completes the
puzzle set by his father. It was
literally as if they were made for
each other. Scorsese diminishes
any concept of any possible ro-
mantic involvement, as Isabelle
is portrayed more like a guard-
ian angel than anything else.
Scorsese uses Hugo to explain the
virtues needed to survive in this
otherwise cruel and treacherous
world. That being said, the thing
that Scorsese does differently
from any of his previous movies is
his commentary on finding solu-
tions. While he may have done
this in the past using films such as
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Silence’,
there is no sense of ‘happy ever
after’ present in these films. He
pays emphasis on the boy having
a great end, which to the viewers
is completely heartwarming. He
does this despite not compromis-
ing on his famous, dark and ex-
treme scenes which are frequent-
ly present throughout the film.
Martin Scorsese shows, through
the platform of this movie, that
with one of the greatest writers
of all time, nothing is impossible.
Despite apprehensions by critics,
there is a reason he is where he is
today, and that with him, no stone
will be left unturned. Every genre
was explored. I think with a direc-
tor of his calibre, it is our fault as
viewers to expect such restricted
content, for, with Martin Scorsese,
we should expect the unexpected.
The Doon School Information Review
Scorsese’s potrayal of
Masculinity
V I N E S H U N I YA L
Martin Scorsese has probed the male psyche
for four decades now, portraying its brutal bra-
vado in films like Goodfellas and Mean Streets
and its lecherous and avaricious intentions in
The Wolf of Wall Street. He has a certain fond-
ness for depicting terrible humans as protago-
nists and has the ability to make the audience
question whether relatability holds more sig-
nificance than likeability. Yet, his most brilliant
films truly shine when it comes to address-
ing the vulnerability of masculinity, exposing
certain flaws in the often abstract concept.
In fact, in my regard, two of his best films:
Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, delve into the
role of masculinity in an ever-changing world,
making one reflect on whether the tradition-
al roles of men have evolved at all. Although
both these films have different plots, the
themes, especially the concept of savage
masculinity are identical and relevant to this
day and age. They are about men who con-
form to conventional social stereotypes and
adopt the violent and aggressive form of
masculinity thereby making lives miserable
not only for themselves but for others too.
Picture Credits: The Guardian
Raging Bull recounts the story of Jake LaMot-
ta, a boxer, and his inability to comprehend a
woman other than in terms of the only two roles
he can assign to her: Madonna or whore. Jake
has a complex about women that Sigmund
Freud about a century earlier, had referred to
as the Madonna-whore complex. Women are
unapproachable, virginal ideals for LaMotta
until they are tainted by physical touch (with
him), at which point their integrity becomes
questionable. A prime example of this is his
relationship with his wife. It is fraught with in-
security and jealousy. The viewers realise that
his wife was merely an unattainable sexual
fantasy and his touching her, tainted her. In
turn, he is tortured with delusions about his
wife’s infidelity, his own insecurities making
him suspect every word and every glance
she might exchange with someone. Crip-
pled by his anxiety, he chooses to express
himself the only way he knows- through
violence and aggression, utilising these
negative feelings during boxing which
he sees as a form of penance for his vio-
lent actions. Unfortunately, he uses these
feelings to justify beating his wife even
though he has never caught her indulging
in infidelity, yet he acts as if his suspicion
proves her guilt. It is the sheer brilliance of
Scorsese that in spite of the revulsion that
the viewers feel at this point of the film,
they still hope and yearn for him to let go
of his delusions and rectify his mistakes.
On the other hand, Taxi Driver visualises
the story of Travis Bickle, an ex-marine
and Vietnam war veteran. Loneliness
drives him to become bitter and resent-
ful, transforming him into a crazed and
disturbed cowboy. He epitomises the
masculine and aggressive characteristics
of America before WWII when being a
man entailed being all the things we no
longer value in a postmodern society. He
is alienated as a result of being born into
a world of poverty, materialism, superfici-
ality, and an ever-changing cityscape that
necessitates a dissociation from reality.
Thus, his ignorance leads him to rely on
hyper-masculinity as a solution. This hy-
per-masculinity is based on ancient heroic
notions, such as being a physical knight
who saves princesses. His ignorance con-
tributed to his decline into hyper-mascu-
linity, but it also contributed to his descent
into madness. He is unable to adapt to a
changing environment, and is bewildered
and disillusioned with what his country
has become, seeing himself as society’s
saviour while envisioning ‘cleaning up’
the depraved capital of New York. Thus,
 29

Taxi Driver is a prime representation of

masculinity at its most extreme — violence.
His treatment of women is that of a west-
ern cowboy as he wants to “protect” Bet-
sy, his love interest, as she walks down the
street and saves Iris, a 13-year-old child,
from a life of prostitution. And though Tra-
vis is aware of these attributes, he contin-
ues to indulge in them, maybe suggesting
that Travis’ cowboy male persona is im-
portant for him to cope with his loneliness.
While we do have such an iteration of mas-
culinity in full display in the Taxi Driver,
Scorsese presents other male characters
who incorporate different styles of mascu-
linity. For example Sport, a pimp, who in
contrast to Travis, lacks heroic masculine
principles and is depicted as manipulative
in his treatment of Iris. While the presiden-
tial candidate, Charles Palantine, is the
archetypal American workingman of the
1970s: bland and weak. Masculinity appears
to be in crisis throughout the film. Yet, the
film appears to suggest that society is in
desperate need of a hero, a violent hero
which comes in the form of Travis Bickle.

Even though we as an audience may not

be able to connect with these charac-
ters through sympathy or empathy, we
can use these characters as cautionary
tales. I think that all of us are capable of
horrible deeds, and can continue on the
toxic and disastrous path that they were
on. These movies are a showcase of un-
checked jealousy and how it can lead to
our failings while honestly portraying the
bipolar disposition of humans, and por-
traying the defects of hyper-masculinity.
The Doon School Information Review
Martin Scorsese’s 2002 gory,
historical crime drama, Gangs
of New York, is a minacious
saga of hatred and vengeance
set against the backdrop of
Five Points on the lower east
side of Manhattan in the
mid-nineteenth century. It is
an ambitious project that talks
about an ugly page of Ameri-
can History. The film is based
on Herbert Asbury’s book of
the same name and has be-
come a canon for the directors
of the ‘Crime Drama’ genre.
The movie opens with a theat-
rical gang-war between Priest
Vallon (Liam Neeson) of Dead
Rabbits and Bill the Butcher
(Daniel Day-Lewis) of The Na-
tivists. The battle scene is bru-
tal and scary and is extremely
well shot. The battle ends with
Vallon’s death at the hands of
Bill. Scorsese makes it abun-
dantly clear in the first few
minutes of the film that it is not
for the chicken-livered! Scors-
ese and Michael Ballhaus, the
director of production, create
a convincing world of mean
streets rampant with raging
bulls where there is no space
for the GoodFellas! Movie
puns aside, the film showcas-
es the hatred between the
two gangs reaching Shake-
spearean proportions where
people start killing each other
for sport! The director weaves
a gripping Dickensian mosa-
ic of thieves and pickpockets
where families are stacked up
on dingy shelves and little chil-
dren and young adults work
under extreme conditions.
The film primarily revolves
around the life of Amsterdam
(Leonardo DiCaprio) who is
lusting to avenge his father’s
death. He wins Jenny’s (Cam-
eron Diaz love and she re-
mains faithful to him through-
out. The plot becomes more
Hamletesque when he con-
fronts the killer of his father,
Bill and starts working under
him. The first half of the film is
very gripping and well-paced.
The performances of DiCap-
rio and Cameron Diaz are
somewhat flat and bland
but Daniel Day-Lewis is the
star of the show and delivers
one of the best performanc-
es of his illustrious career.
Day-Lewis as Bill is a man of
extremes, he is torturous,
menacing and ferocious on
one hand and ethical, admi-
rable and honourable on the
other. He is loathed by his en-
emies and revered by his men!
The actor’s stylised, extensive
diction, his impeccable nasal
voice and his accent, which is a
strange concoction of De Niro,
Pacino and McConaughey, re-
main unbelievably consistent.
The camera absolutely loves
him and he sucks you into
his vicious persona. Daniel
Day-Lewis is to this film what
Brando was to The Godfather
or Pacino was to The Scarface.
The director, who confessed
in an interview that he had
wanted to make this film since
the 1990s, seems to somehow
lose control of the narration,
especially in the second half.
The build-up is rock-solid, the
denouement however is a
touch scrambled where knives
and sabres often replace dia-
logues in the 168 minute-long
film. The romantic subplot is a
titillating distraction from the
bloodthirsty world but is very
conventional in its treatment.
The protagonist, Amsterdam
(Leonardo DiCaprio) enters
the world of the mobster, Bill
 31
and walks out triumphant al-
most unscathed like Dantès
from Monte Cristo. The movie is
unparalleled in parts but in cer-
tain scenes, it also treads along
the borders of the ordinary.

Barring those paltry foibles,

the writers - Jay Cocks, Steven
Zaillian and Kenneth Loner-
gan do a great job in pulling
back the narration in place,
which coupled with Day Lew-
is’ flawless performance and
Howard Shore’s magical score
still cements this film as one
of the greatest of its kind.

All in all, Gangs of New York,

which orchestrates the rage of
the Native Americans against
the Irish Catholics, might not
be Scorsese’s Magnum Opus
but it does succeed in telling
the grey ineffaceable history of
New York!

Picture Credits: Google Images

GANGS OF MR. ABHINAV

MISHRA

NEW YORK
The Doon School Information Review
It is inevitable that some mean-
ing is lost in translation between
works of differing languages and
covering up this gap can some-
times lead to an artwork losing its
soul. At the time of Japan’s iron
colonisation of Korea, Korean
practices and rituals were brutal-
ly suppressed, banning Koreans
from wearing white thus cutting
off over 5000 years of heritage
through clothing, as well as
changing their worship to that
of the Japanese Emperor; Kim
Sowol’s literature and poetry re-
main from that chaotic time some
of the most beloved, having been
written in combination with reg-
ular poetry and folk songs. This
poem was published in 1925, in
the middle of Japan’s tyrannical
rule over Korea, which is when
one half of the series Pachinko
is set, the other set in 1989.
Each 1-hour long episode out
of 8 focuses dually on the life of
Kim Sunja, and Solomon Baek -
her grandson, the lives of whom
are distant in terms of scope,
time and luxury, but similar in
subtle ways. Throughout the se-
ries, Sunja is fighting to see a
world beyond her own in Yeo-
ngdo-gu, Busan in the 1930s,
and her grandson Solomon Baek
struggles to receive his due in
Shiffley’s - an international invest-
ment banking company - in the
late 1980s because of discrimina-
tion inherent in the minds of both
the Japanese and the Americans.
While the outright partitions be-
tween countries and people may
have been broken down, the
walls in a person’s heart may last
a lifetime and there is no clear-
er distinction between the Japa-
nese working at Shiffley’s Japan
branch and Solomon, who is
most commonly shot alone, or
at most, with few other relatives.
Pachinko is a timelessly power-
ful show, with intimate emotions
seeping into every shot. The au-
thor of the book this show is based
on wrote the book not basing it For me, Pachinko is a mixed
on a singular true story, but on machination, while the shots and
multiple stories; reading through scenes are brilliant, mixing sym-
personal accounts, ethnogra- bolism across times and spaces,
phies, and war diaries, and meet- the script isn’t nearly as much.
ing people who lived through the The director’s attention to ev-
time. The show itself is a stunning ery shot imparted unto me his
reproduction of the times, where care and passion for his craft but
every custom and every prejudice certain dialogue left me feeling
is conveyed through the screen. unsatisfied. Perhaps its mean-
ing was lost across translation
The actors are phenomenal, Kim but the script at times was too
Min-Ha as Kim Sunja, a blend specific, talking about emotions
of caution and wit, and Jin Ha that would’ve added depth to
as Solomon Baek a filial son al- scenes if left unmentioned and
beit in the dark about his own left to the audience to decipher.
heritage. Despite how far their I would definitely recommend
family has come, problems still watching Pachinko because
abound, though silently in the though these subtle mistakes ex-
dark halls of human relation- ist, they don’t take away from the
ships. Solomon simply cannot story Kogonada is trying to tell.
understand the struggles that his
grandmother Sunja went through
and misunderstands her tears
when she cries after eating rice
from Korea with another immi-
grant. Even in her old age, Sunja
tries her best for her grandson
not only having raised him in
the absence of his mother who
died but in the absence of his
father making a living off of run-
ning pachinko parlours in Osaka.
The director, Kogonada, most
often switches shots of the pres-
ent and the past, intertwining
problems and making compari-
sons between the problems be-
ing discussed. About how they
used to make their own kimchi,
and now they can buy it for 300
yen at the corner store in Osa-
ka, or about how they would
grow white rice and the enforc-
ers would take it from them. But
now they eat white rice every
day, always full, and don’t even
notice. Kogonada highlights
problems antecedent and con-
temporary, illustrating class con-
tentions through buildings and
most notably fashion, and the di-
vide between men and women,
gaining ever more significance
since the story of colonisation
is told from Sunja’s perspective.
Picture Cre
 33

PAC H I N KO
YA S H A D A LT I

redits: Film Affinity

The Doon School Information Review

Hold my hand
Lady Gaga
Release Date: 6 May

‘Hold My Hand’ adds to the career of icon

Lady Gaga, and is the lead single to the ‘Top
Gun: Maverick’ soundtrack. Aligning with the
movie’s sentimental themes, Gaga’s intention
was to write a love letter to the world which
she achieves with a powerful vocal perfor-
mance.

Mr. Morale and The

Big Steppers
Kendrick Lamar
Release Date: 13 May

Kendrick Lamar’s latest album

“Mr. Morale and the Big Step-
pers” was announced this April
and has been highly anticipated.
It is Lamar’s 5th Studio Album
and is releasing after the artist’s
5 year-long hiatus. Lamar has re-
leased some cryptic information
about the album on his website
and has also revealed that this
will be his last album under the
TDE label.

So Far So Good
The Chainsmokers
Release Date: 13 May

“So Far So Good” is The Chain-

smokers’ fourth album and their
first since 2019. It will feature
13 songs and will include the al-
ready released singles “High”
and “iPad”. The duo stated that
the album’s title is derived from a
quote in the 1995 french film “La
Haine” and is one of their most
genuine works.
 35

Come home, the

kids miss you
Jack Harlow
Release Date: 6 May

Harlow’s rise into hip-hop lime-

light is nothing short of sensation-
al. The American rapper’s sec-
ond studio album ‘Come Home
The Kids Miss You’, consists of
16 songs, with each producing
a unique sound to complement
Harlow’s style. Additionally, the
album includes decorated artists
like Drake, Pharrell Williams and
Lil Wayne.

the dsir
MAY MUSIC RELEAS
Harry’s House
Harry Styles
Release Date: 20 May

British singer-songwriter Har-

ry Styles is a consistent figure
in the pop industry. His music is
refreshed with his third studio al-
bum ‘Harry’s House’, consisting of
13 songs. Following the success
of his 2019 album ‘Fine Line’, and
with a worldwide fanbase, we can
expect this album to achieve a
similar level of success.
The Doon School Information Review
15th November, 1967:
Who’s That Knocking at
My Door is released, his
directing debut.
1975:
Won the BAFTA Award
for the Best Film (Alice
Doesn’t Live Here Any-
more).
19th September, 1990:
Goodfellas is released
which is known for pio-
neering the long track
shot. Won the BAFTA
Award for the best film,
best direction and best
adapted screenplay.
13th November, 1991:
Cape Fear is released,
Scorsese’s first film to
gross over $100,000,000.
22nd November, 1995:
Casino is released, star-
ring Robert De Niro.
Based on a true story,
it is well-known for how
realistic it was.
19th January 2003:
Won the Golden Globe
Award for Best Director
(Gangs of New York).
5th March 2006:
Won the Oscars for Best
Director (The Depart-
ed); Nominated for best
director (Gangs of New
York, The Aviator); Won
the Grammy Award for
Best Music Film (No Di-
rection Home).
6th October 2006:
The Departed is released,
boasting a star-studded
cast including Mark Wahl-
berg, Matt Damon, Jack
Nicholson and Leonardo
DiCaprio.
19th February 2010:
Shutter Island is released,
well known for it’s chilling
mystery, often referred to
as a psychological thriller.
It is regarded as one of
Scorsese’s best movies to
date.
THE ART AN
MARTIN S
25th December 2013:
Wolf of Wall Street is
released, Scorsese’s
highest grossing film to
date at a whopping 392
million dollars.
2002:
Leonardo DiCaprio and
Scorsese work together
for the first time, the start
of a relationship that con-
tinues to be one of the
most financially success-
ful collaborations ever.
2022:
2022- Killers of the Flow-
er Moon is set to be
released on Apple TV+,
featuring Robert De Niro
and Leonardo DiCaprio.
 37

ND LIFE OF
SCORSESE

The DSIR Poll

Do you watch Martin

Scorsese’s movies?
61%

39% 202 members of the

school community
were polled.

Yes No
The Doon School Information Review

Picture Credits: Film Affinity

S VA N I K G A R G

‘One final order of business,
then we the peaky blinders
rest…’ This iconic dialogue
concluded arguably one of
the best British TV series,
the ‘Peaky Blinders’. Centred
around 1920s Birmingham
and onwards, the show out-
lines the life of Tommy Shelby
as a ‘peaky blinder’ a family
of bookmakers who look to
expand their empire and face
consequences and obstacles
as a result. The first five sea-
sons extended from their mi-
nor expansions to the Shelby
Company Ltd. which dealt in
exports across continents.
The kingpin of the show, Tom-
my played by Cillian Murphy,
defines the plot with breath-
taking sequences helping
construct an ambiguous ef-
fect on the audience as the
show traverses through an un-
stable yet rewarding journey
of wealth and respect. The
final season is an extension of
the show’s aura, with a similar
consistent theme through to
the end. In short, the season
builds on strong foundations
and lives up to expectations,
making the end a must-watch
for any fanatic. With such high
expectations with the end and
the death of Helen McCrory
(Polly) one would expect the
show to scamper through,
however, Steven Knight has
nailed the end, making the
entire show worth a watch
just for the final chapter.
The season begins, where the
last one left off with Tommy
disappearing into the fog
possibly to kill himself. The
cliffhanger we were left on is
finally unveiled as Tommy fails
to commit suicide, courtesy of
the lack of bullets in his gun.
He realises what he is doing is
rather irresponsible and errat-
39
ic which results in a change of icon Helen McCoy. At times
perspective within him. Fast you will miss the panache of
forward a couple of years a Polly to support Tom, howev-
new Tommy appears, calm- er, her absence lays no effect
er and much more responsi- on the quality of the show.
ble with an envious lifestyle.
The show builds towards the
end from thereon, and albeit
the lack of ‘Aunt Polly’, the Heartbreak is
alpha woman, Tommy takes synonymous with
complete control and is the the season, as the
showpiece of the season. Sev- expected death of aunt
eral new characters are intro- Polly stores a series
duced to heighten the tension of suffering for the
and raise the ambition of the blinders.
Shelbys, with Tommy facing
new challenges as he tries
to set up a safe future. The Netflix is expected to get the
storyline continues howev- show in late June or July for
er does not build into a tan- viewing in India, however, BBC
gential direction, but rather one has it available in the UK.
focuses on identifying where TV ratings for the show sug-
things for Tommy should end. gest the audience had a great
interest in the show, despite
Heartbreak is synonymous the rather demeriting weekly
with the season, as the ex- episode structure, meaning
pected death of aunt Polly once globally available out-
stores a series of suffering for side piracy, viewing numbers
the blinders. Tommy and his will be through the roof. For
family take over the social as- every Blinder fan, this is a sad
pect of the storyline with the yet mesmerising end, for any-
Peaky Blinders no more to- one looking to watch it for
gether as a whole. As the sea- the first time, contrary to the
son is set in the war period, masses, the end to this show
Tommy’s political ambitions is well worth watching the first
take a centre stage which 5 beautifully crafted seasons.
adds to the spice of the sea-
son, and the unforgiving colo-
nial political system. Sequenc-
es are artistically directed
with a seamless transition into
a new season given the 3-year
gap making it a remarkable
piece of cinematography. If
you possess an HDR screen,
the quality of direction will
be visible, enhancing your
experience of the story. Ste-
ven Knight had to change the
script and direction given the
lack of a character, however,
newer identities are defined
throughout the season to effi-
ciently fill the shoes of a show
The Doon School Information Review

Picture Credits: Amazon

Franz
Kafka
 41

‘Kafka’ is a single word in order to dedicate him- mark Kafka puts on every
that anyone enthusiastic self to the art of writing, single one of his texts.
about reading literature however only a year later It describes any scenar-
can recognize immedi- Kafka’s health severely io that is nightmarish,
ately. Known as being worsened and he eventu- stressful and alienating to
one of the most influen- ally died of consumption. the extreme point where
tial writers of the 20th a character’s morale and
Century, Franz Kafka The hallmark of any story resolve are eventually
creates scenarios in his Kafka has written is por- crushed and reduced to
stories that to this day, traying the absurdity and nothing as they travel
anyone who has ever irritating nature of the through a perplexing bu-
had an encounter with bureaucratic system. In reaucratic system. All of
any bureaucratic system, his short story, The Stok- his works have characters
whether it be applying for er, a 16-year-old Europe- often reflecting inwardly,
college or filing a police an boy is forced to move trying their best to find
complaint, can relate to. to New York in the USA, meaning and a sense of
where he is baffled by the self-worth in a new place
Franz Kafka was born in new customs and norms or situation, yet often-
Prague in 1883. He at- he experiences there. In times failing to do so.
tended Altstädter Sta- his last novel The Castle,
atsgymnasium, an elite Mr K. learns that gaining Kafka never actually want-
high school in Germany, entry into an isolated do- ed his most renowned
and secretly rebelled minion’s castle isn’t as works to be published.
against the authoritarian easy as it seems at first He told his library execu-
rule of the school and glance, as every time Mr tor, Brod, to never release
its policies, something K. attempts to contact Mr these works to the pub-
which is conveyed in his Klamm, the castle keep- lic, an instruction which
works later in life. Kafka er, he somehow always he disregarded given
S H O U R YA H A R S H VA R D H A N

was known by his peers manages to evade him. that we can read those
as someone charming, These recurring events very texts today. With-
had a good sense of hu- in Kafka’s works serve to out them, the world of
mour and was generally highlight the wildly com- literature would’ve been
an amiable person. His plex and confusing na- significantly different to
father, an assimilated ture of local customs all what it is today, as Kafka’s
Jew, was a figure that around the world as seen novels and texts indeed
he heavily loathed and by an outsider, but also have been fed a lot of
therefore Kafka tried give them some slight appreciation by readers
his best in order to cut exaggeration to empha- from around the world,
all ties with him. In the sise these ridiculous sys- and his style of having
short story, Das Urteil, tems and give them a his works semi-grounded
Kafka directly references nightmarish atmosphere. in reality and exagger-
the broken relationship This style of writing gar- ated echoes through-
he had had with his fa- nered itself a new name, out the 20th Century.
ther in his life. In 1923, Kafkaesque as it is the
Kafka moved to Berlin single most distinctive
The Doon School Information Review

Fight Club
Picture Credits: WallpaperFlare KARAN AGARWA

D avid Fincher’s 1999 film
Fight Club’ is a movie
that leaves the viewer breath-
less, confused and positively
fuelled with adrenaline, cling-
ing to the edge of their seat
as they watch Fincher’s cine-
matic take on the lesser-known
‘96 novel of the same name.
For those that haven’t seen it,
Fight Club is a movie about an
unnamed, sleepless employee
in a car company that encoun-
ters a hypermasculine soap
salesman named Tyler Durden.
They then start a back-al-
ley fist-fighting club to make
themselves feel more alive.
Eventually, the Fight Club ex-
pands, with new members join-
ing until it becomes what can
only be described as a “cult”
for weak-minded masochists.
To any average male, the mov-
ie delivers a great sense of en-
joyment, as two hours of fight
scenes unfold. It’s easy to fall in
love with the violent rhythm of
such a movie and immediately
start idolising a character like
Tyler Durden, someone that
embodies the primal instincts
that many believe are inside
them, yet that is where the
b
movie fails in my opinion. It
takes a genuinely creative
idea, one that demon-
strates the downfalls
of anarchism and
widespread vio-
lence, and di-
lutes the idea un-
til the bulk of the
movie is just fight-
ing. It is only in
AL the last 5 minutes
that it appears
that the movie is
a deterrent, some-
thing that is meant
to show every-
thing wrong with
43
a Fight Club-esque world.
It almost feels like the end-
ing is forced as if the direc-
The character development
is truly refreshing and fun to
watch, and the chemistry be-
tor has a compulsion to add tween the two makes the en-
in an ending that makes the tire story feel more authen-
film seem deeper than it is. tic. Frankly, the duo save the
movie and make it enjoyable
to watch. The comedy is un-
apologetic and well-crafted,
“It almost feels and Brad Pitt gives an iconic
like the ending is and memorable performance.
forced, as if the Ultimately, I have mixed feel-
director has a ings about this movie, and un-
compulsion to add derstandably so. Part of what
in an ending that makes many movies popular is
the era that they were released
makes the film seem in, and I do not belong to that
deeper than it is.” era. Yet somehow I still expect-
ed this movie to deliver on the
deeper and more thematic
The fact of the matter is that front, where it ended up failing
Fight Club rose to populari- me. To quote the critic Roger
ty for all the wrong reasons. Ebert, “ ‘Fight Club’ is a thrill
Viewers go into the movie ex- ride masquerading as a philos-
pecting to see a movie about ophy - the kind of ride where
a fight club, and while Fincher some people puke and others
delivers on that front, he fails can’t wait to get on again.”
to develop any real depth in
the film and that’s all it be-
comes - a movie about a fight
club. Largely this is caused by
his suppression of important
themes - like consumerism and
existentialism- that add flavour
and meaning to a film that is so
deeply submerged in barbari-
ty. It’s not a bad movie in the
conventional sense, it gained
rapid popularity and a high rat-
ing, but the broad appeal is be-
cause of the audience, not the
quality of the work itself. As Ty-
ler Durden himself said “ We’re
the middle children of history,
man. No purpose or place. “
The real talent in the mov-
ie lies in the actors, Edward
Norton and Brad Pitt. They do
such a good job of portraying
their characters that it’s easy
to forget about the plot itself.
The Doon School Information Review
“T he Adam Project”, in my
opinion, encapsulates the
spirit of a classic action-packed
sci-fi adventure - combining
amazing journeys and valuable
concepts into a riveting time-trav-
elling story. It delivers a message
to its audience about coming
to terms with our past and truly
accepting the life we’ve experi-
enced and the decisions we’ve
made. The film deals with Adam
Reed, played by Ryan Reynolds,
a fighter pilot from the future who
doesn’t particularly lead a hap-
py and successful life. He steals
a time machine in order to jump
back in time and warn his dad
about inventing time travel, only
to overshoot and end up further
in the past than he intended.
The film takes on new meaning
when he meets his younger self,
an aerospace nerd abused fre-
quently at school. The chemistry
between the two Adams is almost
flawless. Their conversations give
the film a humorous side as future
Adam rediscovers what a fool he
used to be. Younger Adam helps
Future Adam get back on track
and save the lady he loves. The
movie takes time to build up. The
use of special effects and action
scenes which intensify after the
unexpected reunion of Adam and
his wife, Laura who had disap-
peared makes each event seem
to be inescapable and keeps the
audience’s attention glued to the
screen.
You can also feel the great syn-
ergy between the actors and the
director with Shawn Levy drawing
out strong performances from his
incredible cast. Ryan Reynolds is
in top form as Adult Adam and
while Reynolds plays his typical
sarcastic character for laughs, he
squares it out with a thoughtful,
more controlled performance
that reveals the actual story. With
a fantastic debut performance,
Walker Scobel matches Reynold’s
spirit pound for pound. However,
what uplifts the quality of the film
for me is its amazing supporting
actors. Jennifer Garner does bril-
liantly as Adam’s mother with a
deep mine of sympathy, and Mark
All in all, I feel this film is a one-
time watch sci-fi adventure that
enthusiasts and casual spectators
Ruffalo who is no stranger to ad- will genuinely enjoy. It’s an effort
venture sci-fi plays the role of Ad- to hook us with nostalgia and re-
ams’ workaholic father. I admire minds us that time is elusive and
how Levy tries to blend classic unrepeatable. It’s mind-blowing
retro features while still providing how the film manages to contain
a modern sensibility and a futuris- a lot of indecipherable plot twists
tic vibe to the film- like a modern and mind scramblers in less than
approach to an 80s or 90s sci-fi two hours. The excellent script,
family film. It’s perhaps to be an- special effects, and phenomenal
ticipated from a filmmaker who cast make the movie enthralling
has produced shows like “Strang- and unforgettable. Undoubtedly,
er Things” and “Free man.” “The Adam Project” is an epic ad-
venture you have to experience.
What I enjoy about
this film most are
the heartbreaking
but excellent
representations
of loss and the
essential human
need for a little
more control over
the endless march
forward.
What I enjoy about this film most
are the heartbreaking but excel-
lent representations of loss and
the essential human need for a
little more control over the end-
less march forward. It feels like
a meaningful, hilarious mixture
of all of my childhood movies.
It’s packed with fight scenes that
defy gravity and even has some
touching emotional moments. It’s
so beautifully executed, that this
film hits on a level that Hollywood
has been striving to return to for
years. However, the thing that’s
particularly disheartening for me
is that there was clearly a better
film in there someplace, but poor
action scenes overshadow the
film’s more effective elements.
This film is perfect if you are
searching for something that is
entertaining, heartwarming, and
filled with action.
 Picture Credits: IMDb
45

KRISHIV JAISWAL
The Doon School Information Review

I
n movies, bullies are usu
stereotypical characters
morally elevate the m
characters, most often use
either a comedy shtick o
antagonist with absolutely
personality. Yet what if a b
being physically and psy
logically tormented as an
termath of committing horr
deeds, seeks to make ame
with the victim. Could we a
audience empathise with
bully and give him a chance
forgiveness or redemption?
Tackling these perspectives
Japanese animated film ad
ed from a manga series of
same name, A Silent Voice.

It revolves around Shoya Ish

a teenager who suffers from
cial anxiety and self-loat
due to his past heinous acti
He decides that before c
mitting suicide, he should m
amends with a deaf girl, Sh
Nishimiya, who he, along
his friends, mercilessly bu
during primary school w
V I N E S H U N I YA L

eventually caused her to tr

fer to another school.

A To make amends, he nerv

Silent
ly asks for her friendship
starts a journey of making
friends and reconnecting
former friends, soon bloss

Voice
ing to compelling plot act
and arcs as he slowly reg
the ability to connect with
ers and forgive himself.

What makes this movie un

is its transparent portrayal o
horrendous actions Shoya
his friends committed aga
Shoko. And, in an ironic t
the one pinned for all the b
ing is Shoya, which causes
to be isolated and alienate
others as his classmates, f
ing morally justified, bully
 47
ually while he accepts it as a form of Shoya’s efforts to become a the movie progressed, Shoya
who karma. And though it should better human being make the could understand Shoko more.
main feel satisfying, it just doesn’t, viewer sympathise with him. In the end, Shoya understood
ed as because Shoya is not evil, rath- Shoko in every way he failed
or an er he’s a flawed and damaged Shoko, the victim, is beautiful- to during his childhood- Hand
y no person, and the label stamped ly constructed in her arc where movement, writing, expres-
bully, on him by society prevents him she condemns herself for sion, vibration and touch. The
ycho- from becoming a better indi- Shoya’s loneliness and pain. movie uses nuanced ways to
n af- vidual in the first place. It feels Even with the unjustifiable cru- portray the multitudinous fac-
rible rather uncomfortable as we see elty she received, what particu- ets of sound, creating a sense
ends him morph into a character who larly struck me was how she al- of tangibility to a rather ab-
as an views himself as someone with- ways blamed herself as the root stract concept, highlighting
the out any redeemable qualities, cause highlighting a particular that communication goes far
e for as someone who thinks that he facet of her character- the el- beyond what we say.
? deserves awful treatment. ement of blame. She blames
s is a herself for every tiny thing re- The characters, regardless of
dapt- gardless whether it was in her their anxieties and insecurities,
f the control, as we notice her con- need help from others show-
. “Creating stantly apologising throughout casing humans as imperfect
parallels between the film. It feels like a commen- and giving a brief overview of
hida, the bully and the tary on how society views her as why we might be selfish or vio-
m so- victim, in how a burden due to her disability; lent, at the same time, have the
thing both characters furthermore, it talks about how ability to be good.
ions. burden having a disability is often seen Representation of the impor-
com- themselves, pulls as shameful in society. tance of empathy in a story that
make the audience contains a raw but delicate de-
hoko to view these Creating parallels between the scription of the joyful and cru-
gside bully and the victim, in how ellest moments a person can
characters grow
ullied both characters burden them- go through whilst showcasing
and become the cathartic feeling of some-
which selves, pulls the audience to
rans- better versions of view these characters grow one understanding you makes
themselves. “ and become better versions of this movie a beautiful and
themselves. The movie pres- emotional one to watch.
vous- ents flawed characters trying to
and become better, exhibiting how
new Shoya feels unwanted, judged, easily it is to be judged due to
with uncomfortable in his skin,and your past misgivings. However,
som- feels that everything he does the journey to repentance and
tions makes things worse. His ab- dealing with these mistakes ul-
gains sorption of hatred towards him timately defines who we are. At
oth- makes him socially stunted to its core, A Silent Voice is about
the point where he sees an X forgiveness, that there is more
on faces which I thought was a to people than past mistakes.
nique wonderful touch of filmmaking.
of the It was a refreshing take on social Another brilliant filmmaking
and anxiety, with the camerawork touch was the use of sound
ainst portraying Shoya’s perspective and language, twisting the use
twist, by magnifying on the feet or of language outside normal
bully- different objects. I particularly conventionality. Shoya learned
him love that when Shoya strikes a sign language and commu-
ed by friendship with someone, the X nicated with Shoko but, this
feel- falls off, underlining that he has was only one form of him un-
him made a connection. derstanding Shoko. Slowly, as
The Doon School Information Review

THE
OSCARS

Best Picture
CODA

Best Actor
Will Smith

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain

Best Director
Jane Campion

Best Original Score

Dune

Best Animated Feature

Encanto

Best Original Screenplay

Belfast
 49

E d i t o r- i n - C h i e f
Gurmehar Singh Bedi

Editor
Shreyan Mittal

Chief of Design
Rohan Taneja

Associate Editors
Karan Agarwal
Sai Arjun
Siddhant Srivastava
Yash Adalti

Senior Correspondents
Arjun Prakash
Sriyash Tantia
Vir Mehta
Vivaan Sood

Junior Correspondents
Krishiv Jaiswal
Pragyan Goel

Faculty Advisor
Ms. Malvika Kala
Mr. Dwayne Dcosta