Life Of Navin

You've probably heard of this movie called The Gods Must Be Crazy (TGMBC). It is a South African movie which tells the story of a bushman named Xixo (pronounced KeeKo), who encounters technology for the first time in his life, in the form of a coke bottle, and all the (mis) adventures that follow. It is widely claimed to be South Africa's finest movie, and considering its the only South African film I've seen, I completely accept!! :)

There were so many things that I realized after watching this movie. And, as the title of this post suggests, 5 of them are listed below.

1) Fast motion comedy is cheesy.... but fun to watch!!
I'd always had this impression that fast motion comedy is too slapstick to actually be fun. But this movie changed all that!! Yeah, its cheesy, its slapstick, its wacky, but its a whole load of fun!! Not wanting to spoil the fun of the movie by posting the fast motion segments of the movie, I'll simply post the fast motion version of Hakuna Matata!!



2) South Africa is simply awesome!!
Believe me, this movie sigle handedly moved South Africa up by atleast a dozen places in my "Places To Visited Before I Die" list. Sample this: The picture shown below is the location where the climax of the movie is shot..... And right below it is the actual shot from the film. Amazing eh?



3) Globalization is an arsehole!!
I'm pretty sure that you're wondering how I can even say such a thing considering that the very reason that I'm able to write this post from my nook in Goa, India, and you're able to read it sitting in ________ (fill place name here) is due to the amazing phenomenon that we call globalization.

But this movie opens you up to the other side of globalization. It shows how something as insignificant as a coke bottle can wreck havoc in the lives of an indegenious culture. And how a universal language (English) and a common culture have become such an integral part of life, that we cannot accept anything that doesn't conform to our culture!!

4) Coke is evil!!
You might have read that the pesticide content in Cola drinks is higher than the drug content in Amy Winehouse, and have probably heard of bugs being discovered in packaged coke bottles, and even read stories of Coke being banned in certain countries, but TGMBC introduced me to another reason why its probably right to say that Coca Cola is evil. Of course, in the movie the bottle has been used simply as an example, but considering that I prefer Pepsi anyway, you can say that Coca Cola is a huge No-No!! :)

5) Kalahari Bushmen rule!!
I'd heard so much about indigenous cultures, right from the Eskimos at the north pole, to the pygmies in Africa, to the Dayaks in Indonesia but one culture that I have always been intrigued about but never really knew much about were the Bushmen of the Kalahari. This movie focuses a lot on this culture and its cultural values (such as their family system, their way of life etc.). Another thing the movie showcases is the amazing eyesight these bushmen have. All in all, I learnt a lot about this culture that I'd been fascinated about simply by watching this movie. Now I've read up a lot more on these amazing people who're endowed with some amazing skills, both physically and mentally. Would I want to be reborn as a Bushman?? Hell Yeah!!

(Things you have to do to format in blogger!!)I agree with this guy!!

All in all, TGMBC is an amazing movie, and a must watch, not only for fans of the "World Cinema" genre, but also for anyone who is fascinated about learning about cultures other than your own.I'd strongly suggest you watch this movie to understand how much bigger the world actually is (yeah, BIGGER, not smaller as the internet suggests!!).