Today, I watched Ginger and Fred by Italian director Federico Fellini. I had no clue what it was about. I deliberately went there without any information. As the movie started and the names started rolling, I burst into laughter. All the names were like - Pinelli,Guerra, Fellini, Mastroianni , Mignone , Poderosi, Fabrizi , Flumeri, Piovani and so on. Every name sounded like that of a Pasta or an Italian car to me :-) Then the movie started. I could see a lady in her 50s - mild mannered, puzzled by the new generation's lack of manners and culture. (This topic in itself can be made into a classy movie).
Then, the movie progresses. I have no clue where it's headed. But, the portrayal of Italian TV (very very similar to Indian TV - that was 1986, this is 2013) made choke. The more I thought about the quality dished of programs dished out, the total absence of respect for artists, the emotional turmoil of artists, their fears and desperation of being forgotten by their audience, the callousness of the TV crew and current generation in general, the ensuing cacophony of badly managed TV programs, etc - I felt that I was close to becoming insane at this injustice and stupid world. A little more and I think I would be permanently damaged. I guess I need to stop watching such serious movies, if I have to survive in this world. I remember being overcome with grief after watching The Wild Strawberries. Serious movies suck your soul out!
The masses are totally unreasonable. An artist should never expect the masses to understand or appreciate his art. In fact, art itself should be its reward. If you start expecting people to appreciate your art and your art is extremely high quality, you are sure to die of a heart ache.
There is a satire towards the end. A woman says "Never.. never again. Nobody should be allowed to carry on such experiments hereafter." and cries profusely when she was interviewed about her experience of "living without a TV" for a month! That scene nailed what Fellini wanted to convey about the foolishness of the masses and how TV had conquered our senses and reason and probably intellect, integrity and respect for classy art. Look at all the saas bahu serials and crap that we produce in the name of TV serials.
I don't know what the aim of the writer and director was. I don't wish to dissect or analyze that much. I just point out my observations and my feelings when I left the hall. I guess dissecting a piece of art too much kind of destroys the soul sometimes.
I went ahead and collected some relevant reviews about the movie:
Ginger & Fred is a typically playful satire from Fellini targeting Television of the 'Light entertainment' variety. It's funny though, the exaggerations are pretty much bang on the money these days but as clever as the lampooning is, it's the performances and the on screen relationship between the ever wonderful Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina that really make this film the diamond that it is. Very Italian, very Fellini, very funny and very lovely.
At its core, ''Ginger and Fred'' is a consideration of television as a universe complete unto itself, where immortality is a three-minute spot on-camera and where shadows are more real than the figures that cast them. ''We are phantoms,'' says Mr. Mastroianni's Pippo. ''We arise from the darkness and disappear again.''
Having begun as a medium designed to entertain and inform the members of its audience, television has now reversed the roles - the audience exists to serve the casting needs of television.
It's both a touchingly nostalgic journey into the past, and a viciously satirical attack on television in general and Italian TV in particular, portraying it as a mindless freakshow aimed at morons
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