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View all search resultsThe world today as told by fiction
Works of fiction, like movies, often explore the intriguing study of human nature. Some, regardless of how dreary or feel-goody their story, may provide a new set of eyes in seeing how the world is changing.
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R
eal life is stranger than fiction because people only expect the ordinary. And that’s where the current global health crisis has hit the hardest.
In the past couple of months, people have had to adopt new lifestyles while struggling to get by after a drop in income or job loss. And then there were the frequent live-streaming of funerals for friends or relatives and the strange sight of clear Jakarta skies.
Works of fiction have become a needed distraction from reality. People turn to movies for a bit of laughter in dark times or to reclaim the luxury of not being emotionally invested in other people or situations, even if just for a while.
Some movies, however, are made to be an intriguing study of human nature, exploring the best and worst of people when facing difficult times.
Indonesian film programmer and archivist Lisabona Rahman and German documentary filmmaker Sebastian Winkels shared a list of movies that come to mind when dealing with the multidimensional consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In this unfamiliar situation that affects our sense of security, I tend to go to both depressive fiction and cheerful fiction,” Lisabona said in an Instagram live episode of Bingkis (Thursday Talk) on May 21.
“And it’s always good to explore titles that are less-known as we can expect some elements of surprises.”
