National Identity

Travellers and Magicians 12 languages • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Travellers and Magicians DVD cover Directed by Khyentse Norbu Written by Khyentse Norbu Produced by Raymond Steiner Malcolm Watson Starring Neten Chokling Tshewang Dendup Lhakpa Dorji Sonam Kinga Sonam Lhamo Deki Yangzom Cinematography Alan Kozlowski Edited by John Scott Lisa-Anne Morris Distributed by Zeitgeist Films Release date • 2003 Running time 108 minutes Country Bhutan Language Dzongkha Budget $1.8 million[1] Travellers and Magicians[a] is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha-language film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, writer and director of the arthouse film The Cup. The movie is the first feature film shot entirely in the Kingdom of Bhutan. The majority of the cast are not professional actors; Tshewang Dendup, a well-known Bhutanese radio actor and producer, is the exception. Plot A young government official named Dondup (played by Tshewang Dendup) who is smitten with United States (he even has a denim gho) dreams of escaping there while stuck in a beautiful but isolated village. He hopes to connect in the U.S. embassy with a visa out of the country. He misses the one bus out of town to Thimphu, however, and is forced to hitchhike and walk along the Lateral Road to the west, accompanied by an apple seller, a Buddhist monk with his ornate, dragon-headed dramyin heading to Thimphu, a drunk, a widowed rice paper maker and his daughter Sonam (played by Sonam Lhamo). To pass the time, the monk tells the tale of Tashi, a restless farmboy who, like Dondup, dreams of escaping village life. Tashi rides a horse that goes into a forest. He immediately becomes lost in remote mountains and finds his life entwined with that of an elderly hermit woodcutter and his beautiful young wife. Tashi's wish of escape granted, he finds himself caught in a web of lust and jealousy, enchanted by the beautiful and yielding wife, but fearing the woodsman and his axe. Tashi finally tries to murder the woodcutter, aided by his wife who is pregnant by Tashi. He runs away, however, while the old man is near death, burdened by his guilt. Deki, the woodcutter's wife calls and runs after him, but drowns in a mountain river while giving pursuit. Tashi's adventures finally turn out to be hallucinations induced by chhaang, a home-brewed liquor. The monk's tale merely parallels Dondup's growing attraction to Sonam. During a dilemma similar to Tashi's, Dondup manages to hitch a ride to Thimphu. The film ends without showing the final outcome of Dondup's journey - his visa interview and his trip abroad. The audience is left to wonder whether the trip changed his attitude toward the village and Bhutan, and if he returned to the village. Themes According to the director, the story of Dendup was inspired by Izu No Odoriko (The Dancing Girl of Izu), a story by Yasunari Kawabata about a group of travellers and an infatuation between a dancing girl and a schoolboy. The story of Tashi was inspired by a Buddhist fable about two brothers, one of whom aspires to become a magician.[3][4] In making this movie, Khyentse Norbu, (also known as Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, an internationally renowned Buddhist lama), sets the standard for the nascent Bhutanese film industry. The story depicts traditional Bhutanese folklore and storytelling techniques. Travellers and Magicians is a profoundly Bhutanese film, with a theme and vocabulary that reflects the culture of Bhutan. The storytelling technique employed in the film is the one of a story within a story, as the monk narrates the story of Tashi. The nesting of worlds goes three levels deep, as Tashi hallucinates/dreams after consuming chhang. Traditional and fusion music is used, with Western rock and Western-influenced music being heard via Dondup's music system and traditional music from the dramyin of the monk and as ambient music. The noted chant music advocate David Hykes contributed music at the invitation of the director. A soundtrack of the movie has been commercially released.[3] Since only a quarter of the people of Bhutan have the mother tongue of Dzongkha, one of the cast members — Sonam Kinga — acted as a dialect coach to the cast.[3] Production In keeping with the production of Norbu's previous movie The Cup, no professional actors (save Dendup: a radio actor) were used. Auditions were held to select the cast from all walks of life including farmers, schoolchildren, and employees of the Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Government of Bhutan, and the Royal Bodyguard. Many production decisions, including casting and fixing the date of release, were chosen using Mo — an ancient method of divination.[3][5] Release and reception Box office According to Box Office Mojo, the film was in release for 28 weeks and its total lifetime grosses were $668,639.[6] Critical reception Travellers and Magicians received positive reviews from critics. Variety film critic David Stratton praised the "natural and unaffected" acting by the film's cast.[7] Salon's Andrew O'Hehir gave the film a positive review and wrote that "[Travellers and Magicians] won't rock your cinematic sense of self, I guess, but it's a smart, winsome and often beautiful little picture; I didn't want it to end".[8] Dessen Thompson, writing for The Washington Post, praised the film as "deeply enchanting".[9] In his review of the film for Slant, Josh Vasquez gave the film two and a half stars out four.[10] In his review of the film published in The New York Times, Dave Kehr described it as a "pleasant, colorful travelogue".[11] The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 93% based on 61 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.35/10. The website's "Critics Consensus" for the film reads, "Interwined tales of spiritual discovery are set against a gorgeous, evocative landscape in this pleasant, engaging import."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Accolades ] • Audience award, Deauville Asian Film Festival • Best emerging director, Asian American International Film festival From the blog of Dorji Wangchuk Maan Ki Baat Sense of belonging ON AUGUST 7, 2024 BY DORJIWANGCHUK At the on-going Bhutan’s literature festival, Bhutan Echoes, where I was invited to share my doctoral dissertation, two concepts – loss of belongingness and loss of innocence, resonated with the young moderator. I guess, he also represents the feelings of our next generation. I have argued that these two losses are the principal root cause for most of the issues we face with our youth today. Let me define what sense of belonging is in this article. Sense of belonging is, firstly, our authentic connection to our shared past, our shared present and our shared future. When people have no connection to their story of their past, when people feel that they have no stake or say in the present circumstances, or when people see no hope for the future, they lose the sense of belonging. They feel worthless, and unrecognised, and pushed away. One can only imagine where people will head for, or resort to because as social animals, we always seek a place and a community where they feel they are accepted, belonged and valued. How do we come to such conclusions? As communication scholars, we are trained to observe, listen to and analyse social interactions such as verbal and non-verbal cues. This field of study is callled ethnography of communication. It posits the idea that what we communicate reveals a lot of our identity, beliefs systems and socio-cultural dispositions. To put it simply, statements like “Nga yoena mena ei. Yoe ru toob, mi ru toob” (Whether I am there or not, it is fine) – a common statement these days can index to loss of self-worth and motivation. It is not a good sign for a country of less than quarter a million of productive citizens. Second, a sense of belonging is not a fixed state. We constantly evaluate our surroundings and people around us – and ask: do I belong here? Am I wanted? Am I useful? Just because you have a job in the government, or you come from a good family, do not guarantee anything. If someone feels useless, they will either go haywire or in the best case scenario, which is especially true for Bhutanese, they will walk away – a phenomenon that has been coined in sociology as quiet-quitting. Third, a sense of belonging is not a rational thinking but an emotional feeling. This means from the perspective of neuroscience it emerges from an area in the brain called the limbic system. Humans have three areas of the brain: the frontal neocortex, which is broadly termed as the logical brain; the limbic area, which is the emotional brain; and the oldest layer called the reptilian brain, which mainly controls our survival instinct. So, because it is an emotion, using facts, figures and logic will not reinstate a sense of belonging to any person. For instance, the government promising to double the per capita income by 2029 or 2034 will not change anyone’s mind from leaving if they have so decided. Loss of sense of belonging is an emotional breakdown, and not an economic disruption. Fortunately, when it comes to a shared future, we have the ambitious Gelephu Mindfulness City project, which has given us a topic to talk about, and something to look forward to – or simply to gossip on. As someone who has seen a lot in life, if there is something that we can achieve, it is always what we perceive as something impossible. In recent memory, the 2003 military operation comes to my mind. Earlier to that we have fended off the British – sometimes militarily, sometimes through diplomacy. History and our past achievements are with us, as we embark on the most important project of our generation and the next. Another initiative that will help address the sense of belonging will be the Gyalsung program, which will connect our youth to the past, and firmly ground them into the present. Hope is, as they say, on the horizon. Independence Day Perhaps its time as Merdeka or independence day approaches,its time to reflect on our national identity.That which divide us as a nation is greater than that which unite us.Without a sense of belonging,our youths migrate and become global citizens.They are doing quiet quitting at the sense of loss of hope in the future and the lack of real reformation.”Dimana bumi dipijak,disitu langit di junjung.” What Sultan Nazrin said rings some sense ‘Are we an inclusive society or exclusionist when our citizenship laws are amended so should citizenship at birth be conferred to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers or will the children be stateless. By Soo Wern Jun (The malay mail) Friday, 12 Jul 2024 7:00 AM MYT KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — In March 2024, the government tabled proposed constitutional amendments aimed, among others, at addressing statelessness among children of Malaysians and permanent residents, but which would have removed the automatic right to citizenship for those eligible. Although the government later withdrew the proposal due to the uproar and tabled a new version without the controversial change, the amendments will still have significant effects on Malaysia’s stateless children and foundlings Where is the Bill now? The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 was tabled for the first reading on March 25 and is scheduled for its second reading in the current parliamentary meeting, but changes to its position in the order paper puts its appearance in doubt. What do the changes include? • Bahasa Melayu proficiency One proposed amendment will add the requirement of adequate Malay language knowledge on a foreign woman married to a Malaysian, as part of her application for citizenship, which the Home Ministry said is consistent with the Federal Constitution. Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said proficiency tests would include written tests and direct interviews. • Lowered age ceiling for application Another amendment to Article 15A will bring the age limit for citizenship applications down from 21 years’ old to 18, ostensibly to be consistent with the lowered voting age as well as definition of a minor in the Child Act 2001. However, this effectively removes three years from the available time for a stateless child to apply for citizenship, in a process that already takes years to complete. The new limit would also apply for those who previously obtained citizenship by law, requiring them to take their oath of citizenship before turning 18 in order to remain a Malaysian. • Citizenship for kids born abroad One major proposal is to automatically give citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian women with foreign spouses, as was already the case for children of Malaysian men. However, the proposed amendment will not be retroactive, denying children born abroad before its passage the automatic right to citizenship. • Children of permanent residents The amendment will remove “permanent residents” from among those whose children would gain citizenship from birth in Malaysia, and would instead require at least one parent to be Malaysian in order to be eligible. • Foreign married women Foreign women who became Malaysian through marriage would have this revoked if their marriage were to be dissolved within two years of them gaining citizenship, when the limit was previously two years from the date of marriage. Critics contend the change could cause women to be trapped in abusive or violent marriages for fear of becoming stateless due to Malaysia’s prohibition of dual citizenship.