'Gandhi' & 'Black Narcissus'

I'd seen these two films within days of each other not realizing that the latter had anything to do with the former. In fact, there's a minimal degrees of separation.

Black Narcissus is set in Indian, high in the Himalayas. It follows the trials and tribulations of a group of British nuns set to start a school in the area. It's a British film and was released right before Indian independence and the end of England's grip on the country.

Gandhi, obviously, is the famous biopic starring Ben Kingsley about the life of Mohandas Gandhi and the nonviolent resistance movement that he spearheaded to plant the seeds for that independence.

Gandhi is brilliant and it's brilliant because of Kingsley. He's fantastic in this film (as has been noted over the past 20 years).

Black Narcissus is great because it's an allegory for the end of the British rule in India. In Gandhi they reference that the English people were sympathetic with the Indian resistance, which I don't know if that's true or not.

If you read enough about England in the 1970s and 1980s, the English people weren't too keen on any one of color, but I don't know if that's true for all people of color or those people in the 1940s.

India interests me, and I hope to read and learn more about it.

I think what fascinates me most is the dichotomy of religion. Growing up and watching Temple of Doom, you think everyone there is Hindu. In fact, it's a large next for Islam and despite the split with Pakistan after independence, there is a shitload of animosity between the two sects.

I feel I'm a reasonable man. But it feels like the Muslim people can't seem to get along with anyone. The Jews, Hindus and if the extremists are any indications, they're not too entirely hip on Christians. Then again, the Jews and Christians seem to pick just as many fights.

There's a good reason many people get disgusted with religion. It prevents humans from thinking straight and, ironically, it prevents them from treating others with kindness, it prevents us from turning the other cheek.

Whether it's Christian-Catholic, Islam-Hindu, Islam-Jewish, Jewish-Christian or any other conflict, people have gotten their panties in a wad when religion gets dragged into things.

It's a shame that such a good thing has been soiled by human brains. I'd bet God -- whether it's a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Judeo-Christian -- would like a do-over.