Civil Services Mains 2020 Results: In or Out ? Way ahead, gratitude and Pain
The Civils Mains result has been declared. This thread is for sharing your grief , joy , mixed feelings - absolutely anything and everything.
Been a silent trawler of this thread since it started. Sorry to backtrack the discussion a bit here but I just watched the last episode of Aspirants (yes I live under a rock) and can I just say it was underwhelming at best. Don’t get me wrong the characters are quite well-written, albeit highly dramatised. But where are the female aspirants??? Dhairya and Guri’s ex are the only two women shown in the entire series and we get absolutely nothing from them. They’re just plot devices to give more depth to the male characters. It’s not even as if a bit of character backstory would deviate from the storyline, given that Sandeep Bhaiyya is clearly a crowd favourite. Not trying to rant, but as a woman I felt that beyond the usual Laxmikant-Yojana jokes I couldn’t really relate.Although, I agree with you on many fronts, but lets not bring the gender issue here.
Women are indeed give good roles.
Guri’s ex did make it to SPSC. Her confidence while confronting Abhilash’s negative approach is well appreciated.
Dhairya always had clarity of though. Unlike Abhilash, she read terms and conditions of fee back so well. She helped Abhilash get a new specs. She always had Plan B of going to rural areas and fight against drug abuse. She did it.
The landlady where Abhilash was staying, had more wisdom than her husband. She made him shift TV to next room.
Kusum kept waiting for Sandeep Bhaiya for years, honesty, loyalty, sacrifice is not just in everyone’s character.
Women are indeed shown in glorified manner. So what if not UPSC, their personaliy is shown way much better than Abhilash, Guri, Sandeep, SK combined. Sandeep, Abhilash were so much self centred. Men were the ones who realised their mistake at the end.
The issue that I was bringing up isn’t just confined to whether or not women are portrayed in a good/negative light. I’m talking more about the depth of the characters as far as backstory or even an arc. Guri’s ex (Pragati if I’m not wrong?) is nothing more than Guri’s ex who serves the purpose of driving the plot point that ORN ke relationships are temporary. We know nothing about her beyond that. And frankly, this could be my personal bias she was pretty irritating as a character whose only personality trait was that she argued and helped Abhilash realise that he has a negative approach.
as far as Dhairya is considered, there is no insight or perspective about how she feels about the whole “weird barter”. There is absolutely no backstory or insight into her character. Besides the fact that she is a “serious aspirant” her character is hardly ever fleshed out or given depth. She just appears one day in the office with a smile and just like that she gets married with a smile, there is absolutely no nuance there.
And its not really about the gender angle, but one of the massive pressures that most female aspirants face is that of marriage hanging like a Damocles sword above their heads. This could easily have been a small yet relatable issue to explore without much effort.
I personally felt that the female characters were just convenient tropes who help to move the plot forward rather than characters that are given thought and good writing.
I Agree on these fronts : )
whatonly,NOLEisGOATHow did something so beautiful and emotional become a case study for gender and caste issues? I was so happy yesterday after watching the final episode and now...
Our perceptions are so subjective. What is beautiful and emotional, maybe even cathartic to one person might be crude and ugly and actually painful to watch to another. For some people thinking about these issues of gender and caste while watching stuff isn't an optional intellectual exercise - if it is their lived reality, then the discontent is part of their emotional reaction to the show as well. (Not to say the show was entirely bad - it had some good points too which have been discussed amply)
I do feel bad that your experience was spoiled. I guess that's the danger of discussing any art publicly. We are bound to have vastly different reactions to it. For me, this discussion actually made me feel a lot better after the disappointment of watching the show. It made me feel more hopeful, and I found more beauty here. Maybe some day there will be a show that all of us can feel equally moved and not pained by. :)
How did something so beautiful and emotional become a case study for gender and caste issues? I was so happy yesterday after watching the final episode and now...
Anything good can have problematic aspects about it. No one here was dismissing the entire show. Art will always remain personal and enjoying or not enjoying it is subjective experience.
@SergioRamos @whatonly @Villanelle and others , Thanks for putting all this up!..Just read the whole discussion and couldn't just stop thanking you guys. This is the kind of awareness we need regarding the inherent bias and discrimination prevailing in our society , running all across. So rightly put , we don't realise all this until someone points out - and until we as consumers don't demand or atleast point the faulties , the content would remain same - male dominated , women used as props and upper caste based. It pains when we see outrightly rejecting that all this upper caste thing etc just dont exist andsab changa si attitude!
I watched aspirants, rather than being a story of the normal aspirants , of how or daily life goes and the phases we go through and other things , I simply watched it for some scenes of sandeep bhaiya and knowing why did guri and abhilash had that fight. I just waited for this and I was deeply sad to know the reason behind thier issue.
Nevertheless , soundtrack of the series is something I got from aspirants and the Sandeep bhaiya ka msg(last one)!
How did something so beautiful and emotional become a case study for gender and caste issues? I was so happy yesterday after watching the final episode and now...
The show had some great moments without doubt. But even good art is just that, good art. There’s always room for improvement even in good art, especially as far as representation is concerned. Art is subjective and subjectivity is bound to lead to difference in perspectives.
P.s Sorry for ruining something you liked a lot. My lit student background ruins many things for me too, so I know how that feels
Just want to say thank you to everyone for a fruitful discussion. Felt good.
I read somewhere long ago that our first reaction to something may come out of our conditioning, but it is our second reaction that defines who we are.
We all are limited in our understanding in the beginning to some extent by our own background and our own privilege. As@Kapiushon said about the gender angle, I missed the sheer scale of the caste angle when I first watched it. That comes from my own privilege. That's why talking to people and listening with an open mind is so important! I got to learn something today. I'm happy Forum exists for us to learn and grow like this. :)
The discussion was very fruitful indeed. A big thanks to all of the participants. The beauty of the forum lies in the fact that civilized discussions are possible. :)
A fitting end to the discussion can be one of the quotes I really like,
Equality of opportunity in an unequal society perpetuates inequality. :)
Even the best of sitcoms dubbed as most progressive of the time came into controversy today. Sienfeld and friends are targeted as anti black or as homophobes. I never could come up with the issue as Indian (before entering in UPSC prep).
I could not fanthom a place where ross is toxic and joey is acceptable. I always felt that Ross was the best because of being most educated, rational, caring and loving husband, boyfriend, father, brother and son But since last couple of years Ross is shown as the wrong person though for right reasons. What we missed was Ross being creepy for Rachel or not being able to accept his ex wife sexuality or his anger issues. The final one was not able to accept that he cheated on rachel. And no theY were not ON A BREAK.
Ayushi7,Dalinar
Best way to cover affairs... And here we are spending money on dipin sir classes.. Infact after covering current affairs in this way now I am feeling so confident that if exam was in the next hour.. I will still score 200 out of 200
On social media platforms, if any username has out of place X's and Z's, I run as far as possible. Those handles are too cool for the society in general, and me, in particular! :D
Kapiushon,@Kapiushon Ross is the OG "nice guy".
It is my personal mission to share this song every time I hear the phrase, Nice guys! XD
@Kapiushon given that Friends is one of the first western shows most of our generation watched, our changing views about the characters and what makes the show good are actually a great way to trace out the growth in our outlook! :) love The Take too, their trope analysis is very good!
I had a similar experience with watching The Big Bang Theory. As a science student, when I first saw the show, I was elated. Finally a popular show about nerds!
Looking back now, the creepiness and misogyny is disgusting. Sometimes I'm appalled how I didn't even notice the many obvious instances of sexism. Definitely my affection for the show has fallen.
PS - Here's a video highlighting what's wrong with the show
@Kapiushon Ross is the OG "nice guy".
It is my personal mission to share this song every time I hear the phrase, Nice guys! XD
Is it so? I am under the impression that nice guys almost always have an edge :p
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