Boys Aren´t Alright

"There´s too few roles available for boys. They are very early divided into winners and losers."

This assessment by a social worker specialised in marginalised boys made me think. Young men in this country are surely not doing too well. Even when there are more and more dads who play an equal role in bringing up the kids, too many boys still grow up in a climate where showing emotions is a sign of weakness and expressing violence strengthens your position in the group. Boys don´t cry. Be a man. It´s no wonder that according to research, well-being does not have a gender but ill-being does.

This became evident on a recent visit to an amazing NGO called Icehearts in Vantaa, Finland. Icehearts specialises in boys about to be taken into custody, having a difficult situation at home or not doing too well socially. They also include young people with an immigrant background. They often start with boys who have zero trust towards adults (for a reason) and are used to solving things through violence. By helping in school, teaching trust and group skills and playing sports, Icehearts mentors 6–18-year-old boys to get a grip on their lives, to plan their future and to continue their education. The men working at Icehearts show an incredible amount of dedication: they commit to working with a group of boys all the way from the age of six to maturity.

What they deal with is the same thing one can witness in the award-winning Finnish documentary Miesten vuoro by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen. The documentary captures intimate discussions between Finnish men in the sauna. In the incredible scenes the men open up about their misfortunes, mistakes and let the tears run. Without victimising or ridiculing its subjects, Miesten vuoro shows that a large part of Finnish men have nonexistent tools and channels to deal with emotions. These tough guys demonstrate how the need to talk about feelings, love and family is there. The stuff has obviously been bottled up for years so when the floods break, there´s no stopping. No one makes it out from the cinema with dry eyes. At least every Finnish man recognises a father, husband, uncle or grandfather.

Without proper interventions we will keep on growing generations of men without any skills to deal with themselves. Exactly due to these nearly nonexistent emotional skills things are dealt through alcohol and violence.

Too often we use well-meaning tools for trying to change people into something else rather than coaching them to be better versions of themselves. Icehearts shows us one way. They clearly state that starting from skills and adapting the activities based on the group is the way forward. As one of the coaches put it: it´s not about ice hockey, it´s about the boys.

There is something to learn also from the small Finnish municipality called Kyyjärvi where they successfully formed a cooperative from people who had been unemployed for years. The key to success was that it started from interviews where the men and women were allowed to tell what they can do. Allowing people to keep their pride while going through difficult times helps you to win them on your side.

Grand Night in Hollywood

They said in advance that the Oscars would be different - more serious - this year. It turned out to be not just another marketing gimmick, the awards evening was about talent and dedication. I like where they are going. The idea of having five previous winners handing out the actors´ awards emphasises what the Oscars are about: peer recognition.

The laughter was unforced but yet not missing. My favourite moment, both in terms of introduction and acceptance speech, was Best Original Screenplay presented by Steve Martin and Tina Fey and won by Dustin Lance Black for Milk. Also the way the nominees were presented was incredibly clever and showing the skill of a writer. Black´s speech for his first ever screenplay was the most moving moment of the evening.

All and all, the nominations went to the right hands and movies. Milk and Slumdog Millionaire are some of those rare films on important subjects that need the Academy Awards boost.

No Jar-Jar Phenomenon

Indiana Jones
Originally uploaded by Poofy

There are a few ways of revisiting an old hit. The first I would call the Jar-Jar approach referring to the three Star Wars films released during the last ten years. I don't think I am the only one who cringed from humiliation watching Jar-Jar Binks making his jokes as the "funny" Star Wars sidekick. After seeing the first new Star Wars film, I really did not feel like spending money on the other two films. It just did not feel the same. Same goes for the latest Superman production which was like warming Christopher Reeve's acting in a microwave and selling it as the original.

And then there is the Bond/Batman/Indiana Jones approach where the characters and the story have been modernised but still keeping the core charm of the series. Daniel Craig's Bond had already some features of metrosexuality and moved away from the alfamale strategy of Pierce Brosnan. The women were even allowed to think. The new Batman films have gone back to the darkness of the comics and moved clearly away from Tim Burton's annoying pop culture Batmans. And then there is the new Indiana Jones.

Before Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull premiered, I think broadcasters in most countries showed the old three films. Also I watched them only to find myself experiencing slightly the Benny Hill/Moonlighting feeling where an old classic actually feels ûberchauvinistic and not that funny. Therefore I admit having some hesitations before seeing the new Jones yesterday.

But Spielberg and Lucas are not in it just to rip us off. The new Indiana Jones is innovative, funny and so over the top that at some point you tell yourself that this is not supposed to resemble truth and you just let yourself enjoy the action. Simultaneously as the female characters are given more personality (not merely hysterical and screaming), the new Indy plays exactly on the same kind of innocent action than the good old ones. Visually Indiana Jones still looks amazing. Also, like it is supposed to be in fairytales, the goods and good and the bads are bad. The film lacks all complexity and relativism of today, which I feel is one of the core reasons why it works. It has the same old flaws of Lucas-Spielberg productions - the acting is secondary to the action and the visuals - but hey, you don't go and see Indiana Jones for the compelling dialogue.

This is what they call entertainment.

How Do You Do, Dear?

Flickr icon Rebekka in the Observer newspaper
Originally uploaded by Orhan*

I have never felt a particular need to hide my enthusiasm over Britain. I mean of course they have their own complexes (and lack of cuisine of their own) but at the same time it is the home of the English language, one of the political systems most strongly founded on the power of verbal argumentation and it still runs some of the best publications in the world. At a recent event on European culture I remember an Italian curator confessing that he actually thinks today's best literature comes from the US and Britain.

There are very few newspapers that would compete in quality with The Observer, the Guardian's weekend edition. I have made it into a habit to buy it on Sundays (even if they really rip you off by charging over four euros for it) and spending around 2 hours going it through. Such a delight especially on a sunny cafe terrace.

Yesterday I also discovered the Guardian's podcasts. They remind me how poor my English still is. I am a novice compared to the journalists now doing their word acrobatics also on my iPod. The podcasts also remind you how our Euro-English is mostly just English for Dummies. Or to be more on the mark, I think English for Robots Understanding Clear and Simple Sentences.

My favourites by now are Jason Solomon's film podcast and the Book Review podcast. Youngish Solomon has this amusingly posh English accent with an ADHD-ish enthusiasm competing with CNN's Richard Quest. In the latest episode his wordplay showed the true Clash of Civilisations of today when he interviewed the Michael Moore v. 2.0, Morgan "Supersize Me" Spurlock. Oxford met Wal-Mart. I do however hope that Solomon would at times give room to his colleague, one of best film critics alive, Mr Philip French. I want to hear his voice.

Regarding voice, some people surprise you. The book podcas's interview with novelist Hanif Kureishi surprised me. I did not expect him to sound so much like Jeremy Irons. Very compelling indeed.

Smarter Than You Think

Juno
Originally uploaded by Le Marais

Through my work I often end up in situations where I am being asked questions starting:
"Why is it that young people are not interested in..."
"Are young people..."
"My children told me that young people today..."

Usually I get slightly annoyed and attempt to show the foolishness of the approach with phrases like "well, the middle-aged mostly like". It often feels that reactions to youth have the following options: fear, scaremongering, overoptimism, condescension and ignorance. I hope StrangerFestival can broaden a few minds in that respect (website live, www.strangerfestival.com!)

Now, after tonight, I have a better answer to the fools: go and see Juno. The film starring the exceptionally talented Ellen Page (picture) as a 16-year-old who finds herself pregnant shows what keeps youth workers, teachers and youth journalists going: the wit, intelligence, empathy and enthusiasm of teens. Juno also reminds you how we adults are so often so shitscared for saying things as they are and feeling things like it feels natural.The film's dialogue is out of this planet: it is extremely clever, challenging and honest - just like the best discussions I have had in my work with people between 16-20 years of age. As an example, Juno's friend's reaction to the news about her being pregnant:"What? Honest to blog? Are you sure it's not a food baby? Did you eat a big lunch?"

And most of all, the film is superromantic. I mean seriously. Who would not like to be described by their spouse:"He is the cheese to my macaroni."

Better and more equal dreams

Workplaces: Gender on the Road
Originally uploaded by huibriethof

The wonderful thing in Christmas is that is really gives you time to watch, read and talk. And eat, I don’t need to go into that one. I wanted to share a few things:
1. Leea Klemola: Klemola is a Finnish actor and theatre director who has a reputation of a radical and angry young woman. She gave fantastic interview to IMAGE on theatre. She said that you can become a scary woman by only showing violence. ”It originates from the thinking that male creators make observations but things just blurt out from women. (...) I can’t stand educational theatre. In (Reko) Lundán’s plays I was irritated by the way he showed those small people, or politicians who grab those others. Not themselves. (...) Theatre is a place beyond morale and politics. The worst example of how theatre can be politically correct is the Enraged Roses Group. That thinking that when they are all women, it would turn everything they do into meaningful.”

2. Top Chef Final: In the American chef competition a woman called Tiffani lost to a guy mostly because she was perceived to be a difficult person although everyone found her menu more courageous. The winner cooked safe dishes and was a good lad. At the same time Gordon Ramsay makes millions by swearing when doing brilliant food. Women cannot win, can they?

3. Miehen työ: There is Finnish film beyond Kaurismäki. Aleksi Salmenperä’s Man’s Job is one of the best films I have seen showing how a man of the North deals with pride, loss and emotions. In the film a father gets fired from his job and when trying to cover the issue from his family but still provide the income, he ends up working as a male prostitute. Phenomenal acting and subtle humour. Highly recommended.

4. Anu Kantola: Kantola is a researcher in Media Studies and a columnist for the biggest Finnish political weekly Suomen Kuvalehti. She writes in issue 50/2007 about her observations on Finland seen from the inside and outside after reading all 1 600 stories on Finland from Financial Times. According the FT, Finland is doing superbly in education, national debt, innovations, music, cuisine, public expenditure etc. At the same time from the inside it seems that the country has a crisis in parenthood (Jokela shootings) as well as in health care (mass resignation of nurses) and people are leaving working life due to depression. ”Someone said that depression is a result of a situation where one’s external and internal realities don’t meet.(...) Even if I usually don’t like psychologisation, I started wondering whether this would work in the case of Finland. As if we had created a monster that acts out in an exemplary manner but which no one recognises as his or her own and whose ride no one likes. Changing realities could be started for instance from politics. Would it be in any way possible that sometimes in Finnish politics we could afford something? That instead of scaremongering we would create systems on the terms of people and not discipline and control? That instead of despair we would be bold and trusting?

As a result of Expedition Christmas, we could only say the following:
1. We need better and more inclusive dreams.
2. We still have issues regarding gender.
3. Finnish political and cultural discussion needs more contaminations from the outside.

I'm sorry to bother you but what's the time?

Seaweed
Originally uploaded by Victoria M. Poe

It took slightly longer than I intended but I made there in the end: I saw Hairspray today. After cycling manically to the cinema in a freezing and damp Amsterdam evening, the sunshine of Baltimore was more than welcome.

One of the motives for going to the cinema or inserting a DVD into the player is to escape - escape the worries and the daily hassle. If you're looking for that, Hairspray is your answer. And even better, Hairspray does all this with addressing themes still highly valid - equality and normality.

I don't know how I would feel if I would have been brought up in the 1960s and especially if I would have been brought up in the US, but the period of history truly fascinates me. I have been going on and on already about Kennedy but the whole period has this flair of being the era when things were possible. I find the civil rights movement much more interesting than the sexual revolution. The 1960s is also the period of extreme polarisation and violent outbursts but somehow it carries the brand of being the time when individuals still believed in their possibilities to change things. I would love to belong to a generation like that.

Yesterday i met a friend of mine and we talked extensively about the reasons that make people jump, take risks and start changing their own life and the lives of others. Although with singing and dancing, Hairspray addresses the notion of change. I guess the crucial issue that drives people to jump is a better dream. That's what we need in order to hit our shovels in the sand and start digging - an idea of a better world to work for.

A job and some hope

Robert Kennedy campaign badge
Originally uploaded by amsterboy

First week done at the office after holidays. You know, always after holidays it is easy to think that you just aren't not made for working. But after a few days it gets better. And if nothing else cheers me up at the office, my gigantic Disneyland coffee mug (Welcome to the Fabulous Disneyland Resort. Experience the happiest place on Earth!) makes the day.

I have also cheered my week by wearing my birthday present, original campaign badge from Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968. It is sort of a hologram as you can see from the pic and it states: Kennedy for a better America. I think it is (insert Californian accent here) like the coolest thing like ever.

Robert Kennedy is my new hero. After seeing Emilio Estevez's film Bobby, I realised that I knew embarrassingly little about the Kennedy brothers and therefore I decided to improve my knowledge. And it was an investment worth making. Robert Kennedy's way of doing politics and way of speaking fascinates me. The US would have been quite different under his leadership - you don't see Bush quoting Albert Camus and Ancient Green playwrights that often. As journalist Jack Newfield states in the RFK book I am reading at the moment, Robert Kennedy was one of the very few American politicians who managed to connect with white working class, the blacks and the Washington elite. RFK was impatient, shy and at times even arrogant in his willingness for equality. I like that in politicians - too many "leaders" of our time lack his human qualities. And above all, he had dreams. In a TV interview I saw with him, he defined leadership as allowing people to perform at their best. I haven't heard much better.

"It's class, not color. What everyone wants is a job and some hope." - Robert F. Kennedy 1968 during the Indiana primary

Family

Autumn Sonata
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Lawson

Some months back me and my good friend started a film club consisting of two members with a goal to watch all the main films of Ingmar Bergman. As he had already seen Wild Strawberries, we opened the club with Autumn Sonata. I was blown away by Bergman´s talent for capturing the Nordic mindset. Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman are amazing in showing how tense Nordic family relations often are and how alcohol brings the emotions on the surface. I was deeply moved, my friend rather amazed. The Danish film Festen owes a lot to Bergman.

The news about Ingmar Bergman passing away today brought Autumn Sonata back into my mind. All his films I have seen are rather challenging and intimate captions of how we in the North deal with each other. They also show some of the reasons for the way we escape reality through alcohol.

As I opened my email today, I saw emails from both my Mom and Dad. Once again - and linking to Bergman´s Autumn Sonata - I realised how fortunate I am to have a family like mine. Their emails really made me emotional. Even if I am celebrating my birthday far away from the people most dearest to me, they still are there. Today´s phone discussions with my parents and my siblings really made my day.

When one reaches thirty, there is often a pressure to do a personal evaluation talk. There is this great piece of lyrics in Baz Luhrmann´s song Everybody´s Free:"Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

Boldly on moral ground

DSC00141
Originally uploaded by Ferg.

Yesterday it happened: Tony Blair announced his departure from the position of Prime Minister. And as always, the most talented public speaker of contemporary politics did it with class. Blair's 18-minute speech could be used as educational material for studies of rhetorics. It was personal, emotional, honest and uplifting.

The sentence there on the cover of The Guardian sums up to a great extent the reason why I still admire this politician who is so hated by so many. One could say that Blair is an old-fashioned politician with his firm belief in right and wrong. One can say a lot about the spin during his 10 years but I would dare to state that Blair will be remembered as one of the great politicians of our time. Together with Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown they started a change of The Left which had influence on the entire social democratic movement in Europe. The concept often referred as New Labour brought the left closer to the middle, updated the collaboration mechanisms between public and private bodies and saved the individual from overcollectivism.

Stephen Frears' recent film The Queen reminds us well of the impact the landslide of New Labour had in 1997. Politics was once again cool and there was a sense of positive change. One could say that New Labour was not able to deliver what they promised but I would give credit to Labour and Blair for trying. In his speech yesterday Blair defended wonderfully his idealism and overambitious plans. As he said, he would not want to do things any other way. He apologised for mistakes and took credit of the improved social equality in Britain during their era.

For me the best part of Blair's speech was his defense of idealism and optimism. I was not able to find the exact quote online but it was something on the lines that he has always been an optimist and remains stubbornly as one. The marvellous part was saying that often people say that optimism does not work in politics and Blair saying that "in life we should give the impossible a go". Superb and brave. Blair is one of these politicians who is not afraid of making bold statements. I like that. Without him politics will be more boring, more cautious and less sexy.