radicals = lonely? a reply to a friend's blog post

was reading a friend's blog. in his latest entry, he mentioned how his supervisor always share lots of ideas that are very radical, and that it is very difficult to share it with others. Hence he concluded that being radical is necessarily lonely.

i beg to differ.

true, not many people will understand your ideals.
true, not many people will understand your ideas.
true, not many people will see why there is a need to change what you see needs to be changed.

but judging that a radical is lonely at this point is a little too premature. if you look at it at a longer time scale, you'll find that that's not true.

let's take yasmin ahmad for example. her desire to change the notions of racism and race-based politics through her films drew her a lot of flak from the censors and the media. it took her a few more films to find people who think like her and accept her universal ideas of love. it took her a few film festivals to receive the acclaim and love she deserve that she did not get from her country. now, like she put it, even the makciks in the conservative kelantan like her films.

i have a radical idea too. i want to challenge a certain discourse that is prevailing among singaporeans. i once brought that up to your mentor, saying that how it would not change in my lifetime, and how it is so entrenched that you see its effect in schools. he said something, along this line: even if you can't change thousands, at least one who hears it and bring it on will bring about the change eventually. after all, this challenge to a prevailing discourse was transmitted to me from someone else. it resonated in me, and i'm now spreading it. (it's the myth of malays being lazy that i want to challenge, in case you're wondering)

so give radicals time. i used to watch yasmin ahmad's film alone. no one in my circle of friends or family appreciate. why watch a malaysian film when some hollywood blockbuster is showing?

i used to watch hindi films alone too. no one in my circle of friends or family appreciate it either. they always say, why watch a movie about song and dance, chasing around the coconut tree. hello, north india got coconut meh?

but eventually, i found people who appreciate yasmin ahmad films / hindi films. you have no idea how much we talked about and the excitement that erupts when we found each other, so much so that we kinda ignored other friends who were present, as we were too engaged with our own discussions. ditto for the desire to learn thai and its culture.

same thing for radicals. give them time, and once they found people who resonates the ideas and thoughts, they form deep and real friendships.

sometimes the idea itself may not resonate. for example, i do find what your mentor brought up last friday a little too idealistic.

but the underlying values do resonate. that itself can shape the idea, to make it better, and have a wider appeal.

like the two quotes i sent your mentor from my favourite film-maker. you may not agree with what she says, but you have to admit, the underlying values is appealing.

‘I am optimistic and sentimental to the point of being annoying, especially to people who think that being cynical and cold is cool.’ ~ Yasmin Ahmad

" I get accused of being sentimental with my films and optimistic. I can only say 'What do you want? It's pretty shitty out there, You want more of it in cinema? What's wrong with you? Weren't you picked up as a child? Why obliterate hope?" ~ Yasmin Ahmad

you just have to keep sharing your ideals and ideas till it resonates with someone. :) by the way, i don't remember u sharing it with us.