The Lives of Others
Topic: politics
A critically-acclaimed German film, which a colleague, who is a film enthusiast, had urged me to see many times. Yes, it is a good film made with tremendous sincerity, but not as deeply moving as I expected. I kept wondering why a senior secret agent after 20 years at work would suddenly sympathise with the dissident. Another question that alienated me from their world was that the police never look for scripts of the National Play, the absence of which will prove the playwright guilty. How can those sharp minds have missed that critical point? Nevertheless, the horror of living under a totalitarian regime with absolutely no freedom of expression is established successfully. It reminds me of Cheng Xiang, the patriotic journalist who is now in jail. The one who speaks up out of love for his beloved country dies first. I am mature enough to realize that there is no absolute freedom of speech. We are muzzled from time to time in our daily lives, among colleagues, at social gatherings or even among family members. But there is nothing more intolerable and suffocating than having our home wired, let alone imprisonment. Many people don't read or think. Food alone can satisfy them. These people don't need any freedom of expression as they have nothing to express anyway. Ignorant and shallow people always suffer the least! If only freedom of speech can be bottled and traded!