Obsession : Part 3

Well, I've talked about how wacky my parents are and how deranged my brother and sister can be.

I unfortunately can't take the moral high ground and say I'm unaffected by it as well.

I have to admit that I too, have an obsession.

Mine is an addiction to Popular Media.

You could say I'm a geek for all things media from movies, to music to books (comic books and graphic novels in particular).

It all started when I was a young kid ten years of age. I was never a sickly boy you see. Yet I was never out going either.

I guess the fact that I was overseas in the U.K. when I was ten lead to me picking up comic books as a hobby. Being of Asian descent, I never had much friends in U.K. (even at that young an age, racism existed. Sigh, the folly of mankind) so my Ma used to buy me comic books from the local newsstand to tide over my boredom during those days.

When we got back to Malaysia when I was 12, I was still hooked on comics. To me, these four-coloured wonders with their gaudily colored heroes and villains featured a simpler life. Where things are black and white, where there's only good and evil, right and wrong. And it's up to the superheroes to save the day from those dastardly villains to ensure the status quo is upheld: peace and prosperity.

Right through my teens, my love for comics grew as in proportion to my retardation in terms of social skills in the proximity of women. (;-p) Following my bookish behaviour, I stayed indoors more than hang out with the guys. I guess, the current conundrum my bro is in today could be due to him following in the footsteps of his geeky elder brother.

Yup..that's right: I was a GEEK all through out my teens into Uni.

From those simple superhero stories, I graduated to reading much more complex comics (or as the comic reading-adults like to paraphrase it as : Graphic Novels) from quality writers such as Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis.

Then, when comics started invading the realm of popular media such as movies in the Millenium (I guess a horde of comic book enthusiasts grew up and started dictating what gets made in Hollywood), I became enamored with film-making.

I geek out (o.k. to those non-geeks it mean I go WET with excitement ;-p) when I read websites detailing the latest movie reviews. Heck, my addiction has gotten so bad that I have even resorted to constantly checking out sites featuring movies still in production or the script-writing stages ! (One of them being the uber informational : Ain't It Cool News. com)

I now have transplanted my anti-social behaviour of excessively spending my free time at home (instead of going out and having fun) from reading comics to watching DVDs.

I religously buy DVD after DVD of cult movies and a multitude of genres, plus have even found an appreciation for foreign films (European and Asian) and independently produced films.

However, this obsession is starting to overpower my thoughts and dreams that it even filters into my working life (i.e. I spend more time surfing for the latest movie-in-production info at work than actually working).

So it's time I rein it in a little and only do it during my free time.

AT the end of the day, I love movies wholeheartedly and go giddy with excitement or feel a pang of emotion whenever I find a movie gem that I can't help but support and try to expose to as many friends as possible.

Thanks to Hollywood's studio system (where the Board of Directors of big studios get to dictate over Directors and Writers stifling their creative process) and it's focus on making money, it pumps out movie after movie of Hollywood blockbuster drivel where the plot holes are large and the explosions and women's busts are larger.

However, over the past 3 years, I've been able to find a few movie gems that make me believe again in the film-making industry and some of these really, really talented people make me anxious for more of their work.

I'm gonnae use this blog to introduce u all to my favourite directors / writers / actors / and films. So come back often and I promise u new sights and sounds that'll be worthy of your time and hard-earned money.