MALENA Among Us

Malena is not a film of its time, I may say…… Or is it like its always there from beyond times. What is the film all about? A guy having an affair with old woman like salt and pepper? Or what is the status of a single or widowed woman in society? Or is it about abandoning our own, based on a rumor? Or is it really about how society can actually damage anyone's reputation? What is it about…… But again how can Malena be related to Me or any Lady for that matter……

Apart from the adolescent comedy, Malena is still living among us. Through me, you and every other ladies out there. We all have gone through at least one of these situations, at least once in our lifetime. I have, so its my perspective of Malena.

We all know how people treat a women with an attitude. So think if she is beautiful as well. That's enough for gossips and rumors. Most of it literally kills her first beauty — Her attitude. These all starts from our high school. If a beautiful girl talks to a boy, its affair. If she grows even beautiful and all the guys are interested to talk, she is a digger. If she is married and somehow if they are living separated, she is a slut. If she has children, these rumors are carried down to destroy the children’s life. And horribly it all started from our own childhood friends.

First of all, we are all observed by someone or everyone for being a girl. I don't know what others get from it. But they just do. Some people like Renato, some others like Vitalba and Mantenuta (the ladies of the town). Some people take advantage of you others exploit you. There is no one in the film or in the real life who observes us without judging us.

Renato and his friends in real life can be compared to our guy mates in high school. They stare, they admire, sometimes they get feelings for you. Some talks straight up, some keep it all behind. Some just talk behind your back because they are so sure that they stand no chance. Certainly you have met of of its type….. Some of us had experienced all of these.

The ladies in the town can be the some girls who just want you with them as a status symbol because you are special or different or just beautiful. They just take advantage of you like the concubines in the town who wants Malena to join them. Some others feel you as a threat between them and the other part of their life. May be its their parents who admire you more than them, May be its their boyfriends who have an eye for you. Those kind of people are really the soul suckers. They just peep for stories, If they didn't get one; they make one. They are really violent people. They can destroy you completely. Just like the wives of those gentlemen in town.

Next phase of life is the marriage and family. If you didn't get married, another story flashes through of an unacceptable affair or on being the slut. Now a days even the chances of a lesbian invasion in the rumors. None wants to think of waiting for the perfect one. Waiting for the real soul connection is considered crazy and treated like mental. I don't know if its still persists on every land. But it certainly persists in my part. My guy friends thinks I am lesbian, girl friends think I am pathetic and my family treats me like I am crazy and when I open my mouth about the soul connection or love, my parents go mental. Its considered the greatest sin of your life to live single by the society. OH, in my place love marriage is considered as a mistake that we will have to regret for life. If we don’t get married, prosecution will be there till we do it. After marriage same thing happens for a kid in my place.

Leaving all those aside and moving to Malena, knowing after her husband’s sad demise, everyone in town wanted to take advantage of her. Or at least they wanted to. They spread rumors on being her boyfriend for the night. Just because you have a standard and others cannot put you down from it, they create their fantasies on to the single lady and throw them out of their standard to a slut. We have all seen such people in our lives. Those who cant come up to our standard will try anything to break and drag us to theirs.

In there, we lose 3 most important things in our life: Our reputation, Our self esteem and Our family. Our reputation is spoiled the moment others see a vacancy to approach. Literally we cant ask any one anything, even for emergencies. Once we ask for help, just like the advocate in Malena, they want the payment in other means. Which makes the shortest way for destroying the self esteem. Else the society will itself start spreading stories. Somehow they will manage to destroy our self esteem. The third goes by default with anything. Remember the professor changes the door lock that Malena cant even see him? By losing all these, society gets what they wanted. Dragging you down below their levels. The movie shows how rude and ruthless our society is, when she is having nothing to eat, she has to force herself into prostitution. Most of us haven't gone through this level. But there are unlucky people who had.

That's the case with a widow. Think about the single lady. Its even worse when it comes to a separated lady. Its not just where I come from, its there through out the world that if a lady leaves her man (for whatever reason could it be) she is considered homeless, taken granted, abused and even harassed. Not just by the society, but even by the family. Its not film we are watching. But don't you know at least one person in your list who had been through this? And fun fact from where I am, if a girl is being raped by her husband or her boyfriend, its not considered rape. For god sake, if a lady says NO and someone forces them to her, that is RAPE. Coming to that, most ladies are more traumatized by the society than those who actually raped her.

We all remembered how Malena escaped the torture of the society and fled in that train. And we all remember her returning back to the town with Nino. The scene remarkably shows how Malena walks with head down. The attitude, confidence and even her bold beauty is tarnished by the trauma she had. She went over her feelings of shame, humiliation, disgust, panic and fear, and decided to return back to the town. She had no willpower of her own, and no power to protest. She did that to make her husband happy. I think this happens only in films. But she gains her seat in society with a man by her side. Literally the film shows us that a man is required as to validate a woman by her side.

Even if the story shows the time of world war II, we all remembered at least one Malena who walks with us. Malena Really walks with each one of us.

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