On conviction

It is Sunday night and my lonesome roommate invited me to Chinatown for some wholesome, homesick remedy. After dinner, we decided that the night was still young, so we trekked through the snow to the nearest cinema and saw the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton. Despite the clever script and splendid acting, the film wasn’t so brilliant that it is off your typical Hollywood chart. Nonetheless, some of the messages are worth pondering on. Though not the main focus of the film, we are reminded that behind the glamour and prosperity of corporate America likely lies something awfully wrong. Michael Clayton reiterates the existential theme that human lives and dignity are nothing but liabilities to other people’s profit and gain.

Not a novel theme; any average movie watcher could give you a long list of recent motion pictures that depicts something along that same vein. George Clooney’s earlier Syriana is probably a more remarkable one. The more classic Devil’s Advocate or The Firm are two other examples. This kind of Hollywood production has its merits: Their fictional stories have the potential to unveil the dark reality of seemingly desirable, or even neutral, nature of certain professions.

These films are accolade-worthy also because they elicit a much-needed sense of suspicion and awareness about the power holders in our society. Less partisan than Michael Moore’s documentaries (e.g., Fahrenheit 9/11), these Hollywood dramas can reach a broad crowd, and generate discussions beyond the fictitious scenarios used in the films. However, the flip side to such awareness is the possibility of habituation—a fancy way of saying “numbing”. That is, although these films can promote critical thinking and hopefully encourage us to question, too much of the same rhetoric could overwhelm people to a point that they rather treat it as merely a film, as mere entertainment. To be honest, how can one burden themselves with so many causes? It is hard enough to be told that this is a messed up world. Harder still is to accept one’s role and responsibility in them. What we might end up with is a mentality that goes like this: well, since the world and humanity are so doomed, there isn’t much I could do about it. So I might as well don’t. Another possibility: “oh, how horrible _____ is… now let’s decide what to watch next…” Good films change lives; too many of them change nothing.

I suppose the same sentiments are also shared by many “activists” and concerned citizens. As we are increasingly aware of the happenings in the world, we are also increasingly aware of the tragedies that take place EVERYDAY around the globe. Not too long ago we heard about the genocide in Darfur, which was described as the “next Rwanda”. Today, something strikingly similar is occurring in Kenya. Wouldn’t it be a fair bet that there will be another Kenya and another and another? And if so, how could anyone concern and devote themselves wholeheartedly to so many causes, all at once? How can an average Hong Kong activist equip and educate him or herself enough to campaign against all the horrible human-made tragedies, with conviction? Without conviction, how can any action be truly successful and meaningful? At the end of the day, is activism just another fancy form of entertainment? Just as we easily jump from one cinema to another watching different films about different weighty issues, do we also hop from one social justice problem to another? Is that fair to those who are suffering and dying?

I dare not offer any advice or insight on this matter as I also find myself finding new battles to fight before the one I’m engaged in is over. (Just look at the topics covered in my previous entries.) But I can suppose this: one must have a sense of conviction in whatever he or she choose to fight for, in order to stay true to it, or simply stay with it.

Conviction—a deep sense of belief—comes from within and it is very personal. How strong do/can I, a Hong Konger, really feel about the tragedy in Kenya in particular? Do I really “feel convicted”? It isn’t impossible but someone like Barack Obama would be a lot more convincing when speaking for the civil-war laden African country, not so much because he is a president-hopeful in the US than because of his Kenyan roots.

Conviction is a huge idea. It is a manifestation of who we are as an individual. It is connected to our history, personality, culture, aspirations, and faith. Sure, we could always be distracted, but I believe nothing would ever be able to take away that subtle tingling feeling in our heart. Conviction sustains us even when the world tells us we are wrong; it whispers to us when we stray.

We live in a post-modern world filled with too many post-modern possibilities and, indeed, anxieties. What 1984 was able to achieve six decades ago, no film could today—no matter how brilliant it may be—simply because there are too many of them. Likewise, we have witnessed too many 1989s in too many regions in the world. Such abundance results in the numbing of our mind and soul. We must therefore more actively cultivate our hearts so that we too can be attuned to that deep sense of personal conviction, which should inform us what are the areas we should act—act effectively—to bring about a better world. Conviction is not a burden, but a fuel for purpose, meaning and growth.

Christian Chan
January 27, 2008
Cambridge, MA, USA