Monday 11 February 2013

Reactions to Monsoon Wedding


Truthfully, I probably would never have chosen to watch this movie if it were not assigned by my English professor. When I am asked to watch a movie or read a book for a class, I always feel like I can’t truly enjoy the movie or the book. I feel obligated to be really alert as I try to read into every detail to find a deeper meaning. Is it a motif or maybe a metaphor? Why did the marigolds keep appearing throughout the movie? Is there significance in having the wedding planner, Dubey, in Monsoon Wedding? As I pondered these questions, I realized that though I did not enjoy the movie too much while watching it, the aftertaste was better.

It took a while for me to become accustomed to the Indian accent. Having the subtitles definitely helped me understand what was going on, especially when they flawlessly transitioned between their language and English. It made it difficult for me to multitask while watching this movie, as I had to keep reading the subtitles. Initially, I felt that it was a challenge for me to follow along because it was difficult to remember names such as Tej, Aliya, Aditi, and Hemant, to name a few. As I became familiarized with the characters, I found the movie much more enjoyable. In fact, I even shed a few tears.

I knew something was fishy when I noticed Ria’s uncomfortable and hostile attitude towards Uncle Tej. I considered the possibility of some sort of sexual assault but doubtfully dismissed it, as he didn’t appear to be a molester. My feelings became stronger as I witnessed Ria’s strong reactions whenever Tej was within close proximity of her little cousin Aliya. Though I had inklings of him sexually abusing Ria since his character was introduced, I was still really surprised when she confronted him about it, especially in front of her family during an important wedding. I was angry and upset for her, causing me to tear up. Another moment that almost made me cry was when her uncle asked Tej to leave the wedding. This was a surprising move for their family as Tej was a major supporter for them. Something else that really surprised me about the movie was that even though this movie was set in a relatively modern time, they still had arranged marriages. I assumed with the advancement of India, they would have stepped out of the traditional ways. Luckily I have the chance to explore my many questions about this movie in an essay. 

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Royalty to a Royalty Rate Increase?




The debate in increasing the royalty rate on oil in Alberta is not a new issue, however; Albertans are now faced with a $6 billion deficit in the March budget. The deficit that Alberta is now facing is due to several reasons. Alberta’s main source of income is its oil. The major buyer of this resource has always been the USA, but now the Americans have their own source of oil and it is very difficult to export oil to Asian countries such as China. The royalty rate of Alberta is also one of the lowest in the world.

In 2007, Alberta decided to increase the royalty rate on oil but then rolled down the rate again in 2010. If the same royalty rate were kept in place, would we still be facing a $6 billion deficit in the March budget? Does this mean that the Albertan government should revert back to an increase of the royalty rate for 2013?

The royalty rate is a method for the government of Alberta to extract revenue from the wealthy oil sand owners. Every time a company extracts, produces, and sells this natural resource, they have a royalty to pay. The problem? For some companies, this will cause them to extract oil from another location to avoid the raised royalty rate. Others may begin to produce less in order to pay less and this inflates the cost of oil. Royalty rates for oil sand projects continue until the project has reached payout. Therefore, at higher oil prices, the quicker it is for a project to pay out. According to CBC News, “Alberta retreats on energy royalties,” the lowered royalty in 2010 led to an increase in revenue of $167.5 million in one day for exploration rights. This made Alberta to have the “fourth-highest total in the province’s history.”

Even though the evidence I presented above seems to support a lower royalty rate, I believe that Alberta should raise the royalty rate again. Why should another Albertan program suffer due to a deficit caused partially by the revenue loss of oil? Oil is the main supplier of revenue to Albertans and we should take advantage of that even if it may increase gas prices. Everyone should contribute a little to help the province as a whole. I think that with the raised gas prices, it will also help citizens be mindful of the amount of natural gas their car and furnace consumes. Oil sand owners will also be careful in their expeditions and projects with an increase in royalty rate. This will preserve the natural resource and lower carbon emissions. But I hope that the Albertan government doesn’t expect to raise the $6 billion only from our natural resource. They should work on discovering a more sustainable and reliable source of income.