Latest news with #LordoftheFlies
Independent Singapore
14 hours ago
- General
- Independent Singapore
Maid asks, ‘Dear employer, how do you just lie on the sofa every day holding your mobile phone? Do you realize that servants are also human and feel tired?'
SINGAPORE: In the ever-buzzing Facebook group Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper , one maid dropped a reality check that hit home with hundreds of tired domestic workers: 'Dear employer, how do you just lie on the sofa every day holding your mobile phone? Do you realize that servants are also human and feel tired?' Her original post about her employer, though not long, was loaded with emotional fatigue: 'Almost every day, when the children are at home, she always holds her mobile. She doesn't care about the children. Dear employer, I'd like to ask you how you feel when your children are fighting and screaming, but you're lying on the sofa holding your mobile phone. Maybe powerful employers have money. But do employers also realize that servants are also human and feel tired?' The comments that followed her post were a chaotic blend of sympathy, sarcasm, survival tips, and full-blown lectures—proof that the domestic helper community is nothing if not brutally honest. Some say: 'Do your job, lah!' One helper offered a no-nonsense response: 'That's why they get helper!!! Don't mind your employer, just do your work…' Another shared a more strategic take: 'All you need to do is stop doing housework and focus on the kids when they're around. Make them busy playing. It's your responsibility as a helper. No need to wait for your employer to take care of the children.' Translation: Lower your expectations and raise your patience level. This isn't parenting—it's battlefield logistics. Others say: 'You're not a robot. We feel you…' And while some pushed the 'just deal with it' narrative, many rallied behind the maid's emotional outburst. 'They think we are a robot 🤖. Some employers really don't have humanity,' wrote one. Another added with some philosophical optimism: 'It means your employer trusts you. You must be grateful. You will be more stressed if your employer overcontrols their kids. Everything does not need to be complained about.' One commenter clapped back: 'I'm a helper, but I'm not the same as you. I more happier if my employer doesn't care about everything.' Then came the parenting case studies… One helper proudly shared her employer's parenting game: 'My employer is very hands-on. Her kid is very disciplined. He's five years old now, but he has been sleeping by himself for three months. Before 7 pm, he is told to go to his room. Sometimes I sleep earlier than him.' Clearly, this household runs like a Swiss train schedule. But for others, it descends into Lord of the Flies chaos by 7 pm. Another said her employer happily outsourced child-rearing: 'My ma'am, on Sundays, takes care of the kids. On Monday, she says she's already stressed. That's why she allows me to discipline them. Sometimes they fight, and I let them fight. They'll stop.' One even offered a solution fit for military school, 'Shout at them. Discipline them in a hard way. Let them be scared of you,' though that kind of solution might raise eyebrows at a parenting seminar. From burnout to breakthrough? The maid's post, while simple, sparked a genuine discussion about the emotional and physical toll domestic helpers endure, especially when they're left to care for children whose actual parents are just… chilling on the couch, perfecting their Candy Crush scores. It's easy to forget that while helpers are hired to support households, they're not hired to replace responsibility. They have backs that ache, patience that thins, and minds that tire. They're not androids in aprons. They're human beings just like all of us with limits, emotions, and restraint. See also Maid jailed for making false report accusing employer of rape To the employers scrolling through TikTok while chaos unfolds around them: Maybe, look up and lend a hand to your helper. Or at the very least, acknowledge the humans holding your household together. Because if your helper ever writes a memoir, chapter one might just be titled: Lying on the Sofa: A True Crime Story In other news, another helper dropped a bombshell of her own: 'My boss is a man and has one child. Every morning I wake them up. I get irritated when I turn on the light because my boss doesn't even wear proper shorts.' That sounds tolerable—until it wasn't. 'He always wears boxers, and I can see his private parts.' You can read her full, awkward morning boxer saga over here: Maid says, 'I get irritated when my male employer wears just boxers around me; he should wear proper sleeping clothes or shorts instead'
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Maayakoothu Movie Review: A film that almost finds its mark
Maayakoothu Movie Synopsis A writer's fictional characters materialize in his real world, demanding justice for their tragic fates and forcing him to confront the consequences of his storytelling. Maayakoothu Movie Review: Written By: Abhinav Subramanian Writers playing God is hardly a novel concept, but what happens when the creations show up at the creator's doorstep demanding answers? Maayakoothu takes this meta premise and runs with it, though not always in the right film introduces us to Vasan ( Nagarajan Kannan ), a popular writer whose serialized column puts together multiple storylines: a maid Selvi (Aishwarya Ragupathi) accused of stealing a ₹2000 rupee note (does anyone remember those notes anymore?!), a gangster Dhanapal (Sai Dheena) on the verge of his 50th kill, and Raji (Mirdhula), a farmer's daughter dreaming of medical school. When Vasan declares himself the God of his fictional universe, his characters literally burst into his living room. Selvi demands to know where her missing money went, her boss nearby, still continuing their domestic argument. Soon Vasan finds himself trapped in a nightmarish loop where his creations seek revenge for the miseries he's written into their do get a taste for what this film tried to achieve. Vasan's dry wit peppers his interactions–he's a writer, after all–but the jokes land somewhere between "almost funny" and "trying too hard." You'll get the occasional chuckle, sure, but with tighter comic timing, these moments could've been the film's secret weapon. The film hits its stride in the second half when Vasan becomes a pinball in his own nightmare machine. First, Selvi's family force-feeds him poisoned milk. He escapes that mess only to wake up in a hospital where Raji–the same woman whose dreams he crushed in print–is his nurse. Talk about cosmic irony. From there, he stumbles straight into Dhanapal's crosshairs, who's still looking for kill number fifty. Poor guy can't catch a break, but that's exactly the point: his only escape route is rewriting these characters' stories with actual happy endings. It's a clever premise that delivers just enough dark comedy to keep you for all its clever conceits, Maayakoothu feels constrained by its own ambitions. Director Raghavendra keeps things moving at a brisk pace, but the visual language rarely matches the inventiveness of the premise. Characters appear and disappear with the logic of a fever dream, which works thematically but often leaves dramatic moments feeling unearned. There's some philosophizing about whether creatives have a duty to be ethical, whether creation carries responsibility. Really? It's hard to imagine Heart of Darkness or Lord of the Flies having to be revised after going through a moral committee–imagine Heart of Mild Disappointment or Lord of the Butterflies Kannan brings a believable writerly arrogance to Vasan, particularly in early scenes where he dismisses criticism with godlike pomposity. The supporting cast, particularly Aishwarya Ragupathi, inject life into what could have been mere concept is one of those films where you find yourself rooting for the concept more than the movie itself–which is both its charm and its problem.
Graziadaily
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Jason Isaacs's Candid Confession About An On-Set 'Bully'
As acting royalty, Jason Isaacs has worked on his fair share of films - and we assume he's encountered plenty of Hollywood divas. Now in a recent interview with Vulture, Isaacs, who most recently Timothy Ratliff, a father facing impending legal issues in series 3 of The White Lotus, has suggested that one of his 'global icon' co-stars was the 'worst bully ever.' In the interview, he recalled a moment when the prominent actor pushed him out of a shot. 'Oh Jesus. Did worse than that,' the actor remembered, adding that the unnamed actor 'did all the old tricks of doing a completely different performance off-camera than on.' He added: 'Yeah, it sucked. I'd never seen anything like it. Before, I would've licked the ground that this person walked on.' The actor did not specify which show or movie he had encountered the 'bully' on. He's best known for his role in Harry Potter, has also starred in several major films, including The Patriot with Mel Gibson and, most recently, The White Lotus. He also previously mentioned the incident in a 2011 interview with The Telegraph - long before the days of The White Lotus. He explained there 'is no value, other than masochism and sabotage, in telling people the truth about people I've worked with or experiences I've had,' continuing 'I have stories. I know where all the bodies are buried. I often fantasise about doing a junket and telling the truth, and when I win the lottery, possibly that will be the case [...] Acting is all about secrets.' However, Isaacs comments come after The White Lotus was rocked by speculation of tensions on set - which Isaacs weight in on himself. On The Happy Hour radio show earlier this month, he explained that shooting season 3 was like being 'in a little pressure cooker together' for the actors, crew members and administrators. Then in an interview with Vulture, he opened up about the realities of filming the show, describing it as a 'a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies but in a gilded cage' which was anything but a holiday.' 'Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost,' he said. 'All the things you would imagine with a group of people unanchored from their home lives on the other side of the world, in the intense pressure cooker of the working environment with eye-melting heat and insects and late nights. They say in the show, "What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand," but there's an off-screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama.' However, the so-called bully could have been from any of the sets Isaacs has worked on in his impressive career. 'Mostly, what I judge on set is bad behaviour,' Isaacs said, listing off 'selfishness, cruelty, bullying, or people complaining to the person who's getting them dressed, who doesn't get in a year what they earn in a day to pick their filthy underwear off the floor.' He added: 'That, or not turning up, or going home early, or thinking they know better than the director, or being on crack and calling prostitutes to their trailer. I come across all that stuff.'
Barnama
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Barnama
Malaysia Strengthens Position As Regional Filming Hub Through FIMI
By Norhidayyu Zainal KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia continues to cement its status as a leading regional hub for film production, successfully attracting foreign creative investments through the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), which is creating jobs and upskilling the local workforce. National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib revealed that among the latest international productions to benefit from FIMI is the upcoming television series Lord of the Flies, produced by Sony Pictures and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The series was filmed in Langkawi, Kedah, at the end of last year. 'The production brought in more than 30 child actors from overseas, accompanied by parents and tutors, and rented a major hotel in Langkawi for nearly five months. 'In accordance with FIMI's requirements, the production also employed a significant number of local crew members,' he told Bernama in a recent interview. He said the initiative was made possible through a partnership between FINAS and the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), which provided basic film production courses to workers from the tourism sector. To further enhance local participation, Azmir announced that, starting next year, the minimum quota for local crew involvement in foreign productions will increase from 30 to 40 per cent. 'This move will not only create more job opportunities for Malaysians, but also accelerate skills development by exposing local talent to international production standards,' he remarked.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Malaysia strengthens position as regional filming hub through FIMI
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia continues to cement its status as a leading regional hub for film production, successfully attracting foreign creative investments through the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), which is creating jobs and upskilling the local workforce. National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib revealed that among the latest international productions to benefit from FIMI is the upcoming television series Lord of the Flies, produced by Sony Pictures and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The series was filmed in Langkawi, Kedah, at the end of last year. 'The production brought in more than 30 child actors from overseas, accompanied by parents and tutors, and rented a major hotel in Langkawi for nearly five months. 'In accordance with FIMI's requirements, the production also employed a significant number of local crew members,' he told Bernama in a recent interview. He said the initiative was made possible through a partnership between FINAS and the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), which provided basic film production courses to workers from the tourism sector. To further enhance local participation, Azmir announced that, starting next year, the minimum quota for local crew involvement in foreign productions will increase from 30 to 40 per cent. 'This move will not only create more job opportunities for Malaysians, but also accelerate skills development by exposing local talent to international production standards,' he remarked. Since the introduction of FIMI in 2013, a total of 128 productions have been approved, including 76 local and 52 international projects, with over RM419 million in rebates disbursed and direct investments totalling RM2.71 billion. Despite regional competition from countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Azmir remains confident in Malaysia's unique advantages. 'A skilled English-speaking workforce, economic stability, and an efficient permit approval process via the Central Agency for Application of Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) are among the valued-added factors for the country being the preferred filming destination. 'Malaysia offers attractive locations, cost-efficiency, and a production-friendly environment. More importantly, we are building a complete ecosystem - from talent training and modern tech usage to post-production,' he said. To amplify FIMI's global visibility, Azmir said FINAS is also preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tourism Malaysia, which, among others, aims to position film not just as an entertainment product but also as a tourism promotion tool. 'This partnership will promote Malaysia as a filming destination while showcasing our tourism offerings to global audiences through movies shot here. 'Upcoming efforts include organising a Malaysia Film Week overseas, with one slated to be held in Beijing this August, led by FINAS chairman Datuk Hans Isaac,' he said. Azmir said FINAS is also expanding international cooperation, including recent initiatives with China in conjunction with the Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to Malaysia last month. Similar talks are underway with India and Indonesia. 'Our vision is for Malaysia to evolve into a regional hub not only for filming locations but also for film education and technology in the next five years. 'We want Malaysian crew to go international, local post-production companies to create content for Southeast Asia markets, and more local universities to become professional training centres for the
