NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

During the pandemic lockdown on Guam, I was feeling at various points, like so many, stressed and anxious about the world and what was happening and what might happen. I was fortunate to still have a job during the lockdown, and because of technology like zoom and social media, I could still keep up my community work, by teaching classes in the Chamoru language and also history. I also was able to keep up with Fanachu! the podcast for Independent Guåhan. Because of so many people sheltering at home, our audience grew exponentially. One thing that I found myself doing more, like most people with a certain level of privilege and comfort, was watching more things online, on laptops and on my phones. Movie theaters were closed, but Netflix and Youtube were always open, so long as I had data on my phone and wifi in the home. As most people were locked down, sheltering in place, only encouraged to go out and explore for essential tasks or errands, things in general started to shift to becomi

The movie Battleship is critically reviled and if I were a critic of film I would definitely join the party in hating it. It is a children's game that was blown up Jerry Bruckheimer style into a massive, special-effects laden, clunky, chunky and funky action flick. It lacks any delicate touches or even nuances, unless of course you count slow motion shots of epic faced characters with over-saturated color as a nuance. The story itself should be familiar. Aliens attack the world and they are fought off. One unique aspect of the film is that it takes place in Hawai'i, usually known as a setting for fantasy-paradise jaunts of the Western, American-centered world. Or Hawai'i as a locale is often invisibly inserted into films provided the scenery for ancient jungles, humid alien worlds or lost islands. Many of these films attempt to hide the contemporary nature of Hawai'i and instead film, edit and crop the place into becoming something majestically camera ready for wast