Science. Or not?
The questions seeded by a classic Malayalam movie.
Manichithrathazhu. A film that addresses complex themes like mental illness and childhood trauma, was released in an era where such topics were taboo in real life and only background plot points in the movies. The film portrays the complex emotions underlying love and trust, and the atrocities faced by women and artists of the time, with the most perfect example of a lead role casting, Shobana.
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One other thing that the movie portrays that caught my attention, though, is this: the effective integration of a clinician’s treatment of mental illness with that of a sorcerer’s method, in a way that satisfies followers of both practices, that make up the characters in the story. It makes one wonder just how much of the mythical and the mystical that we know are just other ways of looking at and practicing science, that got distorted beyond recognition.
Was this distortion intentional or not? Was it a byproduct of trying to make scientific knowledge more accessible, palatable and understandable to the general public of the time? Maybe it was the opposite, making scientific practice seem daunting and fear-inducing, so that only a few were privy to its secrets. If so, is it time we researched this and re-opened the gates?
