Pachali Brewster

Sometimes I worry that I’m too idealistic. I mean, what if there’s no point in trying to change the world? What if it’s supposed to be like this? Isn’t conflict and turmoil the human condition? But then we can’t go through life actively trying not to change the world, because our very existences perpetuate something. Generally, we can’t make a single movement without it having an effect, so why don’t we just direct it in a positive way until, according to the chaos theory, even the smallest effort could eventually be enough to make a significant change for the better? Ow. I think I just sprained something.

Anyhoo, I’m a twenty year old woman studying film and philosophy at Vic, and when I grow up, I want to be an independent film director, struggling to get by, and starving for my art. I plan to make a small name for myself, then go overseas to Thailand and Japan and make crazy “foreign language” films. Ugh, don’t tell Hollywood, but I think there’s something almost degrading about having a category like that in their film awards. It’s all very “Hurr hurr, let’s pat ourselves on the back for doing mediocre to adequate work with obscenely large amounts of money that could probably have fed a starving nation for a decade. But hmm, we don’t want it to look like we’re only celebrating films from inside our circle, so let’s throw in a category for films from every other place that isn’t the location we’re at right now.”

Sorry, got distracted for a minute.

To continue the bio theme, I’m half Thai, half pakeha. Born and raised in Nelson, spent a year in Thailand when I was sixteen. Can understand a lot of Thai, but freeze up every time I try to speak it (embarrassingly enough). I plan to go back there at some point and learn to speak Thai fluently, so I can finally cross it off my life-long ‘to do’ list. I like to write, and make films, and appreciate artworks, and have long-winded, deeply-intense philosophical and analytical debates about aesthetics, psychology, and spirituality, which don’t actually lead anywhere, but are incredibly interesting nonetheless. And I do them sober, too.

I have big, wanky theories about prejudice, ignorance, and how they fit in with/arise from psychology, concepts of identity, and feelings such as frustration, and apathy. I often get accused of thinking too much, but I don’t know where that comes from.

“Just listen to me young fellow, what need is there for fish to sing, when I can roar and bellow?” – From the song ‘Fish’ by Mr. Scruff