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<\/a>I broke down and watched Rambo<\/a>\u00a0(4) the other day. Not because I had any illusions that it would be a good movie (it wasn\u2019t), but because I thought it might give me some insight into Burma (it didn\u2019t). The movie takes place mostly in Burma, where Rambo is running around blowing things up and shooting people\u2019s heads off with a big machine gun in order to save some\u00a0na\u00efve Christian missionaries who have been kidnapped by the oppressive military regime.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
As you\u2019d expect, the plot is thin and only seems to exist as a premise for the action scenes, which bring gore to a whole new level (I don\u2019t really watch movies like this, so maybe it\u2019s more commonplace than I would think). \u00a0But in some sense the movie may be good for opening people\u2019s awareness about the country, which is indeed, as mentioned in the beginning of the movie, embroiled in a 60+ year long civil war<\/i>, the longest in the world <\/b>(link<\/a>) (link<\/a>) (link<\/a>) (link + video<\/a>).\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Sadly though, I kind of doubt that many of the same people watching Rambo movies are the same people eager to learn more about or help a country like Burma (unless they are great, well-rounded folks like Kyle over at Reformed Buddhist<\/a>). A somewhat better movie, with a refreshingly honest and realistic depiction of Buddhism<\/a> (setting aside an opening scene with a Western tour guide spouting off on the ideals of perfect detachment), is Beyond Rangoon<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00005JN7T\")
with Patricia Arquette<\/b>. While it\u2019s by no means a blockbuster, it is based on the actual events surrounding the 8.8.88 uprising<\/a> there, and it gives a very honest depiction of the Burmese people and their situation, to some extent, even today.<\/div>\n
with Patricia Arquette<\/b>. While it\u2019s by no means a blockbuster, it is based on the actual events surrounding the 8.8.88 uprising<\/a> there, and it gives a very honest depiction of the Burmese people and their situation, to some extent, even today.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In truth, I wouldn\u2019t recommend Rambo, much less show it to students in a Buddhism or S.E. Asian cultures course. But Beyond Rangoon, maybe. And best of all, if you\u2019re looking to learn about contemporary Burma is Oscar-nominated documentary\u00a0Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002BWP3WU\")
<\/b>, which chronicles the 2007 monk-led protests\u00a0(New York Times<\/a>).<\/div>\n
<\/b>, which chronicles the 2007 monk-led protests\u00a0(New York Times<\/a>).<\/div>\n~<\/div>\n
This week several earthquakes have hit Burma (Myanmar), the largest registering 6.8 (Huffington Post<\/a>). \u00a0Reports are that over 70 are dead, and it is likely that the count will rise, as the quake hit in the very rural and mountainous region of Shan State near the Thai border. USGS reports<\/a> that other quakes have hit more toward the center of the country, this one at 6.6 near the ancient capital of Pagan (Bagan). Currently relief efforts are underway<\/b> (Mizzima<\/a>). See the news story for aid orgs to support, if you can.<\/div>\n
~<\/div>\n
And here are a few more of my photos from my January visit to Burma.<\/b> These are all from Inle Lake, which is in the western part of Shan State (SOAS map<\/a>). The Shan people<\/a> are historically overwhelmingly Buddhist and are in fact ethnically related to their Thai neighbors (as opposed to the Bamar<\/a> ethnicity which dominates Burma). Those I met also happened to be overwhelmingly kind and generous. Several were quite direct as well about their disdain for the current government, love for Aung San Suu Kyi<\/a>, and desire for political freedom.\u00a0And yet, in what I found to be typical Burmese fashion, they were also quick to speak of the joys of their lives and inquire about mine whenever the conversation became too dour<\/b>.<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-EWzUBuTKIuM\/TY4aH2L1U2I\/AAAAAAAABdQ\/obdHpnXtydo\/s320\/image002.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/div>\nFishermen maneuver their boats on Inle Lake. Behind them are the beginnings of the vast mountainous region of SE Burma (Shan State) that stretches into neighboring China, Laos, and Thailand.<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-hFCbC3BrVwY\/TY4aIWKgc4I\/AAAAAAAABdU\/alYWwr4E7jg\/s320\/image004.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/div>\nA young man (with wife and child I presume) paddles across the lake in the distinctive \u2018leg rowing\u2019 technique of the Intha people<\/a>. He is wearing a longyi<\/a>, the traditional and still most common garment for both men and women.<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-4T_36BO-Q1I\/TY4aIppR-FI\/AAAAAAAABdY\/ZMTbnbsejmg\/s320\/image006.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/div>\nKids outside one of the temples along the lake. They loved posing for pictures and seeing themselves on the viewfinder. I had saved a couple videos from Bodh Gaya on my camera and showed them to the kids as well. One was of Burmese dance on New Year\u2019s Night, to which the kids obligingly danced around, and the other was of a Burmese monk chanting at the Maha Bodhi Stupa, to which the kids immediately plopped down in meditation posture and (pretend-) meditated.<\/div>\n
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