Is this the end of the civilised world as we know it? I am not okay with this.

Just when we thought the coronavirus was limited only to this part of the world, we heard that another person located in the Solano County in California is now diagnosed by a pandemic that has hit 45 countries across the world. Is there hope for humanity? Are we going to survive this or...

Snowpiercer will perhaps be our destiny. Where every man, woman and child is given a place in the world that's left of humanity, unless someone who can rebel. I have included this film in the watch list also because it is directed by the Korean film director Bong Joon Ho who recently won four Oscars for his film Parasite. This movie has many flaws but manages to show us the great divide between the haves and the have nots. But who decides that some will feast on sushi and the others will perish? Will the silent majority simply continue to bow to the needs of the chosen few?

Or will we face extinction in other ways? Since we are ready to destroy the humanity within us in so many ways how do we get out of the 'work, home family' cycle and redeem ourselves?

We are all enslaved by technology, never looking up from our phone screens to look at the leaves on trees change colour or notice the sudden appearance of spring blossoms. Young people choose to text their mothers announcing their arrival at the doorstep instead of the traditional ringing of the doorbell. We are using robots in factories and hospitals. There is also that ancient and horrendous ‘slave-owning’ instinct that will eventually have us build robots that will help at home and at our work-places. The robot cafe in Tokyo has robot fights and hotels across America have robots delivering room service. Satyajit Ray wrote a story about laws that govern robots and it has been made into a lovely little short film which is on YouTube. The film is called Anukul and it stars Parambrata Chatterjee and Saurabh Shukla.

Robots and man share many interesting dystopian tales, and you may have seen I, Robot, which if you had read Satyajit Ray before would have been a pale story to tell. In 2014, a year before Chappie was made, there was an Antonio Banderas film called Automata, which did not receive rave reviews at the time, but the film has many timeless points to make. Especially now, when men are using religion to crush other men, when there seems to be no hope for us, this film offers many thought-provoking moments about 'us' and 'them’.

You would have to be blind to have not seen how deeply divided our world has become because of one law that blindsided all of us. No one thought that history would repeat that one chapter that still has the power to horrify us. Years ago when people were made to wear the Star of David to identify themselves, it was the beginning of the end of decency and rise of the arrogant. That very same evil seems to have germinated once again and I am mortally afraid that the inaction of the many will bring the end of the world as we know it very soon.

It’s easier to imagine that the world will end because of tidal waves and volcanic eruptions and seismic events than watch men go on a rampage to hurt fellow men simply because they happen to follow a different flag. Although this film is rather predictable in its premise: a father and husband go on a mission to rescue the girl trapped thousands of miles away, the film offers hope when the reality is getting grimmer every day.

And yes, there is another film which will help ease the numbness spreading through your heart is a film with kids saving the world. In a strange way, when I see young people take to social media and in real-life take on water cannons and the brutality laid on thick by the police and the goons, I know that it is the kids who will rescue us from the monsters. And yes, the kids get to drive one of my dream cars (if you ever get a chance to drive one, you will see how the speedometer in the car clearly says: ground speed) in the movie.

And yes, about the title of this column, when do you join the collective to say that you are nor okay with all that is happening in our world? This is a time to question ourselves, just like this young girl in the new Netflix show is doing. It is time to get angry at the injustice this world is dishing out to us, discover that we do have superpowers that can bring about a change to our world, to find that we can say, ‘I am Not Okay With This.’