Mika interview @ Settestorie on Rai 1, Monday 21 Dec 2020

[krysady]

13 minutes ago, virgi said:

 

If I remember well he said once that his father can speak Italian too and also that he lived in Rome, so I guess Italian could be one of the six languages 

True, I remember we talked about that a while ago somewhere in this forum 

[mellody]

So, about other parts of the interview. First of all, the story he told about his abusive teacher. He told it before, but it's so different to see him while he tells it, it's like a kick in the stomach, you can feel his pain and his emotions, that it still hurts him. I don't know if the pain about such things ever goes away, probably not. A friend of mine has suffered from abuse as a child, and it's the same, even 30, 40 years later it still hurts. I recently noticed that it even still hurts me to think about the bullying I sufferered from at school, tho it's not the same as child abuse, but also that still hurts when I think about it, which I rarely do anymore. Luckily I can say today that I'm over it in a way that I don't worry all the time anymore that people would laugh about me behind my back, that I don't feel I have less value than anyone else, that I can talk about it, I'm not looking for revenge or justice anymore, and I'm not ashamed anymore. Not ashamed that I was a victim of it, not ashamed to talk about it.

 

And that's another point Mika says, the shame that many still feel, even after decades, when talking about having been a victim of bullying or abuse. He says he finds it strange, but in fact it's the core of abuse to make the victim feel shameful. By doing that, the abuser protects themselves from getting confronted with what they do/did, it makes them feel powerful - and it even gives them power over you long after it happened, as long as you still feel ashamed for something THEY should feel ashamed of. And I think that's a different thing from the pain. While I don't think the pain will ever go away, and also things like that shape your character in a way, the feeling of shame and the negative consequences can get a lot lighter, or even disappear, so you can cope better with the pain that remains.

 

It breaks my heart to hear him talk about feeling shame for having been weak and fragile - like wtf, a child is always dependent on others, on their parents, teachers, other people close to them. A child doesn't have a choice, it HAS to rely on those people, literally its life depends on that. And a child who gets abused by an adult will hardly ever tell anyone about it, mostly they will show in other ways, maybe by becoming nasty or by retreating - obviously the latter for Mika.

 

I guess you can tell that this topic gets me very emotional, not just because of Mika and my friend - I work in childcare, and in the training a big topic was how to prevent and recognize child abuse, also with lots of examples. Sadly it often doesn't get recognized, until something really severe and obvious happens. And... well, I could say a lot more about it, but I'll try to stick to Mika's interview, that's the topic here. I'm glad Mika talks about these things, although it's hard for him. As they say in the interview, it can help others who go or went through something similar. And I think it can raise awareness for this topic.

 

Anyway, I've written enough for today - to end this post on a positive note, I love it that he says (later in the interview) that he wants to make music now. I'm certainly looking forward to hear that. 

[holdingyourdrink]

7 hours ago, mellody said:

So, about other parts of the interview. First of all, the story he told about his abusive teacher. He told it before, but it's so different to see him while he tells it, it's like a kick in the stomach, you can feel his pain and his emotions, that it still hurts him. I don't know if the pain about such things ever goes away, probably not. A friend of mine has suffered from abuse as a child, and it's the same, even 30, 40 years later it still hurts. I recently noticed that it even still hurts me to think about the bullying I sufferered from at school, tho it's not the same as child abuse, but also that still hurts when I think about it, which I rarely do anymore. Luckily I can say today that I'm over it in a way that I don't worry all the time anymore that people would laugh about me behind my back, that I don't feel I have less value than anyone else, that I can talk about it, I'm not looking for revenge or justice anymore, and I'm not ashamed anymore. Not ashamed that I was a victim of it, not ashamed to talk about it.

 

And that's another point Mika says, the shame that many still feel, even after decades, when talking about having been a victim of bullying or abuse. He says he finds it strange, but in fact it's the core of abuse to make the victim feel shameful. By doing that, the abuser protects themselves from getting confronted with what they do/did, it makes them feel powerful - and it even gives them power over you long after it happened, as long as you still feel ashamed for something THEY should feel ashamed of. And I think that's a different thing from the pain. While I don't think the pain will ever go away, and also things like that shape your character in a way, the feeling of shame and the negative consequences can get a lot lighter, or even disappear, so you can cope better with the pain that remains.

 

It breaks my heart to hear him talk about feeling shame for having been weak and fragile - like wtf, a child is always dependent on others, on their parents, teachers, other people close to them. A child doesn't have a choice, it HAS to rely on those people, literally its life depends on that. And a child who gets abused by an adult will hardly ever tell anyone about it, mostly they will show in other ways, maybe by becoming nasty or by retreating - obviously the latter for Mika.

 

I guess you can tell that this topic gets me very emotional, not just because of Mika and my friend - I work in childcare, and in the training a big topic was how to prevent and recognize child abuse, also with lots of examples. Sadly it often doesn't get recognized, until something really severe and obvious happens. And... well, I could say a lot more about it, but I'll try to stick to Mika's interview, that's the topic here. I'm glad Mika talks about these things, although it's hard for him. As they say in the interview, it can help others who go or went through something similar. And I think it can raise awareness for this topic.

 

Anyway, I've written enough for today - to end this post on a positive note, I love it that he says (later in the interview) that he wants to make music now. I'm certainly looking forward to hear that. 

Yes, he was very open about the bullying and how it made him feel. I am happy that he can talk about it freely, even though his emotions come back to a certain extent when he addresses it. When it comes to the point where it doesn’t paralyze you anymore when you talk about it, you can help normalize the topic by just sharing your experience. I think he did a great thing there, I agree with you.

What I also thought was commendable, was what he said about online bullying. It’s easy to hide and be hateful to others. It’s easy to say anything without suffering real life consequences. The filters we hold in real life don’t apply anymore online, but I also think that is wrong. Simple principle that if you wouldn’t say it in someone’s face, why would you do it behind an anonymous name and picture? My mama always taught me that “if you have nothing nice to say, just don’t say anything at all” 😆 (obviously this doesn’t apply to true friends, because I will tell them they look like sh*t in their face 🤣)

Okay. I’ve just realized I’m not any better, looking at my nickname and profile picture here on MFC 😅however, I think by now that anyone who has seen some MFC lives knows my name and my face by now 🤣 I’m not so anonymous anymore.

 

And yessss, creating new music! I wonder what he means with burning the bridges to start something new. Will he do something in a new style? Will his songs be even more candid about how he feels? Will he sing about things that no one of us has ever heard of? Will he venture into a new music style? Will he do more sinfonia? Will his concerts be more sinfonia since that is more social distancing friendly (and who knows how long this pandemic is going to be with us, even with vaccine)?

[mellody]

On 12/31/2020 at 8:20 AM, holdingyourdrink said:

And yessss, creating new music! I wonder what he means with burning the bridges to start something new. Will he do something in a new style? Will his songs be even more candid about how he feels? Will he sing about things that no one of us has ever heard of? Will he venture into a new music style? Will he do more sinfonia? Will his concerts be more sinfonia since that is more social distancing friendly (and who knows how long this pandemic is going to be with us, even with vaccine)?

 

He says he wants to make artistic records, not classical music, but colourful pop. So of course the question is, as you say, what does he mean by restarting - within his very own niche, that he's aware of - colourful, unapologetic pop music, his amazing live gigs - from all the things we heard last week, in this interview, his Christmas message, the Imagine for Margo performance, it doesn't sound to me like it's much change in his artistic work - he says he's not the same artist anymore as he used to be, and the music industry has changed as well - in that interview snippet from Twitter he talks about streaming and the value of music. So maybe he wants to change things in his marketing, in his management, things behind the scenes?

 

Also, he's someone who reinvents himself with every step in his career. Something I have been wondering about is whether after this pandemic he will go on with the tour about where he left it, or instead do something completely new. It won't be the same, that's for sure - I think back in March him and most of us still hoped we could restart where we left, just a few months later - but the pandemic has changed us all too much to just continue as if nothing happened, even if maybe with a few additions. And maybe what he says just means that - that what he'll do this year will be something new, not anymore MNIMH and the Revelation Tour, but a new chapter. I do think he will keep some elements, especially for North and South America, who haven't seen the Revelation Tour. But his live gigs always are like living creatures, they change and grow as he keeps touring. The 2020 gigs felt different to the 2019 ones, despite the same stage set and setlist, and the summer gigs and festivals would have felt different again.

 

And now, I don't know, I'm not even sure he has a plan yet, maybe a few vague ideas, but he just feels the need for a change. And that's very relatable. A lot of changes have been forced upon us in 2019, and at least to me that gives me a certain desire to initiate changes myself, as a way to regain a feeling of control over my life - because we all can't live our life like we would want to right now. For me that might just mean losing weight or clearing out the basement and throwing away things I've held on to for decades, but for everyone it means something different. I could imagine that also Mika's motivation to work out regularly in order to shape his body the way he always wanted to comes from thoughts like this. Well, and of course it's easier if you have time and the usual pressure, the usual threadmill we're stuck in in everyday life disappears for a while during lockdown.

 

And my third theory about this restarting, burning things, is that he might retreat from social media again for a while, while he's writing. He often said that the Mika who's writing and the Mika who's on stage are two different people. With the last album and tour, he brought them back together, so maybe it has changed... But he's been very close to us most of the time over the last year, I wonder if he needs some distance from that to be able to write. Like, the things fans write on Twitter and Insta, if he keeps reading that, would it distract him from his work on new music? If he doesn't come online for a few days, there always are some fans writing "where are you , we miss you, we need you, especially now during the lockdown" - things with Corona won't start to calm down for another 3 months or more, there'll be more bad news, more lockdowns, more restrictions. And of course it's wonderful for us to have Mika as a distraction from all those bad news, when he entertains us with his posts and stories every few days, it really helps. But for him, although I'm sure he likes staying in touch with his fans, I can imagine it might also mean a certain pressure, expectations he feels he has to fulfil, and maybe he wants to concentrate on the future now, on what he can do when gigs are possible again, hopefully some time this year.

[holdingyourdrink]

1 hour ago, mellody said:

 

He says he wants to make artistic records, not classical music, but colourful pop. So of course the question is, as you say, what does he mean by restarting - within his very own niche, that he's aware of - colourful, unapologetic pop music, his amazing live gigs - from all the things we heard last week, in this interview, his Christmas message, the Imagine for Margo performance, it doesn't sound to me like it's much change in his artistic work - he says he's not the same artist anymore as he used to be, and the music industry has changed as well - in that interview snippet from Twitter he talks about streaming and the value of music. So maybe he wants to change things in his marketing, in his management, things behind the scenes?

 

Also, he's someone who reinvents himself with every step in his career. Something I have been wondering about is whether after this pandemic he will go on with the tour about where he left it, or instead do something completely new. It won't be the same, that's for sure - I think back in March him and most of us still hoped we could restart where we left, just a few months later - but the pandemic has changed us all too much to just continue as if nothing happened, even if maybe with a few additions. And maybe what he says just means that - that what he'll do this year will be something new, not anymore MNIMH and the Revelation Tour, but a new chapter. I do think he will keep some elements, especially for North and South America, who haven't seen the Revelation Tour. But his live gigs always are like living creatures, they change and grow as he keeps touring. The 2020 gigs felt different to the 2019 ones, despite the same stage set and setlist, and the summer gigs and festivals would have felt different again.

 

And now, I don't know, I'm not even sure he has a plan yet, maybe a few vague ideas, but he just feels the need for a change. And that's very relatable. A lot of changes have been forced upon us in 2019, and at least to me that gives me a certain desire to initiate changes myself, as a way to regain a feeling of control over my life - because we all can't live our life like we would want to right now. For me that might just mean losing weight or clearing out the basement and throwing away things I've held on to for decades, but for everyone it means something different. I could imagine that also Mika's motivation to work out regularly in order to shape his body the way he always wanted to comes from thoughts like this. Well, and of course it's easier if you have time and the usual pressure, the usual threadmill we're stuck in in everyday life disappears for a while during lockdown.

 

And my third theory about this restarting, burning things, is that he might retreat from social media again for a while, while he's writing. He often said that the Mika who's writing and the Mika who's on stage are two different people. With the last album and tour, he brought them back together, so maybe it has changed... But he's been very close to us most of the time over the last year, I wonder if he needs some distance from that to be able to write. Like, the things fans write on Twitter and Insta, if he keeps reading that, would it distract him from his work on new music? If he doesn't come online for a few days, there always are some fans writing "where are you , we miss you, we need you, especially now during the lockdown" - things with Corona won't start to calm down for another 3 months or more, there'll be more bad news, more lockdowns, more restrictions. And of course it's wonderful for us to have Mika as a distraction from all those bad news, when he entertains us with his posts and stories every few days, it really helps. But for him, although I'm sure he likes staying in touch with his fans, I can imagine it might also mean a certain pressure, expectations he feels he has to fulfil, and maybe he wants to concentrate on the future now, on what he can do when gigs are possible again, hopefully some time this year.

It’s very insightful as a new fan to hear theories from an old time fan, as you have followed Mika from the very beginning.

I very much (and I think many with me) can identify the need to want change. To want to be able to regain some control over your life in this pandemic. But I also think this is the normal walk of life. The pandemic only magnifies that what is already naturally within us. As we get older there will be more circumstances where we have to deal with, therefore our experience grows.. and I also think we realize our time on earth is limited, so we think and prioritize that what is truly important. The latter part is what Mika already has shared with us in his latest album. This is a path he will only explore and define more and I’m sure we will hear this in his new music as well.

After watching this interview, I actually have the impression that Mika is less impressed with social media and has given it its own corner in his life. Therefore distancing from it more than ever. Sure he will read things (and we never know what he reads, lol), as I had the feeling the setlist in Versailles was very much a reflection of the mood on Twitter (or that was pure coincidence, who knows?), but he won’t let it affect him as much as it may have before. 

I actually also think he will take a break from social media when he is creating. Rightfully so. But boy, have I been spoilt as a new fan with how present and active he has been on social media. I’m not looking forward to the so called “Mika drought” everyone is talking about who has already experienced it. I know I will personally sorely miss his presence, as everyone of us will, but I also know it is he will come back with a vengeance ☺️ And that is something I look forward to very very much. 

[mellody]

On 12/31/2020 at 8:20 AM, holdingyourdrink said:

What I also thought was commendable, was what he said about online bullying. It’s easy to hide and be hateful to others. It’s easy to say anything without suffering real life consequences. The filters we hold in real life don’t apply anymore online, but I also think that is wrong. Simple principle that if you wouldn’t say it in someone’s face, why would you do it behind an anonymous name and picture? My mama always taught me that “if you have nothing nice to say, just don’t say anything at all” 😆 (obviously this doesn’t apply to true friends, because I will tell them they look like sh*t in their face 🤣)

Okay. I’ve just realized I’m not any better, looking at my nickname and profile picture here on MFC 😅however, I think by now that anyone who has seen some MFC lives knows my name and my face by now 🤣 I’m not so anonymous anymore.

 

I agree, it's also an important thing he talks about there. "If you wouldn't say it out loud, shut up." That's generally a good guide for talking with each other online, and there'd surely be a lot less online bullying if everyone kept to that. But as the question she asks is, how does he live his online life, what does he say to people in this non-physical dimension: If I don't think about online bullying between school kids, but of star-fan interactions online, I think it's a lot more complex than that. Like, I often see things on social media, especially on Twitter, that I never would say to Mika, and if I imagine I was in Mika's place, I wouldn't want to hear/read them. I certainly don't want to defend any of that, I just wonder where it comes from. Would they say these things out loud to him if they met him?

 

And there's two points that make this question more complex in this context. Firstly, projecting your wishes and dreams on a popstar, an idol. In our dreams he can be the man we want him to be, sharing our values, our sense of humour, sharing certain experiences - there are some things he's very clear about, but about a lot of things he isn't very direct, something you might remember we discussed in another thread a while ago. And it's like with many things, you only see what you want to see, what fits into your understanding of the world, or in this case, of a person. That's the thing with a popstar, he's supposed to make people dream, and if he's too direct he might lose some fans. It was well visible under his Insta post with the Trump caricature, some people saying they're disappointed, he should keep to making music instead of talking about politics, etc. - That's the absolute negative example of what I want to say, that people even manage to interpret Mika in a way that they're surprised about him expressing his dislike for Trump. But in a way we all interpret him, I know that if I read a Tweet and I say "If I was Mika, that'd hurt me", I also interpret him. Or if I write him "you look hot in that outfit", I also interpret that he would enjoy hearing that. And that's the point, someone might totally say the same thing out loud to him, because they interpret he shares their sense of humour, for example - but without seeing his reaction in real life, without any interaction, it's always just interpreting.

 

Several times over the years I've seen fans tweeting stuff to or about him, that I found really nasty, and then they said "but I'm sure he'd know it's just fun!" as in, he's not such a humourless spoilsport as you obviously are. But if I'm honest, I think that in the past I also might have written Tweets to him that I shouldn't have written. I'm not thinking of anything in particular, but I certainly used to be less careful about my Tweets than I am now. Also in real life I'm very direct and outspoken towards people I trust, so I probably would've told him the same in person - but if I think I tell him something really funny and he just raises an eyebrow instead of laughing, in real life I'd say "oops, sorry", feel ashamed for my bad joke and move on to a different topic, while on socials other people who share my humour might join in the joke and it kinda develops a life on its own.

 

And the second point is that people tend to be starstruck, kind of intimidated by a popstar, also that used to be the same for me. You kinda think he's perfect, invincible, a superhero - and you are "just" a fan, one among millions, you think what you write on social media (or tell him at a M&G) is just flysh*t to him, he doesn't know you exist and/or wouldn't care and it's like another universe, whatever you say can't reach him, muchless hurt him. It takes a certain confidence to realize that your actions have consequences, even to a world-famous popstar.

 

Having said all of that, some things should just be common sense, and I think most things are and people who cross that line are in fact just being nasty. Other things might be on the borderline, crossing it for some, not crossing it for others, because people are just very different. So I suppose that's also a thought, besides "would I say it out loud to him?", to ask yourself, even if it doesn't violate your boundaries, could it possibly violate his? And if in doubt, better not write anything. Especially for an outspoken person like me, it's not always easy. But being aware of it and trying one's best is a start.

[holdingyourdrink]

13 hours ago, mellody said:

 

And the second point is that people tend to be starstruck, kind of intimidated by a popstar, also that used to be the same for me. You kinda think he's perfect, invincible, a superhero - and you are "just" a fan, one among millions, you think what you write on social media (or tell him at a M&G) is just flysh*t to him, he doesn't know you exist and/or wouldn't care and it's like another universe, whatever you say can't reach him, muchless hurt him. It takes a certain confidence to realize that your actions have consequences, even to a world-famous popstar.

 

Having said all of that, some things should just be common sense, and I think most things are and people who cross that line are in fact just being nasty. Other things might be on the borderline, crossing it for some, not crossing it for others, because people are just very different. So I suppose that's also a thought, besides "would I say it out loud to him?", to ask yourself, even if it doesn't violate your boundaries, could it possibly violate his? And if in doubt, better not write anything. Especially for an outspoken person like me, it's not always easy. But being aware of it and trying one's best is a start.

There have been several videos where I have seen Mika say “and here I am in front of a lot of strangers” and like you said, that is true. And you’re also right, it’s the other way around as well. He only shows us what he wants us to see, so we *think* we know him, but we only “know” our projection and interpretation of Popstar Mika. For all we know Neighbour Mika is somewhat creepy (oh no wait, that’s Max 😆) and Grocery Shopping Mika always cuts the queue and puts allllll of his pennies on the counter. It’s the beauty of having an idol who leaves many things open for interpretation and who also changes his mind every 2 minutes 😉

 

I actually think there is another aspect to what you say. As a fan, you are aware that you are one of millions and therefore whatever you say 1) doesn’t reach him and 2) much less cares about what you say. 
I can imagine that encourages some fans to then be extra bold to actually get his attention. Negative attention is in the end also a form of attention. 
 

In the end, when it comes to bullying or internet bullying, the only people I can actually help and educate about this are my own children. Outside of my household we need to rely on the common sense and morality or the mass. But so far, from what I have seen, most of the fandom has a healthy common sense and is actually very classy. Maybe this is just my projection on all of you 😉 because in the end we’re also strangers. But I hope this will change this year! And I hope until then, we get to see more of these kind of Interviews.

[mellody]

On 1/2/2021 at 1:34 PM, holdingyourdrink said:

Grocery Shopping Mika always cuts the queue and puts allllll of his pennies on the counter

 

I don't remember that, where's that from?

Definitely agree with you about the negative attention, that certainly might be a reason for people crossing boundaries although they should know better.

 

I'm just watching the interview again, because while it inspired me so much, brought up a lot of questions about Mika, but also about life in general, which I want to think about and express and discuss, after a few days those emotions start to fade. I felt very deflated today after reading some news and tweets about Covid, it made me feel like I can't say much about anything because the world's problems seem like such a huge weight on me. Anyway I wanted to get back to the things I wanted to say about this interview, so I decided to watch it again, and it helps.

 

What I liked a lot is his answer to her question about him being Trump's worst nightmare. When he says that while in the world there's a tendency to divide people, he's a mix of so many things. It's exactly this aspect of dividing people what scares me most in regard to the pandemic these days,. You just have to read a bit on Twitter to see what I mean, all these harsh words people throw at each other pull me down even more than the pure facts about Covid and the restrictions. And I think that's one reason why i dive into the Mika world in nearly every spare minute in these times - he's the complete opposite, the antidote to this - he unites cultures, languages, opinions,... - with the way he is, with his music and his concerts. And as he says himself, that's certainly not easy. At his concerts it works so well, everyone there gets the feeling that they're welcome, that they can be who they are and are good exactly as they are. No matter your age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, skin colour, looks, etc. - it's just your heart that counts, and having an open mind. And even if you go there with a cold heart and a closed mind, you might still get carried away by that wave and leave the gig a lot lighter and happier.

 

But if you look at fans' discussions on social media, there's also far too often young vs. old, straight vs. gay, French vs. Italian, etc.. It's not about denying or ignoring those conflicts, they are there - but about dealing with them by trying to understand each other, without bringing the others down, without throwing harsh words at each other and making the trenches even deeper. You can see that often Mika manages to solve it all just with one post, one photo - suddenly it's all forgotten and instead everyone goes "Awww!".    Shame that it never lasts long, and sometimes people even use his posts to start a new conflict.  A little bit of Mika love is so important in these times, even if it just helps for a few hours or a few days, it's a little light in the darkness.

 

And one more thing about the interview for now, I find it interesting what he says about his Dad, that he has all the talents of the world, except for making money. Doesn't he work in finance? And also they weren't exactly poor, before they lost everything due to bad circumstances. Well, I'm sure there's a lot of things that we (still) don't know, so there's no point for me in trying to make sense of that, I just think it's an interesting contradiction. About Lawrence of Arabia, has any of you seen that movie and knows what Mika might mean with that? 

[Sabine64]

11 hours ago, mellody said:

 

I don't remember that, where's that from?

Definitely agree with you about the negative attention, that certainly might be a reason for people crossing boundaries although they should know better.

 

I'm just watching the interview again, because while it inspired me so much, brought up a lot of questions about Mika, but also about life in general, which I want to think about and express and discuss, after a few days those emotions start to fade. I felt very deflated today after reading some news and tweets about Covid, it made me feel like I can't say much about anything because the world's problems seem like such a huge weight on me. Anyway I wanted to get back to the things I wanted to say about this interview, so I decided to watch it again, and it helps.

 

What I liked a lot is his answer to her question about him being Trump's worst nightmare. When he says that while in the world there's a tendency to divide people, he's a mix of so many things. It's exactly this aspect of dividing people what scares me most in regard to the pandemic these days,. You just have to read a bit on Twitter to see what I mean, all these harsh words people throw at each other pull me down even more than the pure facts about Covid and the restrictions. And I think that's one reason why i dive into the Mika world in nearly every spare minute in these times - he's the complete opposite, the antidote to this - he unites cultures, languages, opinions,... - with the way he is, with his music and his concerts. And as he says himself, that's certainly not easy. At his concerts it works so well, everyone there gets the feeling that they're welcome, that they can be who they are and are good exactly as they are. No matter your age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, skin colour, looks, etc. - it's just your heart that counts, and having an open mind. And even if you go there with a cold heart and a closed mind, you might still get carried away by that wave and leave the gig a lot lighter and happier.

 

But if you look at fans' discussions on social media, there's also far too often young vs. old, straight vs. gay, French vs. Italian, etc.. It's not about denying or ignoring those conflicts, they are there - but about dealing with them by trying to understand each other, without bringing the others down, without throwing harsh words at each other and making the trenches even deeper. You can see that often Mika manages to solve it all just with one post, one photo - suddenly it's all forgotten and instead everyone goes "Awww!".    Shame that it never lasts long, and sometimes people even use his posts to start a new conflict.  A little bit of Mika love is so important in these times, even if it just helps for a few hours or a few days, it's a little light in the darkness.

 

And one more thing about the interview for now, I find it interesting what he says about his Dad, that he has all the talents of the world, except for making money. Doesn't he work in finance? And also they weren't exactly poor, before they lost everything due to bad circumstances. Well, I'm sure there's a lot of things that we (still) don't know, so there's no point for me in trying to make sense of that, I just think it's an interesting contradiction. About Lawrence of Arabia, has any of you seen that movie and knows what Mika might mean with that? 

what he said about his dad, I remember he said in the past his dad was good in making money but his mom was even better in spending money - mostly on the kids and their education. So he changed his story.....

Edited January 4, 2021 by Sabine64

[holdingyourdrink]

On 1/4/2021 at 12:52 AM, mellody said:

What I liked a lot is his answer to her question about him being Trump's worst nightmare. When he says that while in the world there's a tendency to divide people, he's a mix of so many things.

Yes he is, which is I think also the reason a lot of different people can identify themselves with him. People that are normally divided and stand opposite eachother, are being united by his music and are able to dance together. His gigs as you mentioned are a perfect example of this, even though I have yet to experience one, I believe your every word.

 

On 1/4/2021 at 12:52 AM, mellody said:

But if you look at fans' discussions on social media, there's also far too often young vs. old, straight vs. gay, French vs. Italian, etc.. It's not about denying or ignoring those conflicts, they are there - but about dealing with them by trying to understand each other, without bringing the others down, without throwing harsh words at each other and making the trenches even deeper. You can see that often Mika manages to solve it all just with one post, one photo - suddenly it's all forgotten and instead everyone goes "Awww!".

The division I see on social media makes me very sad as well. We all have our own things we struggle with and fight for; may it be sexuality, gender identity, mental health, physical handicap, social status, race, nationality or the sheer fact that we are at war with a virus. I just wish we wouldn’t fight eachother. But I also think that we also don’t know what the other truly has to deal with. We have stopped to ask questions, instead we make assumptions. 

I do have a theory about this though: we humans are programmed to either fight, flight or fright. It is not human instinct to question, it is instinct to defend and run. So I guess to gain understanding we have to ignore human instinct, stop and turn around. I haven’t seen Lawrence of Arabia, but I read the plot on Wikipedia (almost as good 😆) and Lawrence is quite the rebel, the surprising element that can unite and divide. Ultimately leaving only dusk in his wake. If Mika compares himself with Lawrence of Arabia then I guess I can see the sentiment 🤣
 

 

[mellody]

6 hours ago, holdingyourdrink said:

But I also think that we also don’t know what the other truly has to deal with. We have stopped to ask questions, instead we make assumptions. 

 

That's true, but I think also because questions are often not answered on the internet. Everyone writes there, from politicians, stars and influencers with millions of followers, over normal people, to people who hide behind several different profiles, pretending to be someone completely different in each of them. For a lot of different reasons, many of these people won't answer questions online - so you automatically start to make assumptions. Which I think isn't wrong per se, you just have to realize that there are different points of view, try to open your mind to see beyond your own horizon and not go for the easy way, the solution that seems most plausible to *you*. Accept that life is full of contradictions, and many things aren't just black or white, but in fact can have every shade of the rainbow. And I think that is the hardest thing - which, indeed, might have to do with our instincts and with the human nature to simplify things - in fact an ability of our brain that enables us to live life without thinking about every single step every single time. We couldn't do complex tasks like driving a car without that ability. But as you say, we have to stop and think, ask ourselves the questions that others won't answer, and try to look at them through other people's eyes.

 

As for Lawrence of Arabia, Mika says his Dad has a Lawrence of Arabia complex, it's not about himself.

[Evergreen]

@mellody @holdingyourdrink I've been enjoying reading your comments from last year about his Florence interview

I haven't had time to watch it because I was busy with exam preparation back then. Reading your comments was fun❤️❤️❤️

And the topics you've been discussing which apparently he spoke about too is something that is very relatable to me too and I've been wanting to hear more of his thoughts on this and how he's dealt/dealing with it

@Subtitling Team

I think I've missed the English subtitled video of his interview in Florence

It says that the YT video has been taken down due to copyright issues

 

Do you think there way to get the video back , is it on vimeo or can anyone send it? 

 

[mellody]

46 minutes ago, Evergreen said:

@mellody @holdingyourdrink I've been enjoying reading your comments from last year about his Florence interview

I haven't had time to watch it because I was busy with exam preparation back then. Reading your comments was fun❤️❤️❤️

And the topics you've been discussing which apparently he spoke about too is something that is very relatable to me too and I've been wanting to hear more of his thoughts on this and how he's dealt/dealing with it

@Subtitling Team

I think I've missed the English subtitled video of his interview in Florence

It says that the YT video has been taken down due to copyright issues

 

Do you think there way to get the video back , is it on vimeo or can anyone send it? 

 

 

It has been reuploaded. 

[Evergreen]

23 hours ago, mellody said:

 

It has been reuploaded. 

Thank youuu !! ❤️ ❤️ This was so much fun to watch

And @Subtitling Teamthank you for you hard work making these accessible to international fans❤️