Burton

Even if you are too good a person with noble intentions, society will denigrate you. Because of what society says, those whom you've loved and nurtured, will hurt and desert you. This is what the movie Mr Burton (2025) depicts.

The hapless student with a lot of potential but coming from an impoverished family had such a good mentor in his English tutor Philip Burton who later became his legal guardian. But Philip was disheartened when his student despite getting huge benefits from him, mistreated him and left him. Even when he went to help him some years later, he was met with his student's resentment. But the student (Richard Burton) eventually realised how vile he had been to Philip, profusely apologised and made amends to foster a better relationship with him.

Richard despite his immense success in Hollywood died at age 58 in 1984 because of health complications due to a life of heavy smoking and drinking. If he had taken on the discipline and temperance of his mentor, he might have lived a long and healthy life. His mentor Philip Burton outlived him and died at age 90 in 1995. Not only was he a good teacher, he was also a theatre director and stage actor, a radio producer and a BBC scriptwriter. Blessed was Richard to have a teacher like Philip who to support his student's ambition of becoming an actor, took him out of poverty, gave him education, training and accommodation and even let him have his surname through a deed poll. This world lacks teachers like Philip Burton who may be one in a million, going all out to see that his student achieves his glorious best.

Supported by a superb star-cast where all the main and side actors played their part very well, Mr Burton (2025) is a riveting film from start to finish, a fast-paced flick with good direction and slick editing. My favourites were the actors Toby Jones and Lesley Manville. If you want to get inspired and inspire others, this 120-minute movie is a must-watch. I give it a rating of 8/10.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002m3tl/mr-burton

Three

Three things I didn't like in this movie:

1. This was a black and white film. I wish it was done in technicolour.

2. There was a lot of violence in the film and I've never liked violent scenes.

3. There were some extended kissing scenes and I think those long liplocks could have done with some good edits.

Smooches are so common in movies, it makes me wonder if these actors ever get glandular fever. Glandular Fever is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that is found in the saliva of infected people and can spread through kissing. It's also called Mononucleosis, Mono or the Kissing Disease. EBV can be found in the saliva of people who have had glandular fever even after several months of they being asymptomatic. Some people may continue to have EBV in their saliva on and off for years. (Source: NHS + WHO)

What I loved about this movie is the comedy. There were many funny scenes and I can't forget the cheeky smiles of Daphne (played by Jack Lemmon) - simply unmissable and unforgettable. Marilyn Monroe was superb, so were Joan Shawlee and Joseph E Brown. I liked Tony Curtis but Jack was my favourite. He was hilarious. The songs were nice and so was Marilyn's dance. If you have two hours to spare, go and watch this 1959 flick - Some Like It Hot.

Polling

Some scenes, photos, images, visuals, videos and cartoons stay with us long after we've seen them.

This was one such cartoon that I saw on 7th May and it stays in my memory to bring me smiles.

Hope this makes you smile too.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2026/05/06/TELEMMGLPICT000482932349_17780841660320_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=960

Cheers
Aparna

Read

This is a long read but really worth a read.

This article talks about the care women give in all walks of life. Their duties of care include the activities of cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after children, caring for the elderly, sick and disabled relatives in their family, as well as attending to the needs of people in their neighbourhood through community kitchens, childcare groups and support networks.

This article mentions that if women’s unpaid care work was given a monetary value, it would exceed 40% of GDP in some countries – that is more than entire sectors like manufacturing or transport. Every day, women around the world do 16 billion hours of unpaid care work. Women do more than half of the world’s work (52%) and nearly half that work goes unpaid. Unpaid care work is the daily labour that keeps households, families and communities running – work that is mostly done by women without pay.

This article says that if women stopped working and went on an unpaid work strike, communities would grind to a halt, and economies would collapse. A global emergency would unfold because this work is so essential that life simply cannot function without it. Social norms still cast care as “women’s work". In homes, classrooms and workplaces, those expectations shape choices: who stays at home when a child is sick, who takes the part-time or more flexible job, or who is praised for being a “helpful daughter”. On average, women undertake 2.5 times more hours every day on unpaid care work than men. Girls learn this early and provide 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys. Globally, 45% of working-age women are not included in the labour market because of unpaid care responsibilities, compared to just 5% of men. 

Women hold most paid care jobs too – as nannies, domestic workers, live-in carers, nurses and childcare workers – but these jobs are often low-paid and precarious without the benefits of healthcare and paid leave. Around 80% of domestic workers are women, many of them migrants, often excluded from labour laws and hence, susceptible to abuse and exploitation.

As per this article, motherhood often marks a turning point in a woman’s earnings. In Europe, 60% of the gender pay gap is linked to motherhood: not because women lose ambition, but because they cut back paid hours or leave paid work altogether when childcare is unaffordable and parental leave policies aren’t adequate. In the UK, one in three mothers with children under five has left paid work unwillingly due to her caregiving responsibilities.  Every extra hour of unpaid care work shrinks a woman’s chance for paid work by 38% and higher education by 34%. When care work is not counted, women’s time, talent, and income shrink. It limits the hours women have for learning, leisure, and rest. Persistent time poverty narrows many women’s choices and opportunities, resulting in lost earnings that have lifelong consequences for women.

Long hours of housework and caring for others, with little rest or recognition, leave many women stressed, exhausted and stretched to breaking point in what’s often called Caregiver Burnout. This occurs due to the prolonged mental and physical load they carry as much of their daily work is physically and emotionally demanding. For too long, care work has been dismissed as “women’s work”, when, in truth, it is a shared responsibility and the work that makes all other work possible. When men share care, families get more time together. Sharing care between parents supports children’s wellbeing and gives each parent time for work, rest, and for self-care. But until both parents can take time to care without stigma or penalty, women will continue to carry an unequal share, and men will keep missing out on one of life’s most meaningful connections.

I've just blogged about a few points from this lengthy article that has been very informative with its data analysis. If you need to know more details, please click below.

FAQs: What is unpaid care work and how does it power the economy? 

https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/faqs-what-is-unpaid-care-work-and-how-does-it-power-the-economy