A few months ago I was at the American Centre, Mumbai, on one of my almost daily stopovers at the library before heading to the hostel.
I was in the centre's lift when a couple of students asked me if I had come for the film festival.
My answer was 'no' but as they seemed very eager and friendly, I changed my mind and decided to check it out.
It was organised by a group of mass media students and was half finished by the time I reached and the competition round had begun.
Of the three films I watched, the one that really got my attention, Feelings at Death, walked away with honours and cash prizes in all categories.
Inspired by a newspaper report, it explored the theme of suicide through the eyes of a small boy who was curious to know what it would feel like to die.
While announcing the results, one of the judges commented that he was astounded by the mind-blowing cinematography, editing and direction.
Strangely, he also said he had come away feeling depressed.
"Everything I watched was dark and without hope. All of you sitting here are teenagers, aren't you?
"You're supposed to be positive and on a mission to save the world. What went wrong? How can you give up hope?"
Exploring relatively dark themes through seemingly innocent settings is not a new trend that's followed by teenagers alone.
When William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published in 1954, it raked up controversy because of its themes of innocence, its loss and the inherent evil in man.
He wrote about a group of British school boys stranded on a paradisiacal island descending into savagery because he was apparently disillusioned with human nature.
I once heard a speaker addressing a gathering I was in about the "hopeless" generation he had witnessed of late.
In effect, he dismissed the entire human race who will be decision-makers a few years from now as people without minds of their own.
There's a huge misconception that teenagers are superficial beings who live just for the moment and care about nothing else.
Espousing social causes and some of the offbeat radical things we do honestly are not just teenage fads.
I was asked by an older friend the other day if 18-year-olds ever really mean what they say.
Yes we do!
I don't think there has ever been a time such as this when teenagers actually talk, make decisions and show real changes in terms of action that even world leaders haven't achieved.
We may not share illusions about the world being a nice place where all things can be sorted out or that the mission to save the world is workable.
However, that doesn't make us apathetic creatures with shallow minds.
The past 20 years have seen some major upheavals in world history that have hardened us into individuals that we are.
Personally, I don't think dabbling in film noir, writing dark literature or going gothic in music or clothes is a reflection of giving up hope or being morbid.
It doesn't mean we're perennial pessimists raging against society and calling for the world to descend into anarchy.
It's just that the more aware you are of what needs to be mended and ought to be healed, the more willing you are to reach out and help.
Isn't that what the world needs today, a helping hand?
¥ Jennifer Gnana is a former Bahrain resident now studying in Mumbai. Her family still lives here.
Copyright 2010 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group
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