Film Review | 500 Days of Summer

Boy meets girl.

It’s a storyline that has been played out one too many times. A recurring idea in your typical rom-coms, where the intricacies of relationships are reduced to petty conflicts that can be simply resolved by hyperbolic declarations of undying love, or last minute chases to the airport. Boy wins girl, cue passionate kiss, oh and don’t forget the cheesy rock ballad playing in the background.

Which was probably why I found 500 Days of Summer so refreshing. Following a non-chronological structure, the ending is revealed from the very beginning. The couple break up, abruptly serving us a hard dose of reality, that not all silver-screen couples have their happy endings.

Tom embodies the hopeless romantic. He yearns to someday meet “the one” girl-of-his-dreams, who he believes comes in the form of this alluring Summer character. Only, her skeptical views on romance counter that of Tom’s. She is practical, placing love on par with fairytales whereas our leading man remains (quite naively) idealistic. Her philosophy resonates that of many of us today.

“Relationships are messy and feelings get hurt. Who needs all that? We’re young. We’re in one of the most beautiful cities on earth. I say let’s have as much fun as we can.”

Essentially, 500 Days is not about finding the right person — it’s about finding the wrong one. How we can be misguided by infatuation. How’s that for you hopeless romantics?

Boss or doss subject? In defense of Communications

A reading response to Raymond Williams' "Communications as Cultural Science" 

Raymond Williams' article published in 1974 "Communications as Cultural Science" stresses the interdisciplinary nature of Communication Studies. From a previous lecture with Prof. John Corner, I became aware that the subject lent itself to different academic perspectives but after reading this article, I was also reminded to bear in mind that in addressing certain issues, these separate disciplines hardly tend to agree with each other. 

This is a valid point.
Take for instance in the textual analysis of film, could we say the popularity of this film is attributed mainly to technological factors such as editing, or psychological factors such as how an audience relates to characters, or even artistic factors such as framing?

In the context of this article, Williams approaches Communication Studies largely through a cultural analysts perspective, commending the subject as being a suitable means of exploring human culture. He acknowledges the assumption from scholars in more traditional subjects such as medical sciences and business courses that Communications Studies is still a widely contested area of academic study. In refuting this belief, he draws to the many opportunities of cultural insight that could be gained through studying communication practices. 

He asserts that, in comparison to other scholarly work, accumulated surveys conducted by the institution of practitioners in advertising has resulted in a detailed database for information regarding consumer behavior. This is a great credit to Communications Studies; the abundance of resources at our disposal aids our investigations into the developments and effects of the media. I believe that search result survey analysis holds a similar regard. Many corporations benefit from site traffic analysis as they illustrate changes in consumer trends over time.

Williams indicates that there was a common misconception that the 'mass audience' is essentially passive in their reception of the media they consume and therefore easily influenced. Considering that this article was published in 1974, it assures me to see that someone has recognised this error in judgement. This assumption not only degrades the intelligence of the audience but the media institutions charged with the corruption of these individuals, thus shoving the media as a whole under a negative light.

In this modern age, perhaps it is apparent to see why I would agree with Williams: 
The ways in which we choose to engage with the media differ from person to person. 
People may choose to simply be a passive user of the media (simply watching films, listening to the radio or surfing the web) or they may choose to become an active producer (writing blogs, producing their own films or managing their own forums). Most commonly, we are the mix of both. Therefore it would be too reductionist to uphold the idea of a 'mass audience', when we are both part user and part producer. 

Along with this, the growing number of students taking Communications Studies is proof in itself of a more critical and analytical audience, who are ready to challenge and look beyond what is presented to them on the surface.

Film Review | Gazing upon the grotesque: The beauty in The Elephant Man

I don’t tend to watch black and white films in my spare time, I prefer life in technicolor. However, I found myself watching David Lynch’s ‘The Elephant Man’ during an unproductive free period. I was simply curious as to why it had earned the commendation of being “a brilliant movie that everyone must see at least once “. After watching it, I could see why; I felt an incredible need to write about the movie.

The film is based the real life story of John Merrick, who was born with a disease that had rendered him so badly deformed that he aptly became known as ‘The Elephant man’. 

We can’t deny that all humans, as much as we try to hide it, have a sense of prejudice. We find it harder to accept things that are out of the ordinary. The world is superficial, that is fact. Most times, we take ourselves for granted, always wanting to ‘improve’ our already more than satisfactory selves. 

John Merrick desires nothing more than to be ‘normal’. To be treated like a person of the society, to be the recipient of civil address. Unfortunately, his grotesque appearence lands him in the derogatory life of a circus freak. Yet despite being ridiculed, scorned and degraded daily, Merrick still possesses a heart of gold. One can’t help but be captured by his humble character. Initial horror or disgust is replaced by sympathy and sadness as we slowly come to know him not for the monster that he is, but the gentleman. He is but a beautiful soul encased in an atrocious body. 

It is a meaningful film that reflects both the frustrating nature of humanitys insensitivity as well as humanitys surprising acts of kindness.

Miscellaneous Musings | A Taboo Subject

Should hotels provide condoms in guest rooms, whether complimentary or for sale? It’s a question still debated in the hotel industry. In China, condoms in hotels are quite common (after Beijing ordered it), but some foreigners have averse reactions to the foil-wrapped rubbers in their rooms, like my dad who angrily declared the hotel condoms “an embarrassment!” before hiding them away from our eyes.    - credit to Shanghai Shiok!

I faced a similar incident in the past, though not necessarily in a hotel. During my first week moving into my dorms for uni, I received a welcome pack with all the usual complimentary tidbits:  chocolate bars, a mini energy drink, keyholders and a large pack of ribbed condoms.. wait, a pack of what?Let’s just say, my conservative Asian parents looked less than comfortable. A few days later, due to complaints made by several unhumored parents, the condoms were removed from the welcome packs.

In my opinion, these parents weren’t getting the message. To them, these condoms challenged their impermeable fantasy of their precious children staying pure and abstinent through till marriage. 

But the reality of the situation is, just they you once did, their kids will be having sex in University. With or without their approval. Hence, the main question for these parents to contemplate is this: would you prefer them to do it without protection or with? 

It’s as plain and simple as that. I’m not saying I’m against people who wait till their wedding night, in fact I admire their patience. I’m just saying, for those of us who don’t have this on our agenda, what’s wrong with an educational institution providing STI and pregnancy preventing measures?

On the other hand, what Is disturbing are these.

 

Aren’t JLS fans mostly 10 year old girls? With that in mind, I can safely say that these colorful ‘innocent’ packs are something I disagree with. Something tells me 10 year old girls wouldn’t look at these products and immeadiately think ‘anti-baby’. It would be more along the lines of ‘Great, JB wants me to have safe sex!’ or rather, ‘JB wants me to have safe sex!’

Want something even more absurd? Yep, the British do it once again. Royal Wedding condoms.

Life Stories | On moving to the UK

“My business is your business, and your business is mine”

A street performer yells out to his audience as he prepares for his next trick, walking on a rope held taut by six volunteers, all male and all somewhat brutish in appearance. Despite this random assortment of manpower, the rope was still uneven, with left side held higher than the right.. What this street performer was proposing to accomplish seemed all too ambitious and a daunting task with a slim chance of actual success.

I found truth behind his words. Indeed, a street performer in London could not make any business without his audience, and the audience takes pleasure from the business of the street performer. However, it was not this that resounded with me on this particular scene on an unusually sunny day in Trafalgar Square, rather it was the reminder of an all too similar occasion in the middle of Times Square all the way back in Hong Kong.

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On the night of departure, the weather took shift to the worse as thunder and lightning threatened a delayed flight. The plane remained unscathed, possibly due to my excessive chanting of “Please don’t electrocute the plane..” whilst in the prayer position. Torrents of rain streamed against the oval windows as we soared away from a blurry Hong Kong, the nightlights still bright with all its magnificence blinking back at me as I flew off to begin my new life on the other side of the world.

Long haul plane journeys are always tedious, and I usually need to maneuver into at least 5 different positions in the vain hope of finding one comfortable enough to sleep in.  Luckily, the seat beside me was empty so I finally found my haven leaning against the window. I woke up to the sound of muffled laughter: my Dad watching a Cantonese movie on my left; and on my right, a peek of daylight seeped in through the window. Opening the blinds all the way up, I gazed down at an expanse of green fields bathed in warm sunshine. A far cry from the concrete city I had always known. This, as of now, is Home.

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Stalling for time, the street performer began describing his street theatre 'philosophy', along with the promise of old-school tricks with a daring twist. He had already pumped the crowd by catching a disc thrust several meters in the air behind his back, cycled on a unicycle around his makeshift arena without any legs on the pedals and pulled an impossible length of rope from inside his clothes. The street performers that had impressed me back in HK, now seemed amateur in comparison with this common London street entertainer. From this observation, I realised that all that I had been exposed to in my former HK existence will now come into question in this new daunting cultural environment. On the one hand, living in the UK will hold a sense of familiarity, but at the same time, it will not be exempt from a whole new set of challenges that will force me out of my Harbour city bubble to gain a more holistic picture of the world around me as well as further insight into myself as an individual and my impending future.

So as I watched the performer successfully walk across the rope.
Even if the path seems unachieveable, that doesn’t mean I can’t get thorugh it. Just need determination, practice and enthusiasm.

Miscellaneous Musings | Texting is not Connecting

What is the one object you swear that can't live without? Almost every teen would agree that it would be almost impossible to survive without their cell phone. Their reasoning is not only based on the convenience of having one, but also on their reliance of text messaging.

According to a recent survey by the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion, 4 out of 10 high school students are “addicted to their mobile phones,” specifically text messaging. Furthermore, teachers have seen a direct correlation with students neglecting schoolwork and showing signs of sleep deprivation due to text messaging addiction.

While in the US, it has been estimated that 40% of teens send more than 1000 text messages a month. Most of them have every letter on the keypad memorized, and some states even hold contests to see who can text the most words per minute. Arizona is no exception. A junior at Pinnacle High School states that “Texting is my addiction, it’s my entertainment. I send 300 texts a day, so without a cell phone or text messaging I honestly don’t think my life would be the same.”

Whether it’s texting the details about where to meet for lunch to a friend during class, setting a phone on vibrate to be sure not to miss a text, or promising your parents you won’t text during the family dinner, while sending a quick “call u l8er,” teens are sure never to miss a text, or leave their friends waiting for a reply.

As the technological world today continues to advance rapidly, this thing called verbal communication is becoming more and more obsolete. Since texting became popular in the mid-1990s, the amount of people writing letters and actually talking on the phone has been experiencing a decreasing trend. Whereas for people in the “old days”, they wrote letters, not emails, as a standard form of communication, which we now refer to as "the old fashioned way".

There is a saying that can be applied here, “it’s the thought that counts.” Even though emails and text messaging is undeniably faster, you know the person who wrote it thought of you longer than a few seconds, or in the case of epic-texts, minutes. The person writing a letter takes the time to get paper and an envelope then take it to the nearest mailbox. This shows that the person writing the letter, wanted to write you, otherwise, why go through all that trouble?

Don't get me wrong, texting is great, it's such an integrated part of our culture that it would be completely incomprehensible to abolish it. Instant gratification is one of the many rewards of texting. You want someone to know something within a few seconds, done. While most stereotypes put teens as the best "texters" in the world, due to the unending amount of experience with texting, texting is really for everyone. Yet, the verbal communication that is necessary in friendships and other relationships is diminishing because of this phenomenon. Texting, as well as e-mailing and other forms of non-verbal communication, take the extra thought and necessary personal contact out of the equation. Relationships can become much more distant at the cost of convenience and more time.
But in today’s society, it seems that is what people really care about, time.

So if you want a truly personal relationship, pick up the phone, not to text, but to dial numbers (it may seem strange at first, I know), or better yet write a letter. You may actually get mail…in a mailbox, not an inbox.

Miscellaneous Musings | He without leg, She without arm

There is a common misconception that strength is measured by the amount of physical power an individual possesses. But there are instances where people find strength within themselves to overcome difficult decisions and face equally difficult situations. Here is an inspirational story of two individuals who did what many had said was the impossible by conquering their own fears, inhibitions and most of all, self-doubt. 

Let me introduce Ma Li, a beautiful and promising professional ballerina. At the age of 19, she lost her right arm in a car accident. As a result, her self-esteem shattered and her –obviously shallow- boyfriend left her, which prompted Ma Li to give up her passion for dance. At one point she even tried killing herself, only to be saved by her parents. After that, despite her own feelings of hopelessness, the love she had for her parents gave her the strength to carry on living.

Five years later in 2001, she was invited to compete at the 5th national special performing art competition for handicaps and won the gold medal. That success gave her the hope to return to her beloved stage.

In 2005, she met a 21-year-old man, Zhai Xiaowei who had lost his left leg (after falling off a tractor when he was only 4). Like Ma Li had been, he doubted that he would be able to overcome his disability. But after some persuasion, he agreed to give it a try. Together the duo practiced intensively for more than a year, starting at 8am everyday and ending at 11pm. One would not be able to imagine the kind of challenges and difficulties they faced. He lacked the basic dance background and she was a perfectionist. The contrast between their abilities frequently led to disputes. They would even go as far as to abandon the project altogether (for a while at least).

In April, they had perfected their routine and, from a sample of 7000 other competitors, were selected as finalists in the 4th CCTV national dance competition. It was the first time a handicapped couple ever entered the competition. They performed their routine, aptly named “Hand in Hand”. The audience was moved to tears by their display of hope, endurance and inner strength. 

The pair won the Silver medal with the 99.17 high score and not to mention the highest audience popular votes. They became an instant national hit.

So if you catch anyone saying “I can’t”, show them this video.

Miscellaneous Musings | Filling the mould: Why I will not conform to Plastic Beauty

I took a trip to Korea a few days ago to work parttime at a beauty expo that featured many beauty related companies and professionals. My mother's colleagues were also esteemed plastic surgeons and doctors. One of them, upon meeting him, pointed to my cheeks and told me he could help me lift them. Another put his hand on my nose, pulling it slightly, and he tells me he could make it sharper. A close friend of mine even told me that I should consider getting my eyes done over Skype. During a 2 week period, I had been suggested to get plastic surgery 3 times.

I was disturbed by how casual some people can be in telling someone they aren't good enough and they should get some work done. Especially coming from a close friend. I may not be a self-professing bombshell but at the same time, I never really saw myself as requiring such extreme measures. If you think about, you Are going under the knife, shoving plastic in your face and being left with bruises and pain... sounds pretty extreme to me. Yet a high percentage of the Korean population equate it as something as common and menial as a medical check-up.


Of course, the plastic surgery movement isn't just isolated to Korea, but it is certainly a society that glamorizes it. Take for example the movie ‘800 Pound Beauty (미녀는 괴로워)’.

I think I need to state my opinion a little more clearly on this topic. A pretty girl shouldn’t get a nose/boob job just because she doesn’t feel pretty. However, I can understand why someone who looks like ‘Ha-Na’ in the film would want to change their appearance. We only get one life, and if it makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin, its understandable. If we as a society can’t accept that some people aren’t comfortable and refuse to help them, then where can they get in life. Sure, it’s not ‘natural beauty’, but what is true natural beauty anymore? I think the saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ can be interpreted two ways: either that the person looking at the individual is the judge of beauty, or it is really that beauty lies in the individual themselves.

Honestly, I believe that beauty exudes from within; but unless these feelings aren't portrayed on the outside, there can be no confidence. This isn’t to say I believe surgery is the answer. Rather that a person must become comfortable in their own skin. If surgery is the only solution, fine go ahead, but it should only be approached as a last resort once make up, exercise and other forms of physical adjustment have been addressed.

The Student Life | On Graduating

I made it. You are now looking at a fresh graduate of South Island School's class of 2010.

but do I feel any different?

Though Highschool is over and done with, I have yet to face the exams that will determine my academic future. 2 weeks of continuous stress and lots and lots of caffeine. I have had a rather strained and bittersweet relationship with the merciless IB. My mocks results have been kind to me so far, but it still remains unclear whether or not I'll make it past this last hurdle. In good time all seven labourious years spent burning the midnight oil and trying to keep attentive in class will be handed back to me, compact, as a bunch of numbers and I must say, the number 7 has never looked more attractive.

These past few weeks have been an epic battle of massive proportions between my good friend procrastination and responsibility. Procrastination, I have come to realize, goes hand in hand with a Macbook. Unfortunately I do not possess the willpower of those who have mercilessly severed their wireless connections, so the few first weeks consisted of one too many youtube breaks and facebook chats.. which, I guess, is only natural in this digital age? There I go again with the excuses.

Yes Revision has been nothing short of a challenge. But in these last few weeks, perhaps the urgency of the 4th drawing closer by the hour was all it took to finally get my gaze directed at a textbook. I work best under pressure and I am proud to say that I have a little over 100 cue cards and post-it covered wall to show for it.
Oh god, what have I become..

From here on, there is nothing but uncertainty. Uncertainty of what I'm capable of, uncertainty of where I'll be and the uncertainty of what comes after I find those answers. Still, in the midst of the unknown, there is the thrill of discovering what lies in store for me. I just got to give it my all, and really that's all I can do.

Bring it on IB.