Sanata Dharma University. Getting out of our comfort zone is an intimidating feeling that we all get. Therefore, as college students, we need to push ourselves beyond our limits to reach our goals. That was what Priska Jeanny Rosanty did when she wanted to become an IISMA awardee.
“My motivation to apply for IISMA was to push myself beyond my limits,” Priska said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I am most grateful for what I have been taught at Sanata Dharma University, but I see IISMA as an opportunity for me to grow more, and because the campus has supported my journey, why not?”
She reminisced about the overwhelming feelings of shock running through her mind the day the IISMA announcement was released. She admitted she did not expect to be accepted, especially because the announcement was postponed from the usual evening schedule to midnight. At 11.59 p.m. She finally got the information that was about to change her life. She got accepted as an IISMA awardee in 2023.
“When I knew I was accepted, it was shocking. I could not sleep all night, and it was overwhelming,” Priska mused.
Her journey to be where she is right now was a long-winded journey. The road to reaching her goal wasn’t always smooth. There were so many steps for her to get through, and one of them was getting as much information about IISMA as possible. Priska explained, “I knew about IISMA when I was a freshman. The campus informed us about IISMA in Jaksa (Jalinan Akrab Sastra) and Potluck Party. Then, when I was in my third semester, there was a seminar that brought alums of IISMA from the English Letters Faculty and English Language Education Department. I learned a lot from the seminar, especially about what kind of documents were required.”
“I started preparing my documents in November 2022, but there were a lot of changes like the requirements of files changed and the rules from IISMA changed. So, I literally went back and forth to the secretariat office and contacted BKHI (Biro Kerjasama dan Hubungan Internasional). IISMA also requires EPT, aka English Proficient Test,” she added. Further information, IISMA provides you with multiple options for choosing between IELTS, TOEFL, and even Duolingo. As for her, she took the IELTS test short on time.
“January was when I was preparing myself for the test, and February was the test time,” Priska said. “Then the essay. I started writing in December, and I got so many revisions from a few people who were willing to help me, but I submitted my essay close to the deadline. So, more or less, you can picture how hectic it would be when preparing yourself for IISMA.”
She then shared tips and tricks on preparing for IISMA for anyone interested in applying. “The tips and tricks, first and foremost, is to prepare yourself well. Be curious about IISMA; like really dig all the information about it. The second and third semester is the perfect time to explore many things. Remember the EPT test, the essay, and the required documents, and please don’t be short on time to prepare it. Also, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the other awardees. We’re actually nice people,” she smiled.
Priska added, “Most importantly, don’t hesitate to contact BKHI because, from my experience, BKHI has helped me a lot, like dealing with signature matters. The point is, if you want to join IISMA, don’t keep everything to yourself. It’s okay to seek other people’s help.”
Going abroad might be the most exciting thing to expect for some people, and Priska was one of them. She was giddy to experience new things; new friends, cultures, and views. “I can’t wait to meet the locals and get to know them. I also want to know how different the education system there, like the courses. We rarely don’t have a few courses, but they exist abroad, so I can’t wait to experience it,” she said.
There’s a popular proverb in Indonesia that can describe Priska’s journey: berakit-rakit dahulu, berenang-renang ke tepian. Every step she needed to get through will gain her much more in the future. “A lesson I learned from preparing myself for IISMA is do not expect the progress will be smooth,” Priska advised. “After all, life is unexpected. Don’t stop doing what you’re doing and keep on going. Remember, you’re going to be great, so please don’t overthink things.”
James Gunn directed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 which was released on May 3rd, 2023. At the beginning of the film, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) appeared to have lost his way after learning that his ex-girlfriend, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), did not recognize him. However, tragedy struck when the planet was unexpectedly assaulted by a Warlock (Will Poulter), attempting to kidnap Rocket who was gravely hurt as a result of the unexpected attack, necessitating surgery. However, the crew could not operate without a ‘key’ to access Rocket’s body.
Rocket never mentioned his past which confused the crew about how they could find the ‘key’ to access Rocket’s body. But with the help of Mantis (Pom Klementieff) who could read minds, they found a bright spot to find the ‘key’. That bright spot led to High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). So, the Guardians crew, led by Peter Quill, chose to go straight to the High Evolutionary, a person obsessed with living a perfect life, who developed and experimented with animals to attain that aim. Rocket’s past turned out to be very sad and dark; maybe he never talked about it because it was too painful to remember.
When the audience learned about Rocket’s past, they became angry and sad, but this did not stop the crew of The Guardians of the Galaxy from injecting humor into their film. The mix of humor and seriousness was executed flawlessly because, so far, The Guardians of the Galaxy has been associated with fun flicks while also addressing critical issues. Some critical issues were when Rocket almost died because of dwindling time and Peter Quill almost froze in space without a respirator because he couldn’t get into the spaceship, but fortunately all of them survived in the end.
The Guardians of the Galaxy film series begins with Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special, which will air on Disney+ in November 2022. To avoid confusion, do not forget to watch Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special.
The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special represents how Peter Quill was very desperate because Gamora, who lives now, was not Gamora that he knows. In the previous Marvel movie, Avengers: Infinity War, Gamora had died in her father’s hands, Thanos. The Avengers succeeded in turning back time, and Gamora was saved. But because of the overlaps in time, the Gamora they saved did not know nor worked with the Avengers. Therefore, they had to start building a relationship from scratch again. Peter Quill was so mad about it that it worried all his friends. So in Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special, there is a story about the crew’s journey to find Peter Quill’s new love. But all was not successful until this story continues in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, where Peter Quill and Gamora are reunited.
The rescue mission’s conclusion was tense. After the mission, the Guardians crew wondered what ‘home’ was, so they decided to disband and go find their own ‘home.’ It was both touching and heartbreaking to see them part ways, but they all found their own ‘home’ in the end. Peter Quill chose to go back to his homeland, which is Earth, and this creates a new beginning for the Guardians with their new captain, Rocket. Although the Guardian crew lost several members, they also added new members, such as Warlock, who finally decided to join.
The actors and actresses performed outstanding acting. Their chemistry is so strong that it caused both laughter and tears from the audience. Also, the film is equipped with sound effects that are very unique to Guardians of the Galaxy, which are music from the 70-80s era and makes the audience really enjoy the storyline. The phrase “The Legendary Star-Lord will be back” appears in the film’s post-credits, implying that the story will be continued. If you are interested, take your time to watch it!
Four members of Avis Puppet Show from left to right: Ajeng, Tata, Putri, and Sandra (picture taken by Putu Beryl P.W.)
Sanata Dharma University. Lounging around the third floor of the Faculty of Letters building, four members of Avis Puppet Show were spotted preparing for their new puppetry project this year.
Ajeng Suci Hati, the leader of Avis Puppet Show, confirmed that this year’s puppet show theme would be summertime. The storyline would follow the puppets going on a vacation to the beach. Unfortunately, during the trip, rain starts pouring down, so the puppets are forced to take shelter until the rain dies down. After that, the puppets continue their trip and have a nightly campfire.
As for the idea that inspired her to make the story, Ajeng mused, “I just thought of the very warm weather of Jogja lately, and I also like the idea of rain in the evening.”
According to her, the puppetry project used to be held at least once a year. The only difference between this year’s and last year’s puppet shows was the making of the puppets.
“Last year, we just bought already-made puppets and made a video project with them,” Ajeng said. Last year’s theme was the biblical-themed Samaritan story. “You can watch last year’s puppet show through our YouTube channel, Avis Puppetry,” she added.
Ajeng noted that puppet-making could take around two weeks if Avis’s members worked on the puppets every day. Since college is a priority, alongside other non-college stuff few members need to do, they could only make puppets when they have the time, so two months is more or less the planned duration for making the puppets.
“For this year’s setting, we already have an idea. Last year we used spray paints. Now, we want to use acrylic paint to try to save some time making the setting,” said Ajeng.
The struggle of making the puppets so far was the recent Avis members’ lack of knowledge of puppet making. “Avis is an underrated student activity unit in the English Letters Department. “A few of our members, who mainly are already in their last semester, aren’t active anymore in Avis’s activity. So, there isn’t much knowledge passed down to us about puppet making,” Ajeng said.
Even though the lack of members also caused the lack of labour in making the puppets and sometimes caused inconsistency, Ajeng was glad Avis’s activity was still organized.
When asked about what she is hoping for this year’s show, Ajeng wishes that this project is going to be a success and end up as well as they expected.
It had been months since Mr. Herrick passed after a sudden heart attack. No one ever seemed to expect it. He had never even seemed sick even before the heart attack. Neither his acquaintances nor even his wife was aware of the disease. It had been speculated that Mr. Herrick himself had never experienced any inconvenience regarding the symptom.
Mrs. Herrick was now a widow. She was in her late middle age. She lived up there in a big gothic-style mansion on the top of the hill, isolated from the whole neighborhood. She was never a social type, but it wasn’t because of her arrogance. Instead, she was a shy person.
Her late husband was a wealthy merchant in this town. She and her husband had been married for about 30 years but never gifted with a child. It was a pretty solid marriage for a loveless, arranged one. The wide age gap between the two of them said a lot about their distant relationship. Still, Mrs. Herrick’s collections of elegant petticoats proved she was very well provided by her husband.
The only time they were seen as a married couple was at several formal gatherings. Even though people rarely saw them together except for an important formal gathering in this town, strangely, no one had ever seen them two in a quarrel. It was perhaps due to Mrs. Herrick’s calm and shy nature as opposed to Mr. Herrick’s talkativeness.
Since there was never a child on the list of the successor, so, when Mr. Herrick passed a month ago, the inheritance went to Mrs. Herrick, making her the wealthiest woman in town. A big mansion under her name, where she lived with just her maid, was all hers. People envied her possession but never wished to be in her position–a widow.
People didn’t expect Mrs. Herrick to have such a hard time dealing with her husband’s demise. So it had been a talk for months here and there that, surprisingly, some people spotted her still wearing a black veil. Some even heard that on some occasions, she even shed her tears. She was mourning. Some said she was even preparing for her own death; not as in suicide, but in how she deals with organizing things about her death. The maid she lived with once gossiped about Mrs. Herrick’s rambling about the meaning of life. The maid didn’t think it much, but something was definitely messing with Mrs. Herrick’s mind.
On the other hand, some people thought it was just some baseless rumor. So did I, given the fact that Mrs. Herrick had never come to town ever since the funeral. In fact, she rarely came to town, even before her husband passed. But it was until that night that I saw her knocking on the front door of my mortuary.
I vividly remembered that it had been raining hard that day. I saw her there, standing nervously. Her chignon bun was messy, her dress was soaking, and her footwear was covered in mud and dirt. She mumbled words to me very softly as I opened the door for her, but the sound of the rain washed her voice away.
I let her into my office. I rushed her to the couch, gave her a towel to dry her hair, served her a cup of hot tea, and lit up the fireplace to warm her body.
“What’s the matter, Mrs. Herrick? What can I do for you?”
“Here’s the thing, Mr. Price, I need a photograph for a funeral. Can you arrange that for me?”
“Well, Mrs. Herrick, actually, a mortuary doesn’t provide for a funeral’s photograph, but let me see what I can do. I suppose I can manage to find a photograph. After all, this is your request. A good neighbor should help each other in need.”
Mrs. Herrick looked at me with hopeful eyes. Then I remembered her husband’s passing and a rumor about her mourning. Silly me to give her hope for a photograph of her husband. Poor Mrs. Herrick, she was looking for a completion for her husband. At the funeral, there was no photograph of his husband, and he was a busy man. Perhaps it was the reason he had no time to have a picture. Now Mrs. Herrick was making an impossible request to find one for his husband. Now I got it why those rumors exist. She was indeed in grief.
“But pardon me, Mrs. Herrick, since Mr. Herrick is no longer with us, surely a photograph cannot be taken.” Maybe Mrs. Herrick thought that photograph worked like painting. “But worry no more, I can find a man to paint a portrait. Mr. Herrick was a well-known gentleman. May God rest his soul, sure that it won’t be difficult to find an artist who knew the man.”
“No, no, no, Mr. Price, the photograph is not for Mr. Herrick. The photograph is for me.”
“Oh! So you want a photograph of you to keep in your mansion, Mrs. Herrick?” I then chuckled, “May I suggest you ask for a photograph at a photo studio, there you may get a lively photo instead of a gloomy funeral face, I assure you.”
“But I need it for a funeral, Mr. Price. My funeral.”
I didn’t know how to respond. I couldn’t tell whether she was dying or just being suicidal.
She spoke up to break the considerable amount of time of awkward silence. “I know this may seem rather peculiar, but I have my reason.”
“Calm, Mrs. Herrick, no judgment here,” I calmed her down when she started to become very anxious.
“You know my husband, he passed,” she was weirdly hesitant to even mention the word passed. “It was so sudden. No one expected such a thing to happen. So I just thought that perhaps I just want to be prepared, do you understand Mr. Price, you know, in case my time has come.”
“You know, you worry too much, Mrs. Herrick, but you’re my customer. I supposed I will see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Mr. Price.”
“Anytime.”
After a while of warming herself up, she walked out of my office to head home. But by the time she walked past the cemetery beside the mortuary, she walked back to me and said, “One more thing, Mr. Price, I would like to buy a burial lot for me.”
I gave her an attentive smile to agree to her request.
***
In less than a week, she managed to get the photograph she had been requested. Since that day, I never saw her anymore. It was about a month later, a day after I finished deciding where her burial spot would be, I saw an obituary about her death. It was strange, indeed, that her burial lot was available just in time when she needed it.
As for the cause of her death, there was nothing strange. It was a natural cause. Her maid said she went to sleep and just never woke up. Poor woman. Some said that she was dead because of her grief, but her grief wasn’t coming from being left by Mr. Herrick, whom she didn’t love. She grieved the fact that death was coming closer to anyone without warning. She grieved the loss of life. She didn’t miss Mr. Herrick. She just missed Mr. Herrick being alive.
In her tomb, there was a similar epitaph to her husband. It was written:
A Ghost Story is a 2017 fantasy/drama movie directed by David Lowery. Two prominent names to star in this movie are Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.
Although it is titled A Ghost Story, this isn’t a horror movie. Rather, this movie tells a story about a man who came back as a ghost to watch over his mourning wife from the other side. Unfortunately, as a ghost, there’s nothing much he can do. He is stuck as a ghost and slowly becomes lonely and forgotten.
Although there’s not much to say about the summary of the plot, it actually carries a more profound meaning about grief. It’s about the acceptance of death, mourning, and reconciling with time.
It’s all about time.
— A Ghost Story (2017)This movie is a critically acclaimed movie that people somewhat call an “artsy” movie. The aesthetic of A Ghost Story is something that the movie can truly be proud of. Every shot is beautifully captured. In this captured scene below, for example. It can be seen that the blue-ish color palette helps the viewers to feel the mutual feeling of loneliness as the ghost character feels. From the tone of the movie itself, it delivers the mood of both the vacancy in life and the absurdity of the film.
However, some people may find it difficult to understand what this movie is trying to convey. The plot of the movie can be considered incomprehensible to some degree. Its back-and-forth types of delivery make it difficult to follow. On top of that, there is almost no dialogue in it which can complicate things even further.
But a movie isn’t always about the plot. Sometimes, it’s worth just experiencing the vibe of the movie. A Ghost Story’s tone and vibe will mesmerize the audience who just wants to sit and experience the movie. However, for a viewer seeking a captivating storyline that can easily engage them, this movie can be a bit boring even though it only has 1 hour and 32 minutes duration. Moreover, it’s a movie with a slow tempo. For some people who are not patient enough, this leisurely-paced movie isn’t the right fit for them.This movie received a decent rating from IMDb. It’s 6.8/10. Overall, A Ghost Story is definitely a highly recommended movie to be put on your must-watch list.
Long ago, the village of Itami lived in tranquility, they were striving for resources and calmness. One fateful day, it all changed after a demon lord took hold of the village.
“CHAOS HAS ARRIVED”
The once calm village was heading towards total annihilation. The demon lord Babel had concluded that this place would become the gate that would connect hell to heaven. Before he could commit such atrocities, a heroic trio that bore three titles appeared: the Swordsman of Thunder, the Mage of Light, and the Knight of Hope. Together, they managed to overwhelm Babel and his underlings.
Babel was pummeled by the blade of the Knight of Hope. He was at death’s door, but he managed to put a malevolent curse on the Knight of Hope.
“Though your blade pierced me, your future descendant shall become me, Babel, the demon of Triad.”
The Knight of Hope showed no remark and struck Babel down, returning him to hell, the place where he truly belonged.
The trio that saved Itami village were crowned heroes. After the celebration, the Knight of Hope gathered his two comrades.
“Though we have won, faith might bring calamity in the future,” the Knight of Hope said.
The two heroes are confused, “The demon is banished; you do not need to be so wary,” the Mage of Light said.
The Knight of Hope wanted to prevent the worst, so he handed a sword called the Garpunisher to the Swordsman of Thunder and said, “If my descendant becomes one with darkness, please end his suffering from the eternal purgatory.“
Though this seemed unlikely to both of them, the Mage of Light, the Swordsman of Thunder, and the Knight of Hope made an oath.
“If evil shall return, we shall uphold it and return the darkness to the pit of purgatory,” the three of them said.
Years passed. As the years went by, Itami village progressed a lot. The once small village was now a town still called Itami, and the third generation of the heroes of the past had taken the mantle of their ancestors; Yuki, the Mage of Light, Eiji, the Swordsman of Thunder, and Shun, the Knight of Hope.
Together, they protected the town and banished the evil that roamed out there.
The heroes’ names only grew with time: Yuki was known as the mage who defended the village by herself, fending off ogres; Eiji, who single-handedly slaughtered multiple monsters in a siege that was done by bandits; and Shun, the knight, who was deemed the kindest and most modest for being charitable to those who needed it.
Though for Shun, some people didn’t trust him since they feared that one day, he would become the incarnation of Babel.
Eiji and Yuki usually got upset when they heard someone bluntly commenting this to Shun, but Shun reassured them that he didn’t care about those comments.
Even though they faced hardships, they kept on protecting the village.
A dragon once attacked the town of Itami, but it was no match for the strength of the heroes. They won with ease, and the people around them cheered for their victory.
“Thank you, great heroes.”
“You guys are the best.”
Though there were many who praised them, there was one person who was causing a scene.
“One of them is not a saviour; the heroes are going to get manipulated by the cursed one,” one of the villagers who looked agitated said.
“Only true cowards blame and misinform others,” Eiji said.
As Eiji headed towards the man who berated his friend, Shun blocked him. “It’s not worth it. Let that man be. He himself is only a poor fellow.”
Yuki tried to console Shun by patting his head and saying, “I’m sorry that this had to happen to you.”
Shun didn’t seem to care anymore. For him, this was a stigma that he had to carry. Even though he was kind to others, there were bound to be people who hated him.
One day, those who despised Shun made a plan to remove him from the heroes’ ranks and wreak havoc on his life. As the day started, townsfolk screamed for help.
“Please, someone help me, my daughter.”
Yuki heard the cries for help and dashed onwards.
“What seems to be the problem, Ma’am?”
When she looked at the girl, she was petrified. That girl had been lacerated by something; the wound was deep, and blood was gushing out. Yuki used all of her strength to heal the poor girl, but it seemed that it was too late.
The girl closed her eyes as she smiled for the last time. The mother broke down in tears. Yuki couldn’t do anything; a tear dropped from her eye. Eiji, who saw what was happening, sprinted there and carried the corpse of the girl. After that whole ordeal, the two heroes questioned the mother of the daughter who had just passed, and she only said:
“A vile beast took her away from me.”
The villagers were alarmed because of the news, but this was according to their plan. Those who hated Shun started to spread misinformation about the Knight of Hope. It all went from a rumour to gossips; all their topics were the same.
“Did you know that the Knight of Hope is the descendant of the triad demon Babel?”
“That demon knight must be behind this murder.”
Lots of villagers believed this, forgetting all of his kindness, and they protested.
“There are only two heroes in this town; we don’t need a demon.”
“Go away, demon; you only bring calamity if you stay,” the villagers said.
As Shun’s friend, Eiji couldn’t accept this. “There is no concrete evidence that the Knight of Hope committed such a vile thing,” Eiji said.
While Eiji was holding the townsfolk who rioted, Yuki was searching for Shun, but it seemed that the fire kept burning.
One of the townsfolk got more provocative.
“It’s too late, everyone! The demon has already got into the mind of our heroes!”
When Eiji was trying to make a statement, Yuki found Shu in his room, tears coming from his eyes.
“Maybe I am a demon. Maybe I don’t belong here,” Shun said.
Yuki walked towards Shun; she tried to comfort him, “It’s okay, Shun, it’s not your fault. I believe you.” However, Shun could hear the riot that was going on outside, so he decided that the best option was to step out. Yuki forbad him from walking out as he could get hurt, but he didn;t care. He didn’t want the people he cared about to get dragged into this.
As he stepped outside, the townsfolk were getting crazier; they started throwing trash at him, calling him names like demon, Babel, and bringer of calamity. Eiji tried shielding Shun, but it didn’t seem to help.
And one word from the town would change everything.
“Useless hero, you were never even once a hero; you are just manipulating us; you’ve done nothing to help us,” the townsfolk said.
The townsfolk started to chant, “Demon! Demon! Demon! Demon!”
Something inside Shun snapped. He didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care that he would lose his title as a hero, as he was becoming one with him. An unknown voice whispered in Shun’s head, “Finish them; those who disrespect you shall suffer.”
Shun stepped out, and as he approached, all the townsfolk backed off, except the person who insulted him.
“What are you going to do? Kill me?” the man laughed while taunting Shun.
Shun simply whispered, “Enjoy your pathetic existence in hell!”
Shun drew his sword and impaled the man. The townsfolk screamed in fear. They all ran and scattered. Shun laughed, saying, “If you want a demon, congratulations. You just made one.” Eiji’s attempt to stop Shun from killing another innocent was promptly stopped.
“Shun, snap out of it! This isn’t you!” As he wielded his sword to block his attack, Shun simply replied, “They wanted this. Now, they shall have it!”
Eiji was forced to fight Shun to prevent him from committing the worst. Yuki, who saw this, tried to interfere. She used her magic to create a barrier so Shun couldn’t do anything, but it was simply broken by a mere slash from his blade.
Shun ignored Eiji and slashed through five people who previously mocked him. His eyes were no longer shining, only as black as the dark abyss.
Shun only said this: “If you want to live, don’t stop me.” Shun dashed away and continued his onslaught.
The only thing Eiji and Yuki could do now was to evacuate the townsfolk to a safer place. They contemplated this since their friend, someone for whom they cared, had become something else.
Eiji advised Yuki that they had to strike down Shun with the legendary weapon that their ancestor had given them. Yuki seemed hesitant since she didn’t want to kill him. Both of them argued over whether they should let Shun live or put him down. Eiji argued, “This is a task that our ancestors gave to us. This is far more important than anything else.”
Yuki, still feeling conflicted, could only agree for the sake of the people of this town.
Though people think Shun completely had lost it, he killed those people in complete sanity; he couldn’t take the mockery anymore, so he became what people feared the most: a demon. Shun chose to separate himself from the town and his friends. He believed this was the only way he could keep them safe without dragging the ones he cherishes.
He knew that the only way this pain would fade was by getting rid of himself.
As Shun approached the cliff, he felt emptier. No one was stopping him. No one really cared. As he stepped closer to the peak, he could feel that it would all end. And this pain would all fade.
As he stepped closer to the edge, he could hear a scream coming from behind. “Shun, don’t do it! It’s not worth it!” As he turned around, he was shocked by the sight of his two friends. They tried convincing him not to jump. “You did nothing wrong; you were being controlled; we can prove your innocence,” Yuki said.Shun looked at them and only said, “It was me.” Both of them were confused. As he stepped closer to them, he explained, “There was no demon in my mind. The one who killed those innocent people was me.”
He cried, “Even though he didn’t manipulate me, I killed them with my own hand”.
His two friends were horrified to learn this truth. They stood frozen by this fact. They didn’t want to believe that their friend killed those innocent people by his own volition.
Shun looked at his friends who were frozen; he looked closely at Eiji; he realized he was carrying the Garpunisher; he faintly said, “Maybe this was fate.” He slowly got closer to both of them as he pointed at the Garpunisher,“Eiji, you know what must be done; this is the only way you two can get your lives back.”
Eiji was hesitant; he didn’t want to kill him. Yuki begged Shun to return with them. But for Shun, there was no turning back, so he decided to do something that they wouldn’t think about. Shun snatched the blade and pointed it at his stomach. His friends tried to prevent the worst from happening, but it was all too late.
“Goodbye, my friends. I will always cherish the memories that we made.” As he said his last parting, he impaled himself and fell down the cliff.
As he fell, he closed his eyes and let faith take him away, saying, “At least I saved their lives from mockery.”
Eiji and Yuki both broke down in tears at the pain of losing a friend, a comrade, someone that they truly cherished.
………
…………
………
…………
As Shun opened his eyes, he found himself in a void of nothingness.
A deity-like figure stood there, watching him. There were no words, but he felt that his faith would be judged.
In commemoration of the 30th Dies Natalis, the Faculty Letters of Sanata Dharma conducted a webinar with the theme “Tanggung Jawab Insan Sastra Sebagai Global Citizen dalam Merespon Permasalahan Dunia” on April 3rd, from 09.00-11.30 a.m. The webinar has two sessions and was moderated by FX. Risang Baskara, M.Hum. and was attended by more than two hundred participants.
In the first session, the webinar was opened by a speaker from Gadjah Mada University Prof. Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra, M.A., M.PhilPh.D. who discussed the connection between ethnography and literature. He explained how ethnography could be continuous with literature and recommended a book on the development of literary ethnography by Claude Levi-Strauss.
The second session was led by a lecturer of Sanata Dharma Prof. Dra. Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A. (Hons.), Ph.D. The theme of her segment was “Mencintai Indonesia, Merawat Sastra.” Discussions about genres in literature, periods of literature in Indonesia, and Indonesian authors were some of the key points to summarize the second segment.
In her discussion, she recommended five books that are considered mandatory for literary persons. Those books included:
Aku by Sjuman Djaya
Orang-Orang Bloomington by Budi Darma
Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk by Ahmad Tohari
Dari Ave Maria ke Jalan Lain ke Roma by Idrus
Bumi Manusia by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Rm. Heri Setyawan, S.J., S.S., M.A., the Person in Charge (PIC) of this webinar, stated that the selection of this theme was raised from our awareness as people who studied literature and who were sensitive to issues in the world. We needed to respond to these issues in a way we could channel our abilities and understanding.
“The process of selecting the theme of this 6th Lustrum is by searching for a contextual theme. This theme was chosen because this theme reflects our role as a literary person as part of the Faculty of Letters and also as a global citizen,” Rm. Heri Setyawan stated.
The significance of this webinar’s theme as a part of the Lustrum series is a reminder that a literary person is also part of a global citizen with the same responsibility to contribute knowledge to solve global concerns. This topic was selected with the hope that literary people can realize their position and presence as global citizens to have the responsibility to contribute in solving global concerns with an academic and educated point of view.
Why are you still reading this? You should go away!
I’ll remind you again that this story has nothing to do with lovey-dovey romance. There is no “cute couples” stuff here. If you want those butterfly-flattering feelings for yourself, I’d suggest you check the REAL romance stories out there.
This story is about the suffering of a man in love. It tackles the thin line between love and obsession; how obsession could corrupt you and change you into your most atrocious self.
At the very least, if you are adamant about reading about the miserable life of Sungu, you must be prepared for the worst.
It was a mistake for Sungu to accept the tasks given by the grandest and most mighty deities, the Father of the Skies and Mother Earth.
Mother Earth snapped her fingers, and in a blink of an eye, Sungu’s feet were embedded deep in the wet mud of Embun Cadas Lake. Embun Cadas Lake is a day’s worth of walking from the small temple, Sungu mused. The water rippled, caressing his feet gently. He could see the full moon’s reflection on the water’s surface.
“Your first task is to catch us a purple catfish that has a shark’s heart in its stomach,” Father of The Skies informed.
Purple catfish were rare to find in a lake during this season, and even more with a shark’s heart in its belly. The adult purple catfish size could be as big as Sungu, so catching one could be quite challenging.
This is your only chance to win over her heart, you need to man up, Sungu mused. As Mangga Ranum’s sweet smile occupied his mind, he told himself that he would do anything to make Mangga Ranum fall for him.
He asked, “How much time do I have?”
“As long as you need it to be,” Mother Earth spoke, “You only need to remember this: if you win, we shall grant your wish, but if you lose, you can say goodbye to your love forever.”
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, enveloping the mighty deities. For a split second, a blinding burst of light swallowed the whole area. It almost made Sungu blind as he was too late to close his eyes.
Sungu blinked away the white stars in his eyes. In the daytime, Embun Cadas Lake was a mesmerizing sight; a vast clear blue-green water, high trees surrounded the area and a clear view of Jengger Mountain’s crater.
But that beauty became a haunting one in the middle of the night. As far as the eyes could see, there were no colours to be found and no chittering sounds from animals to be heard. Darkness surrounded the area. Sungu sat down on a nearby rock and took a deep breath. He began to wait.
Sungu waited for two weeks. During those two weeks, he refused to leave the rock where he sat. He only waved to the locals, who usually bathed or washed their clothes at the lake. Sungu would respectfully turn his body around whenever there was a woman bathed. Once, a group of men came to the lake to fish together. One of them sat down beside Sungu. Sungu didn’t mind the company, though he kept everything vague about himself when the man asked personal questions.
“Just waiting for a fish to catch,” Sungu briefly answered.
He only ate if he felt the hunger started to get worse. He didn’t want to faint when he had an important task to do, though he only ate raw fish because preparing and setting a bonfire to roast the fish would be a hassle.
After two weeks and a half of waiting and battling every purple catfishes he could find, on the first day of the fourth week, the purple catfish he had tried to kill all day finally had a shark’s heart in its stomach.
“Well done, dear child! Well done!” the Father of The Skies clapped his hands.
Sungu was wrecked. His shirt was long gone after a purple catfish tore it down with its sharp teeth. Droplets of water were streaming down from his hair to his torso. The skin where he got slapped by the purple catfish’s fin bloomed with redness. He winced as he lifted his right hand to show the shark’s heart to the deities.
Mother Earth cooed, “The first task wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Sungu could only answer with a smile, but he was sure it came out like a grimace instead.
“We will keep the shark’s heart, my dear boy,” the Father of The Skies added. Once Sungu placed the shark’s heart onto the Father of The Skies’ hand, a burst of cloud began to swirl around the shark’s heart, and in a second, it vanished from Sungu’s vision.
The Father of The Skies then clapped his hands. A gust of wind knocked Sungu down, and suddenly he was in a different place. The smell of incense clouded his sense of smell. He could hear the loud grumble of Jengger Mountain from a distance. He was in Nyi Ketan Ireng’s temple.
Mother Earth walked gracefully to Sungu and sang-song, “It is time for you to do the second task, my dear. This time, you need to get one black orchid, but not just your usual black orchid, oh no! We want you to get the holy black orchid from this temple’s altar.”
Holy spirits, they must be kidding right now, Sungu muttered to himself. The holy black orchid was a sacred symbol of Nyi Ketan Ireng. There were black orchids in every corner of the temple. The locals believed it was a bad omen to pluck black orchids, either the ones from the temple or out there in the wilderness.
“Just like before, the time is yours to do what you need to do. We will wait until you finish the task,” the Father of The Skies boomed, and with that, they were both gone.
Compared to the first task, the second task was much easier. Sungu could simply pluck off one orchid, and he’d be done with the second task. But all of a sudden, he couldn’t move his legs. He felt his armpits get damp because of how much he sweated. An uneasy feeling crawled inside him, eating away at his heart.
Sungu may not be the most religious person in his village, but he still has morals. This task required him to steal a holy symbol from a religious place. His mind was racing to get one black orchid and run away from the temple as fast as he could. But his heart said otherwise; he could skip the second task and tell the truth to Mother Earth and the Father of The Skies that he could not do the task because it was against his morals.
But then again, what was the point of doing the first task if he was already giving up on the second one?
Sungu sighed. His eyes roamed around the temple. The day when his eyes caught the Mangga Ranum’s beauty for the very first time was in this sacred place. His mind could already imagine a life with Mangga Ranum; how she would fit well in his arms, how lovely her thick dark hair and smooth tan skin contrasted with the white sheet of his bed.
Mangga Ranum was the reason why he was here. The thought of him winning Mangga Ranum’s heart got Sungu pumped up with excitement.
Sungu made up his mind. He walked to the altar with no hesitation. At the altar, stood an ancient big vase with complicated, intricate patterns. The vase was the home of a black orchid that Nyi Ketan Ireng planted many years ago. Sungu touched the soil in the ancient vase and whistled in awe. He heard that the ancient vase’s soil was forever in good condition, whether during the warm or cold seasons, but he had yet to try to prove it himself. He rarely had the motivation to go to the temple’s weekly prayer, let alone to pray at the altar with the shaman.
The black orchid’s petals were soft to the touch. Sungu took a deep breath. He grabbed the stem tightly. On the count of three, he pulled out the black orchid from its place with all of his strength.
As Sungu walked away from the temple, he didn’t notice as the soil in the ancient vase had become moldy and dried out. The incense couldn’t hide the rotten smell that was starting to spread. One by one, all of the black orchids at the temple began to wither. In no time, the temple’s floor was covered by the black orchids’ petals.
Li Haoling as the director did a great job when he decided to make one of the best animations that expressed so many emotions in each of its episodes. This animation is Link Click, which aired for the first time on the Bilibili platform on 30th April 2021.Link Click is also known by the Chinese title which is Shíguāng Dàilǐ Rén (時光代理人), meaning The Time Agents. This Chinese animation is also referred to as a donghua (东华), and it has only 11 episodes in total.
Link Click tells a story about two young men who have their own special abilities, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. They are two special employees of a photo studio called Time Photo Studio that belongs to a girl called Qiao Ling. Time Photo Studio has a special service of going into the customer’s past through their photos with the help of her friends. Lu Guang, who has the power to see back to the past, and Cheng Xiaoshi, who has the power to possess people’s bodies, work together to help their customers go back in time in order to find out something, seek clarification, or tell a message to other people. However, they have one certain rule they must not break at all which is to never change the past. Although the plot seems straightforward, Link Click’s plot isn’t as simple as it seems.
Even though Link Click is just one of many time-travel themed animations, the content presented by this animation have their uniqueness. Each episode has a different main theme and issue that are relevant to our lives. There is an episode about a relationship between parents and children, friends, or two lovers. There is also an episode that raised the issue of sexual harassment experienced by women in the workplace. I have to admit, this animation still managed to leave a deep impression even after I watched it two years ago, and it is still very worthy to watch.
For me, Link Click is a hidden gem because even though it has not-so-attractive visuals like Japanese anime, this animation has a fairly high rating on various movie review platforms, such as 8.6/10 on IMDb and 8.7/10 on MyAnimeList. There are some things that support the high rating of this anime: the perfect mix of soundtracks, neat scripts, and thrilling plots. In my opinion, the voice actors’ ability to explore the characters contributed a large part of the success in making Link Click, and makes it one of the best Chinese animations. Moreover, the depth and development of each character are certain and unhurried. Therefore, the viewers can get to know and connect with the characters, and they can be easily carried away in the storyline when they are watching the animation.
Link Click picked up many genres beautifully and each episode managed to stir up the emotions of the viewer even more. Just imagine, who would have thought that the animation which initially showed a slice of life issues covered in light genres such as friendship, family, romance, with additional angst seasoning, would turn towards something completely opposite and present a big plot twist at the end of the season? Even though it consists of many conflicts, Link Click still presents moral messages that can be learned at the end of each episode. One of the moral messages that still rings in my mind is what Cheng Xiaoshi always emphasized after returning from his time travel trip: not to waste time.
If you are the type of viewer who is brave enough to challenge your own emotions, then maybe you can give Link Click a shot.
Nowadays, information has spread widely all over the globe through the internet causing a lot of complexities and problems such as misinformation, propaganda, prejudice, and self-alienation. The spectacle is the one to blame. The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people that is mediated by images (Debord, 1967, p. 67), meaning that it is a dangerous threat to our society since it can strain the social relation. In this essay, the author will describe the internet’s contributions as a tool of government agenda and to collect our personal information for the sake of the spectacle.
First of all, we need to understand the spectacle itself. According to Debord in The Society of The Spectacle (1992), the spectacle is a consensual hallucination amongst people mediated by images in order to blind us from reality by creating a fake one. These images are no ordinary images, but it is rather a social construct that is created to commodify people inside of a society which is already corrupted by the illusion that the spectacle created. This, moreover, would be profiting those who are in charge of creating the spectacle, that is the state, in order to control us. As stated in the previous paragraph, we can conclude that the spectacle creates an illusion of social prejudice, social culture, and how people socialize in general that causes someone to be alienated from others.
The internet is one of the main reasons the spectacle was created since in today’s society information is easily found there. This information, however, is most likely filtered by the government, causing many infiltrations toward the information itself. Bradshaw and Howard in their book stated that “there is at least one political party or government agency using social media to shape public attitudes domestically in each country” (Bradshaw & Howard, 2019, p. i). It is a well-known fact that the information we receive mostly are political agendas, causing people to know little of what has happened. This, in fact, leads to a creation of certain images of an individual toward some events such as race conflicts, wars, elections, and other social-related events. There is little information on the internet which states the truth. Furthermore, people tend to be directed by the controller, or in this case the state, towards the filtered information. Hence the inability to see the truth.
In spite of the flow of information, the internet has also played an important role in data stealing. According to the Office of the Commissioner of Canada, while we surf the internet, our search engines are collected inside one piece of data which makes it easier for those who are able to access it, that is the state, to see our privacy or even our thoughts. This, in fact, would make it easier for the ruling class to transfix the people’s minds in order to control them. This data-collecting system will help the government to lodge in propaganda inside of a society in order to disassociate the people from each other. Certain events of propaganda can be simply shared on the internet. The government, which already knows the users’ data, would classify them into different sub-group, creating easy access for them to provoke and alienate the people from each other. An example is the conflict that happens in West Papua where the Papuans are fighting for their freedom. Ondawame in West Papua: The Discourse of Cultural Genocide and Conflict Resolution (2006) argued that the government is spreading some issues, in this case, throughout the internet toward the audience, depending on which side the audience is taking (Ondawame, 2006, p.35). Racial issues, cultural issues, and the conflict itself are the common three. These issues are most likely already filtered by the government in order to blind the audience from the truth which will create an inability for them to see through the solution, making the people blame each other instead of finding the root problem and finding an appealing solution, and also possibly causing a backlash in the society.
Summing up the matters that have been stated, the author would like to warn people of the danger that the internet might cause by describing its contributions to the spectacle’s society. In the author’s humble opinion, it is best for us to be wise in filtering the information from and on the internet. The author is concerned that the advantages of the internet would cause even more harm to society. Hence, it is important for us to be conscious of the internet and the spectacle. The more a person identifies oneself with the spectacle, the less one will understand what one truly is, which means it is time for people to resurrect themselves in the hope that there will be a better future for the human race.
References:
Debord, G. (1967). The society of the spectacle. Paris: Les Éditions Gallimard
Ondawame, JO. (2006). West Papua: The discourse of cultural genocide and conflict resolution. Cultural genocide and Asian state peripheries, Springer, https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230601192_4
Four members of Avis Puppet Show from left to right: Ajeng, Tata, Putri, and Sandra (picture taken by Putu Beryl P.W.)
