Tuesday, September 1

Character Review -- Nullah (AUSTRALIA)

AUSTRALIA
(by Baz Luhrmann)


Nullah, a half-caste child in the movie “Australia” is played by Brandon Walters. In India, Nullah means a watercourse, especially one that is often dry. He is the son of an aboriginal woman, Daisy (Ursula Yovich) and Neil Fletcher (David Wenham), the cruel yet cold-blooded station manager. His grandfather is an ever-present Gullah or Medicine Man, named King George (David Gulpilil). Nullah as a member of Australia’s “Lost Generation” is derisively known as “creamy”, he is neither a white fella nor a black fella who looks small but mentally and physically strong. A dark skin with a head of short curly brown hair, embellished with a pair of big watery and heart-warming eyes make Nullah stands out among the children although he does not own a deep and beautiful feature. He always looks innocent and pitiful especially when his mother died. He is always in tattered clothes, usually in a white loosen singlet with slippers, or sometimes without shoes. Being ostracised by the whites, he does not mingle around with other children much.
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The eleven years old mixed aboriginal and Caucasian boy Nullah is not erudite as he lives in deprived area. He is fatherless and he lives together with his mother in the Faraway Downs. He is unschooled and only taught the story of life by his grandfather, King George who guilds him through the mysteries of maturation to the way of “Walkabout”, or exploring . He speaks Australian-English concocts with the chanting in their languages. He loves singing and the famous quote from him is “I sing you to me”.

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Besides, Nullah is also an obedient and loving son of Daisy. He obeys what his mum says and never think of rebelling her words. Since he is a half-caste “creamy”, he has to be stripped from his aboriginal mother and sent to the church on another island to be westernized and married the whites under the Australia’s policy to “breed the black out”.
He will run whenever his mum asks so when the whites are coming after him. The tight relationship between the mother and the son makes Nullah collapses in agony when Daisy passes away in order to protect Nullah. Lady Ashley(Nicole Kidman) enfolds him and sings him “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. Although he seems to be came out from the tragedy, but the void left by his mother’s death is still difficult to be filled.
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It is undeniable that Nullah is courageous and harsh. He volunteers to join the droving team even though he is only a small kid with inept skills. In addition, he is brave enough to run away from the mandatory custody. He promises Lady Ashley that he will be fine on that island because he is no more an immature small child, but he is bold enough to take good care of himself. After the bombing, he even assists the Drover (Hugh Jackman) to lead all the still-alived children who are trapped on the island to the boat without the conscious of the japanese. His bravery helps a lot at the juncture and he manages to rescue all the children on the island.
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“Mama say, I Galapa. I magicman. I wizardman!” says Nullah. He inherits the magic from his kind. It can be proven when the bulls are frightened and running directionless in stark terror. Nullah, with superhuman magical ability runs to the end of the cliff and tries to stop the bulls by using his cystal-clear and haunting voice, and they stop miraculously before heading down from the cliff. He could also transmit his thinking and blessings as well through singing.
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Although Nullah is uneducated, but he is smart in the way that he is observant and analytical enough to figure out what is happening in his surrounding. Nullah is the only one who sees Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) differently as the saviour of the Northern Territories. He even addresses Lady Ashley as “Mrs.Boss”. He believes that Mrs.Boss comes in answer to his people’s magic song. Although he is a young kid, but he is smart enough to reveal Fletcher’s fraud by showing Lady Ashley the working windmill which is locked upon the fake faulty reason.
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At the end of the movie, Nullah once again shows his bravery characteristic as an adventurous half-caste child who is born to go off “walkabout” to become a real man. After saying goodbye with Lady Ashley, he takes off his shirt and shoes, and goes explore with his grandfather.
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From this impressive little character, we could understand how tough a kid would be in such a dire misery condition. They, the aboriginal children are forced to become mature to protect themselves and their love ones. Frankly speaking, it is not an easy task for a young child to undergo all these things, not even an adult living in the city. Learn from Nullah, and we will come to the bright endings after overwhelming all the challenges and obstacles of lives.


::prepared by SL::

Thursday, August 13

Movie Review -- Coach Carter

-- COACH CARTER --
Director : Thomas Carter

Ken Carter, a successful sporting goods store owner takes over the job as a basketball coach at his former high school in Richmond, an inner-city public school in California for which he has previously played and set a yet unbroken records. He intends to change both his players unruly attitude and their dismal play performance. In order to assure his players would not follow their parents’ footsteps for being locked up in the jail but to go into the college and play college ball, he imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that include stipulations for respectful behavior, a dress code and 2.3 grade point average as a requisite to play for him. They also have to sit in the front row in class, wear jackets and ties on game days.
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One of the players, Timo Cruz who is later found mingle with his elder, drug-dealing cousin, quits the team after an altercation with Carter, followed by other two last season’s scoring leaders. However, Coach Carter’s son, Damien Carter, an academic honour at the private school St.Francis transfers to Richmond High School to play on his father’s team. Carter agrees when Damien promises that he will maintain his GPA at 3.7.
Under Carter’s intense tutelage, his team becomes season undefeated, and even wins a holiday tournament, the initial resistance from the boys also soon dispelled.
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Despite the team’s winning record, Carter eventually realizes his players are developing bad attitudes by being arrogant and taunting the other teams, and many of them do not living up to his academic requirements, they do not even attend their classes.
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The climax of the story occurs after Carter receives his players’ poor achievements in academic,he locks the gym up in the midst of the still undefeated season and cancels all the basketball practice, forfeits games including the most important tournament and makes them spend their time in the. Carter insists that they are a team and everyone must accept the consequences for their collective actions as a team. However, the school board and the parents strongly oppose Carter’s actions, the votes of 4-2 to end the lockout make Carter decides to quit. When he arrives at the gym to pack his things, his players are studying inside the gym and point out that even though the gym is reopened, the school board could not force them to play and Cruz is finally able to answer Carter’s question on “what is your deepest fear?” Carter is heartened and decides to stay.
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The players manage to achieve the grade point and they make it into the state high-school championship playoffs. Unfortunately their first round of the state tournament is against the number one ranked team in the state, St.Francis. St.Francis wins with a score of 70-68. Carter’s team is understandably disappointed by the loss, but Carter gives them an inspirational talk and tells them he is proud of them. Although they could not turn out to be the champion of the state tournament, but six of them able to get scholarships and go into college .
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( Photo by Oyaya)

The protagonist of this movie is Ken Carter(Samuel L.Jackson), the basketball coach who understand the importance of the balancing between basketball and academic performance because many of his friends who could play better basketball ends up in jail. Thus, he does not want his players to take the same way, he wants them to go into college and live better than what their parents have now. Under his professional and intense coaching, his team manages to become undefeated throughout the season and get media’s attention. Meanwhile, his players manage to get scholarships and get into colleges. Jason Lyle(Channing Tatum), Timo Cruz(Rick Gonzalez), Kenyon(Rob Brown), Junior(Nana Gbewonyo), Worm(Antwom Tanner) are the players who act impolitely and proud at the first, but their attitudes change from time to time from riff-raffs to good students who attend classes and sit in the front row. At first they are strongly disagree with what have been done by their coach, but time passes and they know everything done by Coach Carter are for their own sakes. Although they lose to St.Francis in the first game of state tournament, but still they win their prides and honour from their positive behaviours growth.
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In this movie, several social problems are reflected. Firstly is the teenage pregnancy, Kenyon’s girlfriend, Kyra(Ashanti) who is pregnant gives up her plans to study in college in favour of having the baby, even though she sees first-hand how that has gone for her cousin. Kenyon who is the dad for the child is confussed and does not know whether he should continue to play college ball or take care of the baby. Besides, drug-dealing also shows by Timo Cruz in this movie. He goes back and forth between dealing drugs and playing on the team. One night, he witnesses his cousin being shot and killed by the sidewalk, the incident changes his perception and life as well, he does not want to end up in a jail, he pleads Carter to let him play for him. Other than that, less of concern towards education also shown by the characters in the movie. The players’ parents feel that their children are excellent in basketball and what they have to do is just playing basketball, study is something not important and time-wasting. They feel that playing basketball is the only way to avoid their children walk into the wrong path, therefore when Coach Carter locks up the gym and let the players study, their parents stand out and oppose. The movie also display the disrespectful attitudes of the youngsters, such as Worm and Junior who act arrogantly and rudely to the oldies , they use some uncivilized words like “dog”, “shit”, “bitch”, “ass” and et cetera. Carter starts to change their attitudes from the word “sir” which he claims that it is a term of respect, he then address everyone the term “sir”. Another social issue is the chaotic lives of the teenagers. After the Richmond wins the tournament, they are invited to a rich girl’s house for a party. Carter comes face to face with the house’s owner when he goes to that house to confront his players. He finds Damien in the pool and kissing one of the girls, others too flirting around with the girls. Carter is infuriated enough and threatens them with the toughest practice they have had to date.

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One of the messages trying to be conveyed in this movie is we should work hard in order to strive for success, the Richmond Oilers players undergo strict basketball training and intensive studies to excel in both basketball and academic in order to study in college. Besides, we should acknowledge the importance of education. Education is crucial to keep the teenagers in the right path but not simply work and get a low pay, or even suffer in the jail for the remaining of their lives. We should always hold on to a healthy lifestyle, both mentally and physically. Negative cultures such as teenage pregnancy, drugs-dealing, gun-shooting should not be practiced in our lives if we do not want to become a failure of this world. As a new generation, we should do what we should do to make this world a better world.

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In conclusion, this movie is very motivational indeed and it uses basketball, a popular sport to get the attention of the teenagers to watch this movie. There are plenty of values embedded in this movie and it is good for pupils to learn about working hard and never give up. The characters in this movie are the representatives of the youngsters nowadays to show how they think and why they react that way, and it tells us how would it be if we still think in certain ways and do not want to change our perceptions. Life is in our own hands, we have the rights to either colour it or ruin it, to brighten it we need to pay effort, however to kill one’s life, one minute is more than enough. Winner or a loser, it depends on us, the planner of our own lives.


:: SL ::

Thursday, August 6

1st Formal Presentation

Me and my group just finished our accounting presentation this morning,
Whao...it was my 1st presentation in formal wear,
i also dint know how to describe my feeling,
nervous?! not really..
stage fright?! Yeah,sure~
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So the night before we had our group pratice in my room,
we spent 2 and a half hour on playing and taking photos,half an hour on our presentation rehearsal,
thats what usually happen when a group of girls gather together,
camwhoring, chit-chating, gossiping, playing with hairs,......

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It was a busy morning,
i purposely woke up earlier for preparation..
however,i still didnt have enough time to prepare because at last minute only i realised my skirt was toooo long!
How how how????!!
knocked all my neighbours' doors then asked for their opinions..
tried to change and borrow skirt from the others,
thx pauline for her skirt...
lolx!
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Finally it ended...(PHEW~~ )

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We the Professional
The 2 groups that had their presentation today...
(How coincidence that Naim's group wore the "same colours" with our group : 3whites and 2blacks ^^)

We the Musculars ^^
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say "cheers" for our presentation!!
CHEERS!
::SL::

Sunday, August 2

Happy anniversary

Whao! We have been here for a full one month..
away from home,learn how to independent,
make new friends,gain new knowledge,
explore to the new fresh environment..
we have went through all this in the 1st month here!
"TIME WAIT FOR NO MAN"
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In the first month,
i grew up in this whole new place,from alone to a-group..
i love my friends here,
maybe because we study together,live together,eat together and even sleep together,
so our friendships go much more deeper than what i have thought..
especially my neighbours,
really appreciate to have neighbours like u all..
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from the orientation week,outings,skating+shopping trip,
pasar malam,fruit party,assignments..
i feel that im no more the previous oyaya,
still childish but getting abit matured..
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Frankly speaking,
the new environment and the new faces here do disappoint me sometimes,
men's attitude and behaviours,
thinkings, actions...
everyone has their own longs and shorts....so do i...
endurance is important to keep the peace..
so sorry to all my friends for all my wrong-doings in the past month..
please forgive me,the outside-world-freshie..
do tell me what i shouldnt do or what do i do wrongly..
i would treasure ur advices and try to change it..
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Sometimes i might think,
can we go back to the 1st day in inti?
feel like want everything to start over again,
again...
i would have my first month life more meaningful and delightful..
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I still love my INTI life..
so lets hurray for our 1st month aaniversary!!
We know each other for 1 month already!!
Yet,our friendships would last forever...and ever~
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The celebration of our 1st month anniversary in cafeteria..
NICE TO MEET YOU ALL!


^^ Oyaya

Wednesday, July 29

R u STUPID?!



Stupid Boy- Keith Urban
Well she was precious like a flower
She grew wild, wild but innocent
A perfect prayer in a desperate hour
She was everything beautiful and different
Stupid boy…you can’t fence that in
Stupid boy…it’s like holdin’ back the wind
(Chorus)
She laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice
And that’s what happens when the only voice
She hears is telling her she can’t
Stupid boy
Stupid boy
So what made you think you could take a life
And just push it, push it around
I guess to build yourself up so high
You had to take her and break her down
(Chorus)
(Bridge)
You always had to be right
And now you lost the only thing that ever made you feel alive
(Solo)
(Chorus)
Oh I’m the same old, same old stupid boy
It took awhile for her to figure out she could run
But when she did, she was long gone, long gone
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So, r u STUPID?!


(i think im not!)

Monday, July 27

say "HEY-YO"

HEY-YO!!
welcome to my new blog,
say "HI" and take a seat(no coffee will be served,self-service please) ^^

It's fun to blog together with all coursemates,
(atleast it is COOL for now,i am not sure whether my view will change after some times,especially when we have to blog our homework and stuffs like opinions..X.X)
Anyway, happy blogging to everyone!

feel free to drop by this blog again~

please leave a comment after reading!!
Ms.Dil wants comments!!!! ^^


::SL::