Two movies that fail not to upset me!

Our movie night last night went so emotional. We were watching 2 movies that you might or might not heard of. One is based on true story: Stanford Prison Experiment, another is a portrayal of what’s going on in some parts of the once-known dark continent, Africa, titled: Beasts of No Nation.

Stanford Prison Experiment

 

You can read more about this experiment here

I was getting really upset after the movie was playing about an hour, half way through. Gosh… There are so many unethical actions that happened in it. I was surprised to see how 'cooperative' some of the “prisoners” were.

I was extremely mad towards the superintendent, Prof. Zimbardo who led the team in that experiment. He himself was too absorbed in his role, consumed by the authority he held, and too ambitious about the possible result that he wanted to see that he forgot he was being immoral and inhumane. It was madness because I actually wished him ill throughout the whole movie because he was just so callous at the time.

It is stated the people who were involved in the experiment were adapting to the roles they played. I won’t say it is adapting, they were losing themselves, consumed by power and fear. Again, I hated that the person who could actually stopped all the things that should not happen, didn’t do anything. It is sickening. Good people turn bad during that experiment just because authority weren’t well exercised. The only thing that made me glad was 416 rebels in the way that he could! That’s the spirit.  

Moral of the story: Power blinds people and I am surprised on how cruel we can be when given the power. Ahhh.. I believe human being can do much better than that.

 

Beasts of No Nation

 

You can read more about the plot here

This is another movie that shattered my heart. I always like to read and watch books and movies that describe the life of ordinary people in territories which are in conflict. From that I can see the beauty in human being; even in that chaotic places, some people just want something so ordinary like peace, proper education and sometimes basic meals, nothing luxury.

In this movie, although the country is not named, but maybe parts of the story are just an exact portrayal of what the life have been for people in the war zone.

I am heartbroken to see how the life of a smart, creative, cheerful kid is ruined overnight just because of the interest of people up there. Again, it is the thirst for power that ruins the life of many. I detest that! I am against doctrine all the way. With the right mind which we fortunate enough to have right now, you can see how sickening the so-called-commandant in the movie brainwashed the ‘soldiers’, how irrational some of the doctrine can be, and you will think how absurd that people just follow.

Moral of the story: Be grateful of the life we have now. We might not have everything we want, but we have a life, a pretty fair one! We might not have the best government, but as of now, we should be thankful we live in peace. And… no matter who tells you what, I believe it is important to seek for the truth ourselves. As cliché as it can be, see it for yourself before you decide to believe in things, all things! Don’t let learnt knowledge gets in between the truth.

I am upset,  I am angry and I recommend the two movies above.

 

The Wedding

Hello from Bali…

The last few months have been super busy months for us Henki & I. Since the discussion about the marriage and we got the date for the wedding, we were then busy preparing for the wedding (in Medan). On the wedding day, we are grateful that every single thing went smoothly. The reception was a bit of a beautiful chaos because there are so many surprises from friends, family and MC which are all unplanned. We apologize if there was anything that was unsatisfactory, especially my performance on the stage! I am not prepared, galsss… But I love that song so much, 我只在乎你 (wo zhi zai hu ni) from the legendary Teresa Deng. You can call me old, but it is more meanigful than Taylor Swift’s song (no offense to Taylor’s fans. :p)

Anyway, I would really like to keep a reminder for myself how things had been before during and after the wedding for us.

During the preparation, we both have been doing so good. Thanks to a good friend that gave me a heads-up, saying that many couples got into disagreement, quarrels, or even breaking up when they were preparing for the wedding. I can understand that, since it is no longer involve only the two of us, but the family. For this, I would really give thanks  to those super understanding family members that have made our life easier during the planning. I love you all for that.

Then, I would really give thanks to my family, aunties, uncles, who had lent helping hands during the preparation and on the D-day itself. And after the event, during the farewell with my relatives, there are so much tear shed and thank you for showing me that I am much loved in this family. I feel bad because Henki  received so much threats from my relatives. He had no choice but to take a good care of me, since there will be big riot from my big big family if he doesn’t do so. I love you, baby =D

Apart from family members, I would say that I am the luckiest girl on Earth to have such a wonderful small group of friends. Some friends have helped me a lot during the preparation of the wedding. It is not only a saying, but I really do not know how to do it without them. Thank you for being such wonderful friends. I believe in Karma, and they are one of the best Karma that I had/have ever had! Thank you… And a year, two years, ten years, twenty, thirty years from now, I will never be able to thank you gals enough. I love you!!!!

I would like to thank friends who had taken time off their busy schedule and made the trip to attend our wedding. We apologize that we are unable to give you full company during your stay in Medan. But sincerely, your presence there is so much appreciated. Thank you!!!

And hey… a beautiful wedding is dreams of all girls, but I got to know that the gentlemen may have their own version of dreamed wedding too, and often it is something simple. For this, I would like to thank my partner in life for being so patience during the preparation of all things, for dealing with the Medanese wedding culture with an opened heart.

It wasn’t a grand wedding, but it was a meaningful one. It taught us a lot during the whole process, about patience, gratefulness, simplicity, value in life, and above all, love.

My mom's best advice to me is “The most important thing is not the wedding, but how both of us walk our life together in the future as a family. It is important not to always take, but to give too. Patience, communication, honesty, respect are all that matter.”

I hope with her good prayers for both of us, we can live this life together as husband and wife, just like how mom and dad have been in their togetherness for almost 40 years. It will not be always bed full of roses but it can be a beautiful life if we both give our best to it.

We may not have the same faith, religiously, but we believe that it is important to be Kind.

Thank you, All and Thank you, Life… For giving us each other!

 Love,

Henki & Linda