CLUSTER 6

Text: SUPER TOYS LAST ALL SUMMER LONG

MOVIE: AI (Artificial Intelligence)

INTRODUCTION

"Super Toys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss is an interesting science fiction compared to "The Sentinel" by Arthur Clarke. It is easier to understand as it involves human feelings; the reader could feel the flow of the story as we read the story. At first, I was not sure of what STLASL is all about. I have never heard or read such story before. But it came out to be an interesting short story to be read. STLASL is a story about a husband and wife who do not have children and are having a robot boy as the replacement for a real boy. However, the robot boy has developed feeling of love towards its mommy. This story is a basis to Stanley Kubrick to a sci-fi motion picture entitled "AI" acronym for Artificial Intelligence. The story is almost the same except in the movie we know the reason why mechas like David were developed.

In the end of STLASL David decides to run away with Teddy, in AI, David and Teddy are abondoned by Monica in a jungle. This is when the movie starts to test the humanistic feeling in the audience.

THEME REVIEW

In ": A Space Odyssey" we could see how Dave destroyed or stopped HAL from operating. In AI, the robot boy possesses the feeling of love and the dilemma is how to destroy it when it is no longer needed and become a threat to the family? In STLASL we know that David ran away with Teddy. That solves Monica's Problem. But in AI, unsued mechas has become a solid waste to human and the environment. Abondoned mechas have become pests.

The words Artificial itself means something not real but it is made as if it is real. In this case, it is human who have the natural and real intelligence. As a result they developed these robots and mechas to replace other human or to do job that is not able to do by human. Mechas are supposed to be helpful to human. But after watch AI, in my oipinion, we should not developed such mechanical creatures as it will create another problem to the world. This is where human try to play role as god. They create things that are not naturally given to them by using their real and natural intelligence. About now only, all those unused computers and super computers contribute to solid waste problem of the world. This is not to say computers are not beneficial but to dispose ordinary computer has given enough problem to us, how about to dispose something that looks like human and could cry for help. The feeling is just like killing another human being. Now I wonder whether cloning is considered as AI?

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, in my opinion it is possible that one day human with their intelligence will create mechanicals people. But how ever or whatever human developed it wont be the same as God's creation.

CLUSTER 6

TEXT: THE SENTINEL

MOVIE: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

INTRODUCTION

My biggest question to this Cluster 6 is "How come this cluster is the most difficult for me to comprehend and give my idea?". Science fiction is the result of people perception and prediction. It is the thought and the ideas of those futurist; to think and predict what will happen in the future- to the human beings, environment,the world, the universe and to the outer space. The Sentinel" is a five pages short story written by Arthur C. Clarke and later in 1967 it was a basis for Stanley Kubrick to direct and produce a motion film entitled "2001: A Space Odyssey". The text even though is short, it is difficult to understand. "The Sentinel" is a about the mission of people to the moon. I think this idea was brought up by Clarke due to the exploration of Russia to the outer space. Russia has become the first nation to send men to outer space, to the orbit. I see "The Sentinel" as an avenge. Therefore, to satisfy themselves, the Americans try to see themselves more advance than the Russian. They don't just orbiting the earth but they are going to explore the moon. This idea has become a reality in 1969 when the first capsule of American landed on the moon (At least that what they believe.

After saw the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" I wonder whether the film or the video of the first man landed on moon in 1969, which was telecasted the whole nation, was true. It possibly was done with the help of Stanley Kubrick. It was done the same as the movie (probably) .

There are three major sections of the movie and the subtitles are:

1. The Dawn of Man A primeval ape man makes a breakthrough - becoming endowed with intelligence after experiencing a mysterious black monolith.

2. Jupiter Mission, 18 Months Later [(in 2001 or 2002)] A futuristic, 18-month journey to Jupiter.

3. Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite. A mystical experience in another time and dimension.

THEME REVIEW

Main theme of the short story "The Sentinel" is dealing with extraterrestrial. Is there anyone out there? Arthur Clarke predicted one day may be in million of years, human will encounter with the aliens. My question "Will there be any more human on the earth at that time or will the earth be there as it is at that time?" I strongly believe there is no other living things especially in the outer space. As a Muslim, in the Quran already stated God has created Human as the most perfect creature. How come there will be another creation which will be more advance in technology than human?

In the "2001; A Space Odyssey", one the main themes that I could think of is man versus machine. This is especially between HAL (Heuristic ALgorithm), the computer that controlling and operating the ship and the men in the space ship. HAL was programmed to be knowledgeable about the mission to the Jupiter but the men were sceptical about the mission. As a result there is a misunderstanding between HAL and Dave. HAL tries to take over and control the ship. HAL has develop feelings of fear. He is afraid that Dave Will destroy him by stopping his operational system. This is where the machine tries to desroy human in order to save itself. He killed three out of people in the space craft and did not allow Dave to board the ship. But human is destined by god with brain to think. In this, human is the creator of the machine, therefore, as a creator human should be able to diminish and destroy its creation whenever it already threatens human's life even though it will destroy his own life.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, machine is a machine. They are created by man. Things that are created are subject to be destroyed one day. There is no such thing that one day man will be taken over by machine.

CLUSTER 4

TEXT: THE ODYSSEY

FILM: O' BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?

INTRODUCTION

"The Odyssey" by Homer is a story about the journey home of Odysseus to meet with his family especially his wife Penelope after the war of Troy and after he was kept in captivity for about 13 years. Odysseus is the hero of this story had to go through several challenges and tests during his journey home and before he could reach home. While at the same time Penelope was facing dilemma due to many other men wanted her to be their wife. Their son, Telemachus, also made a journey to look for his father with the help of Athena, one of the Goddess. Similarly, Telemachus also had to face hurdles and challenges in his journey. They met with all sorts of tests particularly Odysseus who was tested on his loyalty to his wife. He met with the sirens for examples and he had to really refrain himself from the seduction of the sirens. As a man,who has been away from his wife, I think this is very challenging. However, Odysseus has been portrayed as a good man by Homer.

"The Odyssey" is the basis to the movie "O' Brother where art thou?" This movie is a modern version of Homer's. This is a comedy movie about three man, who were chained , ran away together while working in a road construction. One of the ,Ulysses has his own agenda while the other two are just the since they are chained together.

THEME REVIEW

The difference between Odysseus and these three chained men is that Odysseus is clever but they are not. Ulysses mission is to go back to his family and wife. During the journey they encounter with few challenges and there are few occasions where it is almost the same as what Odysseus has gone through such as the meeting with the sirens. All the occasions and events that they went through during the journey have taught them to be a better person. Odysseus, for example even though he is well known for his intelligence and endurance he becomes more loyal to his wife and wiser in taking actions. He disguised as a beggar to test Penelope. For the three chained men (Ulysses, Delmar and Pete) they learned how to be loyal to their friends. They value their friendship more than other thing. Their relationship have turned into brothers. That's how the journey that they have gone through has changed their lives. They want to become better people and live the life same as others.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, there is an idiom in Malay which if it is translated more or less means "the further your journey, the wider your experience will be" (Jauh Perjalanan Luas Pengalaman).

CLUSTER 2

Text: My Fair Lady
Pygmalion

Film: My Fair Lady
She's All That

INTRODUCTION

Pygmalion is a statue sculptor. He does not believe in woman. He thinks that women are not perfect creatures. Therefore for his satisfaction, he sculpted a statue of a lady and named it Galatea. To him Galatea is the most perfect creature. One day he prays to God to make Galatea alive. With God's will Galatea is given life and they live happily ever after.

THEME REVIEW

In "Pygmalion", the sculptor falling in love with the sculpture. This is a common perception because as a sculptor he could be able to sculpt whatever shape and figure that he has in his mind. With the help of god he could materialized his dream. However, this concept could also appear in real life. Not to say that a statue could become a real woman but a person could change another person according to what he or she wants the other person to be. Parents, teacher,and friends are all influencing the other member of the society. This could be in terms of political, believes, education etc. This is what happen to Liza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" and to Laney in "She's All That".

In "My fair Lady" Prof. Higgins successfully transforms Eliza from a street lady who sells flower to a sophisticated lady: change her dressing, attitude and even language. In this novel and film, education has been seen as the most important factor in order for a person to be a recognizable individual. This concept is almost the same as Pygmalion's. Prof. Higgins wants to shape Eliza because he was challenged by Colonel Pickering. He is looking for a suject even before Eliza dropped in. By having eliza he could prove to Pickering that all his theory about language is correct. But later in the story especially the movie, there is sort of a feeling of love grows in both of them eventhough it was not clearly stated.

In my opinion, these feelings of love grow because the sculptor, in this case Prof. Higgins and Zach, already know the real side of their subject. Prof. Higgins knows about Eliza as they live in the same house during the lesson and Zach knows Laney better as he always be with her and do activities together. The subjects' real talent and beauty are finally prevail due to their own effort (Higgins and Zach). However, in both of the stories the subjects are human beings with feelings. They are not statue like Galatea. After realizing that she is being outsted by Higgins and pickering, Eliza feels she was cheated and so does laney, after she knows that Zach is using her as an object in a batting, she felt betrayed. This is normal. People, especially ladies, would like to be loved because of what they are from the beginning.

CONCLUSIONS

As a conclusion, I would say that if we love somebody means you love something natural about the person from the start. In this case Pygmalion is more sincere because he loves Galatea since she was a sculpture whereas Prof. Higgins and Zach, changed their opinion only after Eliza and Laney have transformed.

CLUSTER 1

Text : Snow White Fairy Tales
Films: Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Sydney White and the seven dorks

INTRODUCTION

"Mirror, Mirror On the Wall, Who's the prettiest of them all?" This has become a cliche in the story of Snow White.

The story of Snow White is a well known fairy tales. I have known the story since I was small. I was attracted to the story because of the way the story was told and illustrated in the books. There were colorful pictures, cute dwarfs and pretty Snow White were portrayed to attract readers attention especially children. The story of Snow White for what I realize is that it is mostly read by girls. No matter how the story of Snow White or its resemblance are told it is must be about a girl, pretty and young, lives with a witch stepmother. The stepmother was so jealous with Snow White's prettiness and tried very hard to ensure that Snow White will be banished for her to be the prettiest of them all. How ever the story is told the witch must be there. In the Sydney white and the Seven Dorks, the witch is Rachel Witchburn (not a stepmother but an evil rival of Sydney). Her name already symbolized his character in the movie.

THEME REVIEW

What cause the stepmother to hate Snow White very much? Why Lilian was hated badly by Claudia?Why Rachel doesn't want Sydney in her Kappa Sorority?

All of these answers lay in the concept of Jealousy and afraid of losing of what you have. As stepmother, there is no blood relationship between stepmother and stepdaughter. To have a pretty stepdaughter is considered as rival. All this while stepmother has been trademarked as evil, bad, unkind, cruel, and all sorts of negatives attitudes are labelled to stepmothers. This is the notion of people from East and West. Why? When I was small, my mother always used this trade mark to prevent me from doing bad things. She said if I was bad I will get a stepmother. That was enough to threatened me. It is also a reminder for the children not to let the father to remarry if the mother passed away. Yes, this was what I was inculcated with when I was small not by my mother but through friends and stories.

Stepmother will develop Unnatural Motherhood. In my opinion this is due to the fact that there is no blood relationship between stepmother and stepchildren. In Snow White the fairy tales and Snow White: A Tale of terror, the stepmothers get married to the father because of the men's wealth. In Snow White: A tale of terror, Claudia made a statement that she wants her husband to have undivided love. By having Lillian around, she is not only pretty but also could reduce the love of the husband to Claudia. In this case, Claudia has two reasons to get rid of Lillian. She wants to be the prettiest and the only person to be loved. For a natural mother, to have a pretty daughter is a gift. The daughter is part of her; her own flesh and blood. The natural instinct and loves of a mother is simply there in your heart. Therefore, it is impossible to hurt yourself. Children are gift from god.

In "Sydney White", Ratchel is the evil in the story. She is neither a stepmother nor a natural mother. However, she is suppose to be the Guardian to the freshmen students. Sydney White's father is the unnatural mother in this story. As a men to replace or become a mother is not an easy tasks. To raise a daughter without a wife is challenging. As a result Sydney White Becomes a Tomboy due to the environment she was brought up. But this is only the physical aspects of Sydney. On the other aspect, Sydney White is a practical, tough, and rational person. This is the result of the training from her father. Even though her father is unnatural mother, but Sydney is his own daughter and the feelings of love and responsibility to raise her is naturally there in a father's feeling.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, unnatural motherhood is not always a bad thing. It is all depends on the individual. However there is no love that could replace the love of a natural mother.

CLUSTER 5

Apocalypse Now", the movie: A review

Introduction

"Apocalypse Now" is an adaptation from novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. However the setting and the name of the hero are changed. The setting for Apocalypse now is in Vietnam, particularly of Nuang Thrang River.

I consider "Apocalypse Now" is a rough movie. This movie shows how in a war people will loose their sense of humanity, sense of judgment and revelation of the Human Dark soul. It is also a movie about colonialism and imperialism. There are also sense of horror and the dark souls of the people.

Apocalypse in definition means the destruction and end of the world or a situation in which a lot of people die or suffer, and a lot of damage is done. The title itself represent the movie as a whole where so many innocent people were killed unnecessarily and so many destruction were made to the locals and the nature of the colonized country.

Themes Review

1. Colonialism

Colonialsm could lead to destruction not only to the living things but also to the nature. Colonialism could cause local people to fight to protect their motherland which could lead to war and killing each other.

2. Fighting against and for self

In the movie, most of the soldiers are shooting to safe their own lives. They go to war because they have to this could be seen where a soldier as young as 17 years old was drafted to Vietnam to fight the locals. There are also elements of afraid of their own shadow. In war nobody can trust anybody. Anybody can be your friends and anybody can be your enemy or even your killer.

Cinematography

Most scenes in the movie use low lighting which displays dark situation especially to the journey of the boat in the night and Kurtz's place. This is significant as the movie is the adaptation of the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad.

CLUSTER 5

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad: A Review


Introduction

In my opinion, I found that the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad is not an easy novel to comprehend. This is may be due to the language use or language construction which makes it difficult for me to digest. It is not a novel which can make me feel like reading it non-stop once I have opened the first page. I could say that I have given up in reading the original novel. I have to look up for the abridge version of the novel to understand eventhough it is not the same as the original one.

Plot Summary

setting of this story takes place along the Congo River in Africa. And it is about the slavery and colonialism of the whitemen upon the black or African Natives in the turn of the century. "Heart of Darkness" is a story about a sailor or rather a frequent traveler who is looking for a new location to go for his next trip. He would like very much to travel along the longest river in Africa, that is the Congo River. Through his Aunt's contacts and friends he got a job as a captain for a steamboat. His mission is to find a man name Kurtz.

Themes

Major themes in Heart of Darkness:

1. A mythical Journey into self

While Heart of Darkness is Conrad's autobiographical account of his trip into the Congo and his commnetary on colonialism, it is more significantly a symbolic journey into the dark recesses of the human psyche, a story given dreamlike qualities with Conrad's methods and techniques.

2. Marlow Explores the boundaries between life and death

Marlow goes to the Congo fascinated with death though naive about its reality. The dangers he encounters winding his way up the snakelike river teach him to limit his involvement with the symbolic dark wilderness and Kurtz if he is to survive physically and psychologically.

3. Marlow Gains Insight through work

Just when Marlow is most despairing about the deplorable conditions of the native Africans and the blind gred of the ivory trade, he discovers that repairing the steamer is useful work. The struggle to maneuver the boat up the Congo with his native helmsman becomes for him a symbol of focus and meaning.

4. In the context of Colonialism and imperialism

Conrad shows that imperialism has detrimental effects on the native Congo population: more warfare, a breakdown of tribal systems. loss of community and social values, and worsened economic conditions. He finds European whites to be unpleasantly hypocritical and presumptuous. Conrad recognizes that although colonialists interfered in the lives of native Africans to improve them, in reality, imperialism and colonial presence exploited innocent people and often destroyed.


Conclusions

Heart of Darkness is a novel of twentieth- century fiction and thought. Conrad developed artistics methods to investigate psychological conditions of human and behaviour and to raise issues concerning modern social and political morality.

Submitted to:

En. Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan

Lecturer TSL 570

UiTM Perak

Semester Jul. 2008