After 'Suicide Squad', Here's What To Expect From 'Justice League'

This piece was also published by The Jakarta Post

Following the epic fail of “Martha” in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad does not escape a lot of bad reviews either. Many say that the storyline is too boring and underdeveloped, glorifies Deadshot too much, sexualizes Harley Quinn and is more like a zombie-apocalypse movie.

A friend of mine, who is a big fan of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), said that the big mistake in assessing the quality of DC movies was most people expect them to be bright and exciting stories. A real fan knows best that DC’s style is about dark twisted stories and they are sometimes rather monotonous because of too much talk. Moreover, according to him, we should compare them to their animated versions, instead of to Marvel’s movies.

Movie Review: Despite The Bad Reviews, ‘Suicide Squad’ Is Ironically Good

DC movies are somehow well-known for bad reviews, especially because most people always compare them to Marvel movies. For real fans of DC, however, they probably will beg to differ. DC is unlike Marvel that presents high-spirited combat with fascinating problems and funky life stories. Instead, it chooses to package its characters with dark and philosophically twisted backgrounds.

The bad reviews aren’t exception even for the latest movie, Suicide Squad. Many say that the story is too simplistic and underdeveloped, only focused on Deadshot, sexualizing Harley Quinn, and more like a zombie-apocalypse movie. I get why those points reason the bad reviews, but I believe Suicide Squad is about the anti-heroes and anti-heroines defeating evil, so probably we can try to evaluate some good in the bad.

Lelaki Kardus and Ugly Truth of Parenting for Children

About one month ago, many Indonesians have been surprised to find out that there was a music video titled “Lelaki Kardus” (Cardboard Man) sung by a little girl. The lyrics are totally not children-friendly. National Commission for Children Protection (KPAI) has been protesting against the distribution of the song in internet and asked Youtube for the music video to be removed.

According to an interview, the song lyrics are based on true story. They were written by the stepfather of the girl singing the song in the music video, and her mother said it was okay for her daughter to sing it because it’s based on true event. The girl, though, is now fifteen because the music video was made a couple of years ago.

Stop Justifying Violence Against Children

 

This piece was also published by The Jakarta Post with title: Stop Justifying Violence Toward Children

Since the case of teacher pinching student that the teacher might face 3 years of imprisonment, many opinions have been spoken out in social media as well as in electronic media such as radio and television. Mostly disagree with the imprisonment of the teacher.

I don’t agree either for such case to be exaggerated to such extent. However, I also oppose those who support violence as appropriate punishment for children; no matter it is either practiced by the parents or teachers.

Many argue that back in the past, we were also punished harshly and violently as part of our educational system and we have now turned out to be okay and behave in accordance with propriety. To me, not only that’s an oversimplification, but also irrelevant.

What Is Love?

I came across this http://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-priebe/2016/06/we-dont-always-end-up-with-the-loves-of-our-lives-and-thats-okay/ and found it relatable to me, or at least used to. I remember thinking of someone as the love of my life but couldn't end up with, and still cannot. The only difference is now I am not sure if the person is truly the love of my life. I may now have fallen in love with someone else and this new significant other of mine is probably the love of my life, or not. No one can ever know.

The article eloquently describes how it feels to have found the love of life but end up separated, and how it's okay.

Grey's Anatomy Season 06, Episode 01-02 (Good Mourning & Goodbye)

"According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, when we're dying or have suffered a catastrophic loss, we all move through five distinct stages of grief. We go into denial because the loss is so unthinkable we can’t imagine it’s true. We become angry with everyone, angry with survivors, angry with ourselves. Then we bargain. We beg. We plead. We offer everything we have, we offer our souls in exchange for just one more day. When the bargaining has failed and the anger is too hard to maintain, we fall into depression, despair, until finally we have to accept that we’ve done everything we can. We let go. We let go and move into acceptance.

 

In medical school, we have a hundred lessons that teach us how to fight off death, and not one lesson on how to go on living."

 

"The dictionary defines grief as keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret. As surgeons, as scientists, we’re taught to learn from and rely on books, on definitions, on definitives. But in life, strict definitions rarely apply. In life, grief can look like a lot of things that bear little resemblance to sharp sorrow.

Grief may be a thing we all have in common, but it looks different on everyone. It isn’t just death we have to grieve. It’s life. It’s loss. It’s change. And when we wonder why it has to suck so much sometimes, has to hurt so bad. The thing we gotta try to remember is that it can turn on a dime. That’s how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can’t breathe, that’s how you survive. By remembering that one day, somehow, impossibly, you won’t feel this way. It won’t hurt this much.

Grief comes in its own time for everyone, in its own way. So the best we can do, the best anyone can do, is try for honesty. The really crappy thing, the very worst part of grief is that you can’t control it. The best we can do is try to let ourselves feel it when it comes. And let it go when we can. The very worst part is that the minute you think you’re past it, it starts all over again. And always, every time, it takes your breath away.

There are five stages of grief. They look different on all of us, but there are always five. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance."