Indonesia's movies: Thats Horrible or not?

When you watch a movie, what things you hope you will get from that movie? Of course some entertainment or some motivation or other good things right? But, I personally don’t see that things in Indonesian movies. In my opinion,a lot of Indonesia movies are not qualified in many aspects, such as: movie’s theme, movie’s story, the actress and so on. Also, some Indonesian movies didn’t give something meaningful for the audience so far. Those things make Indonesian movies image’s become really bad in Indonesia’s citizens, and a lot of them hate Indonesia’s movies because of all of that negative sides. Now, I’m going to tell you Indonesian movies negative sides one by one.

Firstly, movie’s theme. Nowadays, Indonesia’s movie maker choose to produce a lot of horror movies and love movies than to produce something more meaningful and qualified just for some commercialism reasons. These movies just offer a lot of horror that have no morality aspect. It just made the audience shouted hysterically for about an hour or more and then we got nothing from that movie. And, I personally think that it just some way to waste our money. If the movie is good, it should give the audience some feeds back, such as motivation or moral education, or anything else.

Secondly, a lot of Indonesia’s movies are not original from the story aspects. Most of the story is a plagiarism from other movies from other country that already exist. For example: Ungu Violet is a plagiarism from one video clip in Korea, Miracle is a plagiarism from Final Destination from America, Love is Cinta is a plagiarism from Fly Me to Polaris, BBB is a plagiarism from High School Musical and so on. And there are still a lot of these things happen. This facts show that, a lot of Indonesian Movie makers are plagiarist that have no creative ideas to make some new, qualified story.

Thirdly, the actors. Most of the producers or the directors, likely to choose some actors or actress that have a handsome or beautiful face without good acting skill. It makes the audience hard to understand the story or the ambience of the movie. For example, BBB (Bukan Bintang Biasa). This movie offer almost 10 actors and actress that have a really good looking. But, their acting skills are really poor, and it makes me who watched it really hard to understand what is the purpose of this film. This film got a really bad opinion from the society.I personally feel that I’ve got nothing from this movie. It proved that some Indonesian movies just offer some good actors than offer a qualified story.

Those reasons are just a few from a lot of Indonesia’s movies weakness. Although that, there are still some good movies that we’ve had. For example, Naga Bonar jadi 2, Arisan!, AADC, 30 Hari Mencari Cinta, Biola Tak Berdawai,Gie, and Berbagi Suami. Those movies are qualified in many aspects. It gave us some moral education. It made us laugh, but for a good reason. The stars of the movie have really good skill of acting, so the audience could understand the movies perfectly. Those reasons made this movie really successful in Indonesia. Moreover, some of that movie got some awards in the Cannes film festival in Paris. This fact proved that actually, our moviemakers are capable to make a really good film.

So, in order to make really good Indonesian movies, our movie makers have to become more creative, intuitive, and try to not do the same mistakes in the future. I believe that Indonesian movie makers are capable to make a really qualified movies, and make Indonesia’s movie industry grow up and known all over the world. As long there is a will, there is a way.

PLTSa For Bandung, A Solution Or A New Problem

“Waste to energy” technology or we know it in Indonesia as Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Sampah (PLTSa) converts garbage, sewage, and other waste products to energy. It can produce electricity and fuel cheaply. It has been applied in many countries in the world, such South Korea which is the largest and the biggest, Nederland, USA, Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Then now, it will be built in Bandung. To a certain extent, I believe that PLTSa will give negative effects to Bandung. Although the government said that it is a solution for Bandung’s waste problem, it is not appropriate to apply this technology in Bandung.

It is not appropriate to build PLTSa in Bandung because of some reasons. First, the location of Bandung which is surrounded by mountains and makes the city is like in a bowl, prevents the release of any pollutant gas into the upper atmosphere. This make pollutant gases that are produced by PLTSa will remain in Bandung. Second, we should know what gasses that PLTSa produces are. They are CO₂ and CO which are well-known as greenhouse gasses that cause the global warming, NO_X and SO_X which are known as the cause of acid rain, and the most dangerous gas among the others is dioxine which is able to initiates cancerous development in human body. We can imagine what will happen if these gasses can’t be released from Bandung.

Yet, some people believe that PLTSa will give advantages to Bandung. PLTSa is the solution for Bandung’s problem in waste which the amount of waste products is the most in Indonesia. Beside reducing the amount of waste, PLTSa also produces energy from the waste products. It solves two problems simultaneously : waste and energy crisis.

In conclusion, even though some people still believe that the CO₂, CO, NO_X, and SO_X emission can be reduced by filtering the gasses with a new technology that has been invented recently, making a long and tall chimney so that the emission can be released to upper atmosphere, or dioxine is not a problem as long as the emission is still below the threshold concentration that declared by WHO, it is still a dilemma for applying this technology in Bandung. There are not only advantages, but also risks. Let the researchers decide which is better whether applying or aborting this technology.

Retirement Age Based on The Kind of Job

In my opinion, for usual employees may retire from their job when they reach in the usual retirement age which has range 60-65 years old. But there are several certain case in the kind of job that may be considered to define the retirement age.

First is the kind of job which needs someone who wise and well-experienced, such as politician, investor, judge, or senior professor. Their retirement age can be longer than usual, since the elder man is considered has more experience in his job. The elder man is also considered has wise character. These criteria are logically convenient for politician, judge, senior professor, or investor. The best example is Warren Buffet. He is the richest man of the world in forbes version since 11 February 2008. He reach the optimal prestigious career when he is 77 years old. It is, again, logically true because to reach the maximum success in career needs long process step by step. He still becomes Chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. who receives annual salary US$100,000. Moreover he is also regarded as one of the world’s greatest stock market investors. He is estimated has the net worth US$ 62 billion (2008). In his old age, he still can make wise decision to be a good investor in order to expand his assets from time to time. Gradually from the age 30 years old to 77 years old, he becomes a master and well-experienced in expanding his assets, until now, he is the richest man of the world! (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Warren_Buffet_COR.html)

Second kind of job is the athlete which needs someone who has well-stamina such as football player, boxer, Formula-1 driver, etc. They have maximum success in their career when they reach twenties years old and get retire when reach thirties years old. For examples are Zinedine Zidane who retired from playing football in 34 years old, Michael Schumacher retired from driving for Ferrari in Formula-1 in 37 years old, and Mike Tyson retired from boxing in 38 years old.
To conclude, the retirement age is based on the kind of the job. It may longer than usual if the job requires the wise and well-experienced people. And it may shorter than usual if the job requires the people who has well-stamina.

References
Warren Buffet [Online article], Retrieved April 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffet
Zinedine Zidane [Online article], Retrieved April 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinedine_Zidane
Mike Tyson [Online article], Retrieved April 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson
Michael Schumacher [Online article], Retrieved April 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.mschumacher.com/biography.html

ITB Must Be Free from Bullying!

Bullying is aggressive treatment from someone, or usually a group, that hurts the other who has less power. It can be physical hurt (hitting, shoving, kicking) or psychological hurt (verbal bullying). It different from conflict, rather than fight or disagreement between two people, it involves an imbalance of power or strength. Hence, it is hard for someone who is bullied to defend himself or herself. It is also clear unfair. I believe that bullying is dangerous behavior that must be stopped in everywhere, include at ITB.

Bullying can be extremely serious. Mental health professional studies shows that it can affect the academic work, mental well being, and physical health of people who are targeted. Moreover it has bad impact to the victims of bullying to have lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression, loneliness, anxiety, and suicidal thought. They are also more likely to experience headaches, sleeping problems, and stomach ailment.

Bullying at ITB is usually happen from the seniors ( higher grade students) to the juniors ( lower grade or new students). At ITB, there is tradition called “Kaderisasi” which must be followed by new students who want to get involved in “Himpunan” (an Indonesian term for federation which gathers the students who study the same course at ITB). “Kaderisasi” at ITB is notorious by its bullying treatment. Therefore, the rector of ITB has decided to make a decision that “Kaderisasi” is not allowed.

Yet some seniors still believe that “Kaderisasi” (by its bullying) is a good way to teach about leadership to the new students. They assume that the rector is not wise with his decision. They think that they are true and the rector is wrong. They think that they are smarter than the rector, even they know clearly that they are still student whereas the rector is a professor and post doctoral graduate. They are foolish people who persistently still defend the tradition of bullying in “Kaderisasi” program. They just really do not know about what they do and its effect. They just do what they want to do.

Evidences show from year to year in second semester, the academic ability of the first year students who get involved in “Kaderisasi” program is always dropped. The professors and lecturers ,who know about it, are disappointed. They prohibit the seniors to make that program again. But in fact, some seniors do not care about it. They still make the program again in this second semester.

To conclude, the rector and the professor should not just prohibit the “Kaderisasi” program. They must investigate it directly to make sure that there is no bullying practice from the seniors to the juniors at ITB. “Kaderisasi”, by its bullying treatment, is a bad program. It is not the way to teach about how to lead people, it is the way to teach about how to dominate people. It must be stopped now!

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The Bad Side of Television

Almost all of the people in the world watch television everyday. Television is an electronic media that can gives information and entertainment. In my opinion, television is dangerous because it destroys family life and any sense of community.

People said that they can interact with their family by watching television together. That is true, but there are so many more things that we can do to get closer with our family. Such as camping, go on a trip, or even cooking together. These actions are more beneficial than just sit in front of televisions.

Many people spend most of their times watching televisions because it serve many interesting programs and shows. It makes people not interact with their family in their homes. Fathers sit and watch TV shows instead play with their children. Some people don’t want to visit their family in holidays because they don’t want to miss programs in television during holidays.

Television makes people can’t choose their priority. Instead of doing something useful, people choose to watch television. For example, children watch cartoons in television instead of study for their exam in the next day. Housewives don’t do the housework because they watch some drama in television. This is bad, because people abandoned their job to do something useless.

So, television has many bad sides that can destroy family life and any sense of community. People become addictive to watch it, so they don’t interact with their family or other people in the community. This makes relation between families members just get wider.

Fawzia Amalia - 16207070

Internet Sites Blockading

Several weeks ago, a lot of internet sites in Indonesia, such as YouTube, Multiply, MySpace, and Rapidshare were blocked by the government. Those sites were blocked because they broadcasted Fitna (film that contains a humiliation about Moslem’s way of life) which get a lot of criticisms from Indonesia government. Yet, this blockading decision was protested by many people because they really need internet for their study and work. I also disagree with the site blockading because I think those sites offer much more positive programs besides that controversial film. The other reason is that the site blockading is the same as giving a boundary to freedom to speak up.

Firstly, those blocked sites offer much more information besides broadcasted that controversial film. For example, nowadays YouTube has been used by some universities to distribute their textbook in video or screen cast format. Other sites provide knowledge ands news from all around the world. Those things can be downloaded easily so many people can get many ideas and references just by using internet. Besides that, some people can also the latest video clips or cartoon films from those sites when they want to relax.

Secondly, those site blockading gives a boundary to freedom to speak up because some blogs also become not accessible. It means that human right to speak up has been suppressed. For example, many people could not publish their opinion because some blogs such as Multiply could not be accessed. Besides that, a lot of people could not broadcast their ideas in video format and share some contents through those sites.

Based on all of the reasons I have mentioned, I can conclude that sites blockading would give new complex problem in our lives. A lot of people could lose some information media to support their study and work. Besides that, the blockading could give a boundary to freedom to speak up. Those problems lead us to a point that it is not wise to block the whole site just because of one film that contains bad morale aspect.

Marsiana Anggieta – 16207068 – WR01

The Advantages of Reading Fantasy Novels

Have you ever read a fantasy novel? Fantasy novel content some imaginative story from the writers. They write story that doesn’t happen in the real life, such as people doing magic, big monsters, fairies, mythical creatures, etc. The events in fantasy novels never take a place in a real world. It usually takes places in imaginary world or time. Several examples of fiction novels are Harry Potter, The Lord of the Ring, and Eragon. There are many advantages that you can get from reading fantasy novels.

First, you can develop your imagination. When you read a fantasy novel, it needs imagination to depict places, time, or the creatures that become part of the story. Imagination is important because you need it to create some vision for your achievement in the future. When you get the vision, you can make some plan or several steps to reach it. You can use imagination too when you are in some critical situation that need a quick solution.

Second, fantasy novels can give entertainment to the readers. When you read it, you can feel like you are in the story, and that feeling gives you excitement. Sometimes it content unusual jokes. Sometimes it can make you scared or even cry. This is the way fantasy novels entertain the readers.

Third, it can develop your writing skills. You can learn about the grammatical structures, coherence between paragraphs and chapters, etc. You can learn how to make a story that can attract the readers. Actually, you can develop your writing skills not only when you read fantasy novels, but also when you read the other genres of novels.

In conclusion, there are several advantages that you can get from reading fantasy novels, such as it can develop your imagination, it gives you entertainment, and it can develop your writing skills. Actually, there are many other advantages that you can get from reading those novels. So, if you try to read some fantasy novels, maybe you can find many other advantages.

Fawzia Amalia - 16207070