It was Luna’s birthday on Friday. We actually tried to celebrate it with cake donut and candle, but she didn’t seem to enjoy the party at all. She kept trying to get back on her feet whenever I took her for a hug and she kept running away whenever I tried to take her picture with the donut. The kitty had some grown up things to do, I guess. My sister managed to take a few pictures of us, though. So here it is…
I’ve always been drawn by the idea of telling stories from the point of view of the bad guy. I remember reading a Harry Potter fanfic told from the point of view of Draco Malfoy and it was so stunning. Since then, I’ve been wondering about how stories would’ve turned out if the bad guy was the main character. When I first heard about Maleficent, I knew that it would be interesting. And the character would be played by Angelina Jolie!
After waiting for months, I had to wait for five more days to see this movie since it’s just premiered today in my country. I must admit that I should’ve known that if a story is told through the bad guy’s point of view, we will easily fall in love with them. This is what happened to me when I watched this. Maleficent is just a poor girl who is mistreated by a man she loves who betrays her for power and throne. He takes away her wings and leaves her. She shuts herself and turns the beautiful kingdom of Moors into a dark forest surrounded by high thorny plants. A few years later (or months? I didn’t really pay attention.), the man–who is now king–and the queen have a daughter named Aurora. The king and queen throw a christening party at the castle, but Maleficent is not invited. Together with her new alley, Diaval the raven, she comes anyway. The famous scene in which Maleficent puts her curse on Aurora happens and then she flees, leaving the whole castle in horror. The story then goes as it was told in Sleeping Beauty: the king destroys all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and sends his daughter away for her protection. Maleficent and Diaval continue monitoring Aurora and keeping her alive so the curse can be fullfilled.
However, problems arise as Maleficent finds herself grow more and more fond of Aurora. The girl thinks that Maleficent is her fairy godmother, knowing that she’s always been there since she was little. The relationship goes deeper and deeper that one day Maleficent tries to take back the curse but fails. Then Aurora’s 16th birthday comes and the curse is fullfilled, leaving Maleficent devastated.
Compared to the films I’ve seen lately, Maleficent is very short. It’s only about 90 minutes (or 97 according to Wikipedia). It leaves several things unexplained, like what really happens at the castle in the end or the thing that’s bugging my mind: “Doesn’t Aurora feel sad about the death of the father she’s only known for a day (or two)?” But the question put aside, I think Maleficent is good. It resembles Frozen in which the phrase ‘true love’ isn’t interpreted as romance. Maybe Disney wants to change the perception that’s been planted by a lot of fairy tales that in order to get a ‘happy ever after’, a girl needs a boy who can save her from desperation? I don’t know. But they’ve surely done good things with these two movies.
Also, let’s talk about these cheekbones. Irene Adler could cut herself slapping Maleficent’s face (and then get her own sleeping curse.)
Life has been intensifying for these past weeks. When I had my final paper oral presentation last month, I knew that I would need to find a job right away. I didn’t know that just in a span of one month, I’d be this busy working from 10 to 6 for two jobs from Monday to Saturday. And instead of being happy whenever Sunday comes, I feel stressed that I only get one day off every week. Just two weeks after accepted the job offer to teach English to kids, I already told myself “This isn’t what you want. Your heart doesn’t want this.” Funny how since my second year in college I had always thought that I didn’t want to be a school teacher and yet all I want now is to teach in high school. I guess that’s why you need to experience things: so that you can know what your heart truly desires. I may have found what my ‘dream job’ is. Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching kids, and so far, I love my little students with each of their characteristics, but I know that I was meant for some other thing. Perhaps I should need to figure more things out. Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m really bad at this growing up thing.
When I was in my teenage year, I only read several novels that I could actually count them with my fingers. I was more of a manga girl back then. I could swallow up to 10 manga in one afternoon. I didn’t start worshipping novels until my early college years, when one of my lecturers assigned us to read one novel and then review it in front of the class. That was the beginning of a new era. 
I guess, perhaps that is one of the reasons why I got so stuck up on young adult genre despite the fact that I am already in my early adulthood (the other one being John Green). I consumed John Green’s books one by one, and then The Hunger Games trilogy, and now that I have read both all of John Green’s and all of the The Hunger Games trilogy, I found myself craving for more young adult novels. That was when I stumbled across two nice looking novels (bad, bad Dara still judges a book by its cover): one was The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, the other one was Eleanor & Park. 
Eleanor & Park is a story about two teenagers who don’t look fit together: a half Korean boy who likes wearing all black and sitting by himself at the back seat of the school bus, and a girl with big, curly red hair who likes wearing men’s clothes. It’s Eleanor’s first day at her new school and she has to take the school bus. There is no seat available except for the one at the back, Park’s usual seat. They end up sitting together every day and they grow closer and closer each day. The main conflict of the story is Eleanor’s family situation. A few pages through, I already felt really sorry for her. Park is the only thing that can take her mind off her troubles at home. The ending is not too surprising, but it still leaves me crying in bed at 11pm. I must admit that I brought this book home was because of John Green’s review on its front cover, saying “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.” It’s true. Eleanor & Park reminded me about those years when I freaked out about absolutely everything; afraid of doing something wrong, afraid of letting somebody down because of what I’d done. But since I’ve all grown up now, I realise that those years had defined me who I am today. All those mistakes, those memories; they taught me a lot of things. Eleanor & Park had made me go back to that memory lane. 
Now, speaking of being a grown up… I think I may try reading more adult genre. I heard that Rainbow Rowell also writes adult contemporary novels, namely Attachments. I have had my eyes on this book on a shelf in a local Books & Beyond, so I may grab one as soon as I get my paycheck. I know splurging is bad, but hey! At least I’m spending it on books. Isn’t it a good excuse?
I’m sure that you have at least heard about this show. It is currently on its second season. The sixth episode just aired a few hours ago. As I’ve mentioned before, I just started watching this show a few weeks ago and got stuck right away. Orphan Black is a story of several women who discover that they are clones. They struggle to solve the mysteries surrounding their creations while being chased by two parties who each has its own purpose. The lead heroines are Sarah, Cosima, and Alison, plus Helena, Sarah’s twin sister. Orphan Black is probably the best TV show in history. Like, ever. To me, it even beats Sherlock. The story is original and the lead actress, Tatiana Maslany, is a very talented actress. She plays all the clones and yet I can still tell each of them apart. I even have my favourite clone (it’s Alison). I also love the fact that while all the other series I’m following are currently on a break, Orphan Black is still half through the season. That way, I still have something to look forward to each week, at least until next month. So, do you watch this show too? Who is your favourite clone?
Image via.