LA RITOURNELLE*

Bram and I haven’t been to the cinema in ages, and we wanted to watch an Indonesian movie (since foreign films are easier to get on dvd, you don’t have indonesian pirated ones, so it’s better to watch em in the cinema!) and my two brothers tagged along. We decided to watch this movie cos some people gave it a good review.

Don’t ask me about the technicalities of the film- who directed it, who wrote the book it was based on, the whole list of actors- because i don’t know those kind of things (and my dear friend mr.google can help you out with that). but basically i am intrigued by the story line; it’s taking a contraversial issue such as religion as it’s focal point, daring to raise issues in areas where people would know better not to touch.

Being born and raised in a pesantren (religious school) learning life through the Quran, Sunnah and Hadist, the main character, a young girl, believes that Islam does not treat women and men equally. She finds that throughout her life, men are always given the special treatment. During a democratic election for class president, she wins the votes yet her rival wins because ‘women aren’t allowed to be leaders in Islam’. When she finishes highschool, her father forbids her to study in Jogja with a scholarship because it can ‘make fitnah happen’ while her two brothers are sent to study abroad, selling all their family’s investments just to pay the tuition. She is then reluctantly trapped into an abusive marriage with a family friend, while her one and only true love disappears to Cairo.

The first half of the movie passed with me feeling anxious- each scene depicted such violence and mistreatment to women that made my blood boil. I felt lucky to be raised within a moderate Islamic family- one that believes in modernism yet still tries to maintain our religious roots. But several years before, thought not under the same circumstances as the lead character in the film, I had believed in the same thing. I felt that Islam treated women differently- and it was a tremendous clash to feminism and the modern way of life. In some ways, it was the obvious- women are the child bearers, men are not- but in other ways it was formed through culture; why is men viewed as the breadwinner while women should stay home as housewives and wait for her husband to come home and cook him dinner?

I believe that conservatives, should understand that this is a new era, one totally different from when the Quran was born. The Quran was born under devastating and uncivilized times. Now, past the enlightment period, we are in the era of technology- and not everything from the Quran can be fully implemented the way it says. Times has changed, and so has people. The basic clash between fundamentalists right now is based upon this- the idea that some still want to grip tightly towards the past. We cannot always live in the past- we must be able to adapt towards the present in order to strive into the future, and that’s what the film is also trying to say.

It’s also interesting to see that the Indonesian film industry is taking a like towards religious undertoned films- especially since the success of Ayat-ayat Cinta a few months ago. And i’d have to say that they were able to deliver moral messages in such a way that is modern and yet still supports our religious beliefs. bravo to that. It was especially intriguing to see the struggle a women has gone through to fight for her rights (especially since I just finished my internship at the Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian affairs- where I researched on Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights) which doesn’t only happen within religious circumstances. Our culture is still built through that way, which favours men over women, yet I am pleased to say that our government is taking a large step forward for the development of women’s rights, by giving women platforms to experience equality within a man’s world.

Well I’d say that this film is enlightening and eyeopening for women and men alike, and i’d recommend it for those who wants to see another side of Islam. Although some parts was just darn-right cheesy, others scenes did manage to tickle my inner crybaby. Go watch it and support the Indonesian film industry!

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Perempuan berkalung sorban translates; the girl wearing a sorban/keffiyeh
*In conservative terms, keffiyehs are most likely worn by males.

inspired by fashionesedaily, i’ve always wanted to send mine in, will probably do it soon!

The Bag: LV Monogram Noe
I got this bag for my 20th birthday from my boyfriend (we both paid half-half hahaha)

Clockwise (circular) from top:
1. Chanel canary camelia wallet
I stole from my mom, ha! she had the box lying around in my room for years, and it was until I finally understood the value of it that I snatched it and never gave it back

2. Sony Ericsson z610i
my lawful companion, but it’s so dead right now i need a new phone! But i’ll have to be patient

4. Lomography Fish-eye camera
I got this from a friend,  for those who don’t understand what lomography is about you can check their website. I take my fisheye most of the time cos you never know what random moment you neet to shoot!

5.The Body Shop, White Musk Body Spray
White Musk is the trademark smell of the Parani Girls (my female relatives from my mother’s side). The size is perfect, because even though I love Victoria Secret body mists, the size is too big and heavy for my bag!

6. The Body Shop, 2-way cake
Alot of people thought this was an ipod because of it’s glossy mirror-y casing, haha

7. Topshop heart-shaped sunglasses
Can’t really see the shape from the picture, but it’s suppose to be heart-shaped. I love heart-shaped glasses (I have like, three) but this one I use the most because the color is a natural shade of brown, so it isn’t too attention-grabbing. And I got this one for like 50% off, such a great deal

8. Apple Ipod 80gb + Caselogic Purple Ipod Case + Purple Sonicgear earplugs and case
I’m those kind of people that sometimes hears random melodies in my head- and it will be played in my head until I listen to the song. Before it get’s pretty annoying but now I can just flip open my ipod and put on that random song. And my last earphones- the apple earphones, were pretty much destroyed because i just dumped everything in my bag, so now i’m more cautious and i got myself earplugs with a casing so that it won’t get destroyed that way!

9. Passport Photos
Just got them done last week at Citos, I had them done for my new passport but I didn’t like the results, but I’m keeping them for my visa application.

10. Canon Ixus I-zoom in Red
My beloved! But you can see that it’s broken cos the lens is like sticking out, haha. I wanted to get it repaired but it was sooo expensive, might as well just buy a new one. But i love this camera so much, it was there to capture all the great moments in my life, from my last semester in Groningen, my life in Malaysia, my holidays to Indonesia, China, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand.. it’s small and compact, and it’s a nice shade of red. I had it for almost 3 years already, and it broke twice hahah!

11. Lesportsac heart makeup pouch
a. Maybelline Great Lash Blackest Black Mascara-Myla got for me from the US. They don’t have it in Asia for some reason!
b. Anna Sui Sui Rouge V- from Riri, thanks dear!
c. Revlon Black Liquid Eyeliner- my ultimate tool, I even sleep in em!
d. Nivea Lipcare in Strawberry Kiss- the essential
e. Maybelline Watershine in Pink Fairy
f. OXY Cover
g. Green tea Hand cream from the Vanilla Industry (Bangkok)
h. Rimmel London lipstick in Rich Raisin
i. Maybelline Lipstick in Sangria Red
j. Nixoderm- for mosquito bites! 
k. Hairclips 

12. Marlboro Menthol Lights
Ok kids, it’s not good to smoke, it ruins your health and complexion and… yet why am I still doing it? Hahaha. I don’t normally smoke Marlboro (it’s usually Dunhill, or occasionally Virgina Slims and Vogue) but Ganesh bought a pack last week and then realized he doesn’t like Menthol so he gave it to me (thanks dude! my pack was finishing anyways).

finally got brian’s camera to work. here’s what a wore (yesterday)

FOS Purple Tank-top, MNG Yellow Cardigan, Denim Jeans from Sanlitun Market (Beijing, China), Necklace from ALT Sungei Wang (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
worn with: Yellow Pleather Drawstring Bag and Black Patent Sandals from Mangga Dua (Jakarta, Indonesia)- not in picture  

having a clothes crisis actually brings the better out in you. this outfit may be plain, but i overlooked these comfortable jeans for so many times, and even the purple tanktop has never made its debut without something else over it.
refreshing.

1. Graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, minoring in International Studies.

2. Continue with an Honours degree/Masters degree

3. Travel the other part of the world: Europe and South America

4. Aprenda el español

5. Start wearing high heels as a habit

6. Learn photography

7. See life as “glass half full” rather than “glass half empty”

8. Earn my own well deserved $$$!

9. Stay steady.

and the pocket digital camera search has come to a verdict:

canon powershot E1

price: rm699
more specifications click here

sony cyber-shot dsc-w120

price: rm799
more specifications click here

right now i’m leaning more towards the canon because, for one i’ve always trusted canon more for its digital cameras, second it is more affordable, third it’s megapixel is higher than the cybershot, and lastly, it’s adorable and i feel like its just the right camera for me (i’ve always had a thing for stylish gadgets)
the downside is that it uses batteries and is slightly more heavy than the cyber-shot (160grams while the other is only 123grams). but i’m trying to assure myself that even so, it’s so much cheaper than the cheapest ixus out there (the cheapest is the canon ixus 80IS, which is around rm900!) and i always believed that powershots actually have better image quality than ixus-es..(although now alot of powershots and ixus-es are actually the same)
oh well let’s cross fingers! i’m so desperate for a camera right now and i know i have to wait awhile to get the Canon EOS 450D or 1000D.. huh.