have you watched The Great Gatsby?

As an adolescent person, not a movie critic nor a huge fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I personally think that movie is quite amazing.

I have read the book, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and quite amused by it, of course, being one of the most celebrated American literature and all, The Great Gatsby (book) is quite a legend. And I think, the movie is just as good. Part of it may be because I was not expecting anything about the movie. I walk into the theater not knowing exactly what to expect, even though I have already read the book.  I have no pre-existing expectation nor was I hoping that some scenes will be portrayed in a certain way or anything like that.

some of the things that I like about The Great Gatsby movie:

The casts’ acts are really believable, the way they portray their characters are exactly how people would have imagined in real life, or at least, in the book. My personal favorite is Elizabeth Debicki, the one who plays Jordan Baker. Honestly she does not look like how I imagined her to be in the book, but her own version and interpretation of the character is just as good, or maybe even better. I thought that Miss Baker would be slightly rigid, witless, and old-fashioned, (well, maybe this is due to my own lack of sympathy of the character in the book, causing me to be failing in analyzing her character) but the one that Elizabeth portrayed shows more of her languid and fluid side, she really looks well-put together and well-mannered. She really is the kind of girl that I wish to be.

The costume is just as amazing. The costume director of The Great Gatsby did such an incredible job. It really is the most exquisite thing that I have ever seen on the screen. If that is how the 1920’s looks like, then maybe I would seriously consider to go back in that period of time, specifically being the socialite. 

There are two things that I don’t feel quite so sure about. Not sure if I like it or hate it, or both. The first one is backdrop setting, location and everything else. At some points, I am quite amused by them, but also, at other points (or maybe at those very same points) they also trigger the thought  “could something like this actually happening?” Because, the location in some parts of the film is too grand to be true. Gatsby’s house when he holds his parties looks like an amusement park rather than a place to party. I mean, come on, too much is too much.

the second one is how the text appears in some point of the movie. I mean, as if we could not hear it. texts appearing on the screen is so old-school, I doubt that anyone would want to see it.

after all, this is the kind of movie, the kind of story with a whole lot tragedy being held within, beyond all the extravagant things. a love story with no happy endings. a piece of art that will spoil your eyes and ears. no need to think too much, this movie is pretty easy to be understood even by those who haven’t read the book that was written in 1925, or watch the previous movie in 1974.

Love Always,

-F

firmpurpose:

Wise words, Jillian!

Curhat dulu ke yg Maha Kuasa (@ Masjid Istiqlal Jakarta)

Selamat hari kebangkitan nasional!

Monday morning. (Lack of creativity pushes me into typing boring captions like the name of the day, so sorry folks)

 North Italy (Vargas Feliciano)
[x] You were bullied a lot in your childhood.
[x] You adore pasta, pizza, cheese, and fruit.
[ ] You’re very happy-go-lucky
[ ] You constantly have a dozy look on your face as if you’re always away with the fairies
[ ] You have a long curly strand of hair that always tends to stick up
[x] You’re a good artist
[x] You can be clumsy at times 
[ ] You have a friend you always depend upon if you mess up something
[ ] If your life was in danger, you would do the typical Italian thing and say: “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! I HAVE RELATIVES IN YOUR COUNTRY!”
[x] You would surrender in a war situation

»North Italy (Vargas Feliciano) - Result: [ 5/10 ]

 Germany (Ludwig)
[x] You’re very stoic and serious 
[ ] Sausages are your favourite foods.
[ ] You like to walk dogs/your dog
[ ] Your boss/principal/tutor/home-room teacher is a nut-case. 
[ ] You love rules and think they should always be followed to a T
[ ] You think the world would be better if everyone played by the rules
[ ] You work very hard
[x] Your alone time is your ‘happy time’
[x] You can appear tough but be very considerate towards people
[ ] You’ve had issues with money once or twice

» Germany (Ludwig) - Result: [ 3/10 ]

 Japan (Kiku Honda)
[x] You’re mature 
[x] You think everything over before saying it.
[x] You believe in ghosts but aren’t phased by the experience when you see one
[x] You isolated yourself during childhood
[ ] You became very successful in a short amount of time
[ ] You are somewhat inexperienced when it comes to the outside world
[x] You can seem cold/aloof to other people
[x] You’re good at practical tasks
[x]You need time to adjust to new people

» Japan (Kiku Honda) - Result: [ 7/10 ]

 The United States of America (Alfred F. Jones)
[ ] You love hamburgers
[ ] You think you’re awesome
[x] You love to invent things
[x] You love going to the cinema/watching films/making films
[ ] You can seem to be very brash to other people
[ ] You have a tendency to stick your nose into other peoples’ business
[ ] You’re terrified of ghosts
[x] You know aliens exist
[ ] You tend to wear a bomber jacket all the time
[ ] You wear glasses

» The United States of America (Alfred F. Jones) - Result: [ 3/10 ]

 The United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (Arthur Kirkland)
[x] You like tea 
[ ] You were quite tough and troublesome as a kid
[ ] You’re very sarcastic and cynical
[x] Your cooking is awful
[x] You love spiritual magical stuff, such as fairies, ghosts…
[ ] …But you refuse to believe in aliens.
[ ] You have tried doing black magic before
[ ] You get drunk quite easily. 
[ ] When you are drunk, you tend to be very unhappy
[ ] You’re good at embroidery

» The United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (Arthur Kirkland) - Result: [ 3/10 ]

 France (Francis Bonnefoy)
[ ] You’re very affectionate
[x] You think you have a great fashion sense
[ ] You like wine
[ ] You’re the master of whispering romantic things into peoples’ ears
[ ] You love red roses 
[ ] When it comes to l’amour, you don’t mind men or women
[ ] You’re very proud of yourself
[x] You love culture and the arts
[ ] You’re very flamboyant
[ ] You say you’re a gourmet 

» France (Francis Bonnefoy) - Result: [ 2 /10 ]

 Russia (Ivan Braginski)
[ ] You had a very sad childhood. 
[ ] You’re very tall
[x] You have a tendency to switch between personalities 
[ ] You wear a scarf all the time
[x] You love sunflowers
[ ] You love vodka
[ ]You can seem intimidating to other people
[ ] You’re very strong
[ ]You have a big nose
[ ] You have a strange laugh that can scare people 

» Russia (Ivan Braginski) - Result: [ 2/10 ]

 China (Wang Yao)
[x]You’re very mature
[x]You’re very superstitious
[x] You’re very religious
[x]You love pandas 
[ ] You love cooking so much that you nag if food has a certain pattern of tastes
[x]You love Hello Kitty
[x]You try to be a role-model for your brothers/sisters/whatever, but are never taken seriously.
[ ] You work hard
[x]You’re good at drawing
[ ] You like sweets

» China (Wang Yao) - Result: [ 7/10 ]

 Canada (Matthew Williams)
[x] You’re often ignored by people
[x]You look younger than you actually are
[ ] You love hockey
[x] You love polar bears 
[x] You hate fighting
[ ] You have one strand of curly hair, like Italy
[ ] You often get mistaken for someone else
[x] You feel under-appreciated 
[x] You’re bilingual 
[ ] You always carry a bear with you

»Canada (Matthew Williams) - Result: [ 6/10 ]

 Cuba
[ ] You smoke.
[ ] You’re very physically strong.
[ ] You’ve won a lot of fist-fights.
[ ] In your social circle, there are two brothers - you get along with one, but not with the other.
[x] You have very strong emotions about a variety of topics.
[ ] You like hot weather. 
[ ] You can be very friendly from time to time. 
[ ] You look very tough on the outside.
[ ] You make a very nice role-model
[ ] You don’t let people get a word in edgewise

» Cuba - Result: [ 1/10 ]

 Austria (Roderich Edelstein)
[x] You are very well-raised.
[x] You’re polite. 
[ ] You love classical music.
[x] You like cake.
[ ] You have a mole on your face.
[x] You dedicate your time to your hobbies rather than what needs to be done right away. 
[x] You are a virtuoso/play very well on at least one instrument.
[x] You’ve composed music before.
[ ] You tend to call people ‘morons’. 
[ ] You wear glasses 

» Austria (Roderich Edelstein) - Result: [ 6/10 ]

 Hungary (Elizavéta Hédeváry)
[ ] You have a potty mouth.
[ ] You like to wear flowers in your hair.
[x] You used to be a very tough kid.
[ ] You’re very reliable. 
[x] It’s better to have you as a friend rather than an enemy. 
[x] You’re very faithful.
[ ] Your speech and mannerisms can be considered very unladylike.
[ ] You and your best friend go together like chalk and cheese.
[ ] You are graceful one moment and grinning like a maniac the next.
[ ] If someone yells that yaoi is going on somewhere, you will drop everything to run off to go and see it.

» Hungary (Elizavéta Hédeváry) - Result: [ 3/10 ]

 Prussia (Gilbert Beilschmidt)
[ ] You’re quite mean-spirited.
[ ] You’re a bit of a hooligan.
[x] You’re very loyal.
[x] You’re very good at tactics.
[ ] You hate Russia.
[ ] You love to fight people.
[ ] You can avoid marriages quite well.
[ ] You’re not always taken seriously.
[ ] You like drinking.
[x] You want to become stronger.

» Prussia (Gilbert Beilschmidt) - Result: [ 3/10 ]

 Lithuania (Toris Lorinaitis)
[x] You’re very loyal.
[x] You feel like your best friend drags you around a lot, but you both have a great time together
[x] You’re very serious.
[x] You have a lot of patience. 
[x] You think too much about philosophical stuff.
[x] You get depressed when questioning the point of existing/the universe, etc..
[x] You’re not very confident.
[ ] You were quite rebellious as a child.
[ ] People tend to walk all over you. 
[x] You’re a born worrier.

» Lithuania (Toris Lorinaitis) - Result: [ 8/10 ]

 Poland (Feliks Lukasiewicz)
[ ] You’re very flamboyant.
[ ] You’re quite hyperactive.
[ ] You can be quite goofy.
[ ] When you’re depressed, you tend to rise out of it like a phoenix. 
[ ] You’re very wary of strangers.
[x] It takes you ages to come out of your shell.
[ ] However, when you’re used to someone, you’re very chatty.
[ ] You’re very forceful and stand at one end of the argument when it comes to your opinions.
[ ] You love pansies and corn-poppies
[ ] You get up to lots of crazy antics

» Poland (Feliks Lukasiewicz) - Result: [ 1/10 ]

 Spain (Antonio F. Carriedo)

[x] You tend to like tomatoes
[x] You have two close friends who your with most of the time
[ ] You’re obnoxious at points
[ ] You can be very perverted at points
[ ] Cheerful Country Bumpkin! but the next minute your serious
[x] Despite all your hardships, you remain optimistic and passionate
[x] You have dark secrets
[ ] You use magic
[x] You’re loyal
[ ] Fond of children 

» Spain (Antonio F. Carriedo) - Result: [ 5/10 ]

 Romano (Lovino Vargas)

[x] Stubborn
[x] You have secrets but you tend to keep them away from others
[ ] Emotional most of the time
[ ] You have an Italian curl
[ ] You tend to threaten people
[ ] You like to be the Seme
[ ] You usually hate parenting
[x] You like to cook but hate the criticism or people in “your” kitchen
[ ] You can never find the bathroom in people’s houses
[x] You’ve cried in the past month

» Romano (Lovino Vargas) - Result: [ 4/10 ]

SO APPARENTLY I AM FROM LITHUANIA

will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?

will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?

I know you will

Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful (The Great Gatsby Soundtrack)

Reading materials for educational purposes, don’t know why I put the love sign after the word ‘occasional struggle’ but it sort of makes sense. You can not expect to love someone without any occasional struggle. If you’re in love with someone, it implies that you make a commitment to be in it for the long haul. I know it is out of the context of what the book is actually talking about, but it applies to anything. You cannot expect to be committed in surging without occasional struggle.

there is one song that suits the way that I feel right now, it’s a song about admitting someone else’s victory, admitting that I am the one who have lost the fight.

and you know what? that’s okay. I can handle that. yes, you have won, congratulations. I won’t even be envious or feel anything about that, emotion is off. I don’t even feel vengeful as I usually do in times like this. go on, live your own agenda. and I’ll live mine.

it’s okay even if in fact I will never win, ever. it’s kind of what I am expecting. I just want to live my own live quietly and peacefully without the public eye trooping around about what is going on in my life. I wouldn’t even care what people think about me, even if sometimes I do know what they are thinking. but hey, one’s mind is one’s business. it’s their own legacy. you all have the right to think about whatever you want to think about. I also have the right to think about anything that I want to think about. our mind is our own sanctuary, it’s a place where nobody should invade.

-F

geulis pisan teteh2 ;)