Stardust: Catching a fallen star and finding out your heart’s true desire
It’s been a while since I last wrote a book review. I don’t know if I can still write one but I do hope that I can find it somewhere within me so I can give this book quite a fair judgment.
This book made its way to my hands during the day that I’ve been battling over my own self on what book I should review. A close friend lent me the book and I decided right then and there to use it for my Media Lit class. Since I am a hands-down fanatic of fiction novels, I started reading right away.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
THE STORY (BEWARE OF SPOILERS)
Stardust started off with, of course, Wall being introduced and how the young Tristan Thorn ever came into existence.
During this first chapter, the land of Faerie also became known, the wall that separates the two, the gap in the wall and how the market, that occurs every nine years, played a huge role in the story. The market served as the connecting point where people from the town of Wall get to interact with the Faerie people.
How the young and beautiful Victoria Forester came into the story was also revealed. Victoria will be playing quite a role in the story. She will be like the spark that will cause fire in the life of young Tristan Thorn.
And so the two of them grew up, together with all the introduction of the other characters that will be of a purpose later on.
It was the cold-hearted Victoria that pushed Tristan Thorn to ever cross the boundary between Wall and Faerie when the former wished for Tristan to get the fallen star they watch together fall from the night sky.
And so Tristan set off and started his journey right away, leaving Wall and facing the vast and huge world of Faerie with nothing but his clothes on, some foods inside his bag and a strong heart that is willing to go anywhere just to win his young love.
In the next revealing chapter, the author makes known the other characters that are of interest with the fallen star too just like Tristan. The other characters, the witch-queen that wanted the fallen star’s happy heart for her to regain youth and the young lords of Stromhold that wanted the topaz stone that their father threw to the star before he died.
Tristan, on the other hand, gets to meet a good friend along the way who will be of great help to him. The small man will help him get to the star first using a magical candle light.
When Tristan meets the star, he was quite surprised to see that she was a lady; not some cold, hard stone that he was expecting of her. He captures her, and though with a limp, he still chained her to him.
This is where Tristan and the fallen star’s journey back to Wall started.
At one point of the journey, the fallen star gets to escape away from Tristan when he decided to unchain her as he searched for food in a town they came by to. All lost and helpless, lucky as what he is, someone helped Tristan Thorn again. It was a magical tree that brought him to meet Primus, a lord of The Stormhold and together, they went to the same way the fallen star went; with Tristan concealing the truth that she was a star but some lady he was just after.
It was then the Tristan, Primus and the witch first had an encounter. Primus was killed but because of the remains of the candlelight, Tristan and the fallen star was able to escape the witch-queen.
Due to such, the fallen star was now bounded to Tristan for being her savior.
And so their journey continued on. Along the way, they get to meet a group of pirates and this, Tristan claimed, to be the best experience he ever had of Faerie.
Continuing with their journey on land now, Tristan and Yvaine, the star, came across a wagon where an old lady with a colorful bird, which turned out to be an important person in the life of Tristan later on. They boarded the wagon so they could reach the market in exchange of the snowdrop that Tristan’s father gave him before setting off the journey.
It was in the market of Wall that everything in the life of young Tristan Thorn then, before going to the journey in Faerie, fell into place. It was revealed in the end the co-relation of every character in the story.
Young Tristan Thorn made a journey to catch the fallen star in the mysterious land of Faerie. But what he finds is more than just a fallen star. It’s everything that his heart truly desires.
Stardust is a charming story that made me believe that fairy tales were for adults to.
Okay. For starters, I am really a fan of the classics. And when I do book reviews, I’d always go for them. But this time, Stardust seemed just so appealing to me that I ended up reading the bok and finally deciding I’d make a book review of it.
As I end each chapter, there is this eagerness inside me for the next one. The words and events that unfolded in the story were smoothly woven together with a stroke of adept greatness and vast imagination.
Every piece in the novel fitted together in the end. I was amazed by how Gaiman has created his characters. He has shown the existence of each of the characters with uniqueness and every character has greatly served its purpose for being in the story.
Every character in the novel played a huge role for building up the story itself and for that, Gaiman has earned my respect, awe and everything I could ever think of. Though at some point, I have made quite a few wise guesses, I still enjoyed it as much as I wasn’t expecting it to be. Because honestly, I was expecting it to be boring and I easily judged it by being just like every other fairy tale story out there, lame and for kids.
In the end, I was grateful for having chosen the book. It was not a disappointment. There was never any of it actually; but of pure satisfaction and amazement instead.
Gaiman is indeed a genius for he has brought me into the world of Wall and Faerie, clearly showing his mastery in using vivid language, irony, sarcastic humor and an imagination that knows far no bounds. A fairy tale, but Gaiman proved this one to be unique and original.
I knew it wasn’t such, you know, those heavy kinds of books that I am used to reading. But Stardust is a lightly-written masterpiece that still woke up the literary lover inside me.
(Source: iamzee)
Holidays… Everything that comes before, in between and after.
Media has tremendously affected every aspect of living today; like for instance, celebrating the holidays and everything that comes before, in between and after. Let me share with you a story.
Kym, (Pronounced as “kim”, that is just the proper way to spell her name) grew up in a close-knitted Christian family. Though they are not perfect, for conflicts would always arise from time to time, they are a good bunch of people. Well, for Kym that is.
If you’d ask her how her holidays went like, how much it has changed over the years and how much she was anticipating it before the holiday break from school, she would give you a healthy bunch of answers.
When Kym was a little girl, she was called a “TV absorber” at home. She would memorize lines from commercials in an instant and would be reciting them as she was watching them. She would watch TV as if it was the only thing she could ever understand. And as a little girl, she learned from the television the existence of Santa Claus. She would ask her parents, and they’d tell her that Santa Claus does exist and she’d have to wait for Christmas so she can receive a gift from Santa.
And so every year, she waited for him. There would always be gifts waiting for her in the morning, hanging at the window where she left her father’s sock hanging. She would always use his socks because they are much bigger and she wanted to receive large, beautiful gifts; just like every other kid. Her gifts don’t always fit in the socks but nevertheless, she hangs them; just for the purpose of reminding Santa that she is waiting for her gift.
But she never saw him. When she turned 9, she decided to wait for his arrival. She waited for him all night, trying to catch the mysterious gift-giver. Personally, she just wanted to see how he looks like in person, because his looks on TV showed a fat old guy with white beard and mustache all over his face. Curiosity was one of the many characteristics she has ever since. So she waited for him. On the midnight of the 24th of that year, she went outside their house, looked up at the sky and waited for his sleigh to pass over. Minutes passed; there wasn’t even a single shadow. She was disappointed. But she thought that maybe he was just late for he could still be giving away gifts to other children. It was past 12 already and she was yawning like crazy so she decided to go to sleep. The next year, she learned what Santa really looks like. He is a tall guy with eyes like her and a smile that is so assuring and perfect for Kym that in the end, it didn’t made her feel bad knowing that her father was Santa. But of course, she was a bit disappointed that Santa on TV was fake and that he really wasn’t existing at all.
Kym understood later in life that every kid on the planet should and can enjoy the presence of knowing that Santa is there because he is a symbol of something like “hope” to little kids. Kids hope for a good gift every Christmas, and the thought of Santa existing is something to look forward to every year.
As years passed on, she realized how things has changed over the way people celebrate the holidays.
Her Inay (grandmother) would always tell her that when she was young, during those years of their life in the province, they would always have “kakanin” served on the table every Christmas and New Year’s Eve. There were different forms of ‘kakanin’ and it was present in every table of every house, rich or poor alike. Inay would say she misses those kinds of foods.
For Kym, it was normal for her Inay to feel such way. She was growing old and she misses the old days. But what really Kym realized was how much the TV has affected their way of celebrating the holidays.
The television, every Christmas and holiday season these days of the millennium, never really show so much ‘kakanin’ foods on the table. There was the hamon, the gelatin, the salad and sometimes the lechon. But rarely the kakanin. There is ‘tikoy’ already but rarely the Pinoy type of kakanin on TV. Kym wondered why.
She wondered but at the same time, she guessed the answers to her own questions.
It was like the television made a living standard. It has created an ideal kind of life; a measure of how the good life looks life.
Kym though that people, consumed in the contents of media, never realized the changes it has been inflicting on their lives. Media produces content, people consume, and sometimes, they would not react at once, but then again, there will be changes. No matter what we do, these changes are inevitable. In these changes, the media plays a huge role.
She passed by stores and stalls at the mall. Whenever the holidays are coming, there would always be new sets of techie gadgets lining up every store; each claiming they’re all ideal for gifts. When Kym was younger, she used to receive gifts like shirts, blouses, personal things (hmm?), toys when she was a bit younger, and stuffs she’d be using in school like notebooks and pens. They really haven’t changed much these days. But if you’d ask her, just like any girl or guy her age, she would say it would be a great pleasure to receive a techie gadget as a gift.
This age where advances in technology are at its peak, everyone wants to grab any advanced technology-related material. Especially those gadgets that provide you with anything associated to the internet. Everyone wanted to be a part of the growing social community on the web. And Kym is just one of those ‘everyone’.
These days, people want more and more of communication. Just a click away, people sitting miles away from each other can easily talk or chat. We are basically provided with that opportunity, so why not grab it right?
People can now celebrate holidays miles apart and still feel like the same when together. Greetings for the holidays can also be sent to a hundred or to a thousand different people in just a single click.
Kym recognized the fact that the social media in the internet is now a right and everyone should have an access to it. It makes life easier and all. But she also realized that it’s not always enough. Sometimes it’s the warmth you’re looking for that is lacking in technological gadgets. They can send information and stuff, but they can never make up for all the missed hugs and kisses.
New Year is one of Kym’s most favorite holidays. There is this daunting felling mixed with exhilaration. A year has passed on and the thought of facing a new year filled with new things that would come her way makes her feel agitated. And New Year meant having lots and lots of food on the table. But there is one thing she doesn’t like about it. It’s all those firecrackers that shake the nerve out of her. It’s too much noise. Plus the smell of gun powder that she can barely take.
And of course, all the accidents that lurk whenever the New Year is coming. Firecracker injuries, strayed bullets and possible fires scared Kym. Though she never goes out of the house whenever the firecracker things are going on, she can’t take off her mind from any ‘possible’ harm.
So for the matter, she thanks the media. Whenever the New Year’s coming, media apprise the people with enough information of how dangerous firecrackers are to everyone’s lives; even to those who don’t use one. The TV for instance, is a very powerful medium that can send out information to people in a matter of seconds that can help in the dissemination of information about firecrackers damaging effects.
Just the recent celebration of New Year, Kym’s dad finally decided not to buy firecrackers. She felt happy and realized that somehow, the media contributed to his decision.
But then again, she also realized how hardheaded Filipinos were when there were a high number of firecracker-related injuries. She knew there was no one to blame. It has become a part of the culture.
But Kym knew there is still room for changing what has been done for years. Though it has been a part of the Filipino culture every year, we can always change for the better. Davao is a city that bans firecracker. Still they get to celebrate the New Year happily.
Firecrackers gone don’t mean celebrating the New Year lame. Kym knew it will be good start for something new for every Filipino. Will it be wrong to start something that we can all benefit from?
Every day, we are bombarded with information. This information tends to cause change in people. Change isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that, sometimes, changes are for the better or for the worst that is yet to come. I think it’s just a matter of figuring it out ourselves.
And oh, by the way… At home? They call me Kym. J
(Source: iamzee)
Dissonance: A Mental Discomfort
Your favorite actress is on national television, denying the issue of her alleged mischievous actions last week in a private party. The issue went on headlines on showbiz news and tabloids when the actress was accused of publicly defaming and harassing another actress who was issued to be the reason of her break-up with her model boyfriend for three years.
You gave out a sigh of relief.
“Of course she couldn’t do that”, you tell yourself. She was pretty, educated, belongs to a high-class family and a movie star. She wasn’t capable of such actions. Ever since you’ve heard that issue of her “mischievousness”, you never believed it. Any of it.
Well actually, you did avoid reading the entertainment sections of newspapers lately and the showbiz news on TV when the issue was still on its peak because you claim you get irritated by all the bombardments your favorite actress was receiving. And now that she has denied it all, you felt relieved.
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Above is one of the many ways people cope up with dissonance.
Dissonance theory is one the many striking theories ever created in the world of mass communication. Dissonance is a form of an Attitude Change Theory that is meant to explain how people’s attitudes are formed, shaped, and changed and how those attitudes influence behavior. (Baran, Introduction to Mass Communication)
Among the many vital theories existing in the Attitude Change Theory is the Dissonance Theory that I have quite described above.
Clearly, I have used the word dissonance for four times already, the fifth belonging to this sentence. But I haven’t had explained what dissonance really means and the Dissonance theory as a whole.
Dissonance theory is the argument that when confronted by new or conflicting information, people experience a kind of mental discomfort, which is dissonance. As a result, we consciously and subconsciously work to limit or reduce that discomfort through three interrelated selective processes. (Baran, Introduction to Mass Communication)
The selective processes are the influential “keys” that help us select the information we consume, remember and interpret.
· Selective Exposure or Selective Attention
This is the process by which people expose themselves or attend to only those messages consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs.
From the definition itself, one can clearly describe the effect of mass media in this case. Taken for example, we Filipinos grew up in a conservative way of living. We we’re raised by our parents, the same way they were raised by our grandparents, in a moral way that showing of too much skin in movies is immoral, no matter what the story says; as long as there is malicious and too much violence exposure (e.g killing, rape etc.), it is not fully accepted in our society. Majority of Filipinos still think that certain movies, particularly those indie films that have been reaping awards and recognition from the international community, are unacceptable. Such indie films accept little recognition in the country where they were from because few people get to see the film and appreciate it in its true form. A lot of Filipino people are still afraid of embracing such new concepts because it contradicts their beliefs and the attitudes that they have gotten used to and were reared in such manners.
· Selective Retention
This assumes that people remember best and longest those messages that are consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs.
A follower of a certain political party remembers best the messages of the group he is supporting when he watches them on TV rather than the messages of the other political party during campaign period. You chose what to retain in your memory because of the things you believed in.
· Selective Perception
This process predicts that people will interpret messages in a manner consistent with their preexisting attitudes and beliefs.
Let’s put it this way. Because you believe that you did the right decision and you voted the politician you voted last election is a good person, whatever decision he makes is actually leaning towards goodness. Or achieving goodness. It may take a few bumps and wrong turns, but you still believe he is on the good side. But when a politician you hated makes a move, even though a good one, you instantly believe he is very tricky and has a hidden agenda.
Dissonance of the Attitude Change Theory is a very beautiful phenomenon. It is a form of mental discomfort because as we learn new ideas and information, we tend to cope up with them in such ways that we take into consideration the things we already know and believed in.
Source: Introduction to Mass Communication by Stanley J. Baran
