The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

People celebrate their Valentine’s Day differently. Some might go to romantic dinners or sit in the veranda, gazing at the stars while holding hands. Some buy flowers and a box of chocolate as a gift for the loved one. Others will stay at home and see movies in the living room, sitting close to each other, side by side. For them who enjoy romantic movie, there is a wonderful film everyone must see.

The opening story is about a man named Gateau. He was a clock-maker who was born blind. He was making a clock for new train station when his son joined the army. Waiting for him, Gateau seriously built the big clock. But his son never came home. His body is, not his soul.

Under his depression, Gateau finished the clock. When it was showed in front of people, they were surprised for they saw the clock was not moving forward, but backward. What he said was sort of like this,”I made this clock goes backward so that our son who died in war can returned home alive, work in the farm, have children, and live a long life.” All people there stand up, looking at him sympathetically, understand his feeling.

The scene went to another house in New Orleans. It was a celebrated night. The first World War has ended. But in that house, another struggle took place. A woman died straight after she gave birth. His husband wanted to see his son in haste, after knowing the wife’s death. Sadly, the baby was born in peculiar way. He was not young such as a normal baby, yet like an old man. His skin was awfully wrinkled. Frustrated and grieved, Thomas Button, the father, almost killed the baby. But suddenly a harbor police saw him. On the second thought, Thomas put the baby on the old folks’ stairs. He left ten dollars in Benjamin’s blanket. Then he went away.

Quinney, the owner of that house planned to go out with his boyfriend—soon became her husband. He accidentally stepped on the baby. They freaked out looking at the baby’s condition. Quinney soon took the baby into her room. She then decided to adopt him as his son and named him Benjamin.

Benjamin, ‘the old baby’, lived there with the old people. He grew up with the thought that he also an old man, not a boy, because he is not pretty much different from another man there, old and sick. He could hardly walk. But he is as playful as a normal boy.
In that house, he learned many things. The most is about losing the loved one. The old men there were all his best friends. In old folks’, people come and go. Benjamin went to a lot of funeral in his young age.

Time passed. Once, Benjamin met a 10-year-old girl. Her name was Daisy (Cate Blanchett), a granddaughter of an old lady who lived in that house. The first time he saw him, he fell for her. “I will never forget her blue eyes,” he said to himself. He became her friend. After spending time together, they both believed Benjamin was not an old man despite his appearance. They became closer.

One that Benjamin soon realized about his unusual circumstances was the more years, he felt stronger, healthier, and younger. Indeed, Benjamin grew younger. He started to work in a ship named Chelsea. First, the captain doubted him. But, he proved that he could stand to work in a ship. Feeling interested in sailing, he even once invited Daisy when she visited her grandmother. They saw a Sunday morning fog from the ship.

Unhappily, Benjamin should go abroad as a sailor in Chelsea for three years. Before he left, he promised Daisy to send her postcard wherever he went. He did. Therefore, Daisy always knew about his condition. Include, when he fell in love with a married woman in Russia. Daisy, who was studying as a ballerina in New York, was sad. She tried to forget him by practicing. She was a good dancer and also a beautiful woman.

Benjamin, too, became a mature and handsome man. He then came back to New Orleans after his ship was hit by Germany submarine. He was safe. But he lost captain in that attack. That is the first moment he learned about loss. He ran into Daisy when he came home. The love story began. No easy, because Daisy turned into different person. Free and aggressive woman so that Benjamin quite surprised.

Also the major problem is, how can they be together while one gets older and the other gets younger? That is the answer you should find by yourself.

This movies successfully played Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The story was written based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It makes the story more amazing since many movies was derived from books—most of them very thick. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button nominated for 13 Academy Award and Global Award. In addition, this movie won awards from Houston Film Critics Association for Best Movie and Best Cinematography categories, National Board of Review in Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.

Photo: thaborderlands.blogspot.com

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Yang Tak Terbahasakan--1

Saya menulis sebenarnya karena iri. Ini juga ditulis karena cemburu. Pasalnya, beberapa teman plus pengampu Pelatihan Jurnalisme Sastrawi sudah mendokumentasikan momen ini. Saya belum.

Sebenarnya bingung juga mau menulis apa. Bukannya karena tidak penting tapi ada peristiwa tertentu yang tak terbahasakan. Kalau dibilang senang, lebih dari itu. Kalau dibilang antusias, ke sana lagi antusias. Begitulah.

Yang jelas, siapa sih tak bangga ikut pelatihan yang diadakan Tribune Institute ini. Pelatihan pertama Jurnalisme Sastrawi di Kalimantan Barat. Yang mengajar, murid langsung Bill Kovach, Andreas Harsono. Peserta lain, ada yang dari Jerman, ada yang pengacara, ada dari NGO, ada redaktur, ada wartawan. Dahsyat.

Saya? Mahasiswa.

Kesempatan emas yang sangat berharga. Lain kali lanjut cerita lagi.

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Warnet dan Pembantaian

Saya masih duduk di warnet saat itu. Mengerjakan tugas yang menumpuk menjelang ujian akhir.
“Eh, Grammar udah selesai belum?”
“Belum. Banyak soalnya! Tapi ramai yang belum.”
“O.. baguslah, ada kawan”.
Bukannya kabar, setiap baru sampai di kampus, malah tugas yang ditanyakan.

Sedang serius mencari artikel tentang Cooperative Learning, tiba-tiba seorang pria menyeletuk,”Kenapa ya Hitler dulu tak habiskan saja Yahudi?” Saya baru sadar ternyata yang dibicarakan invasi Israel ke Palestina.

Mereka bertiga. Dua orang di antaranya penjaga warnet. Yang seorang tampaknya teman mereka. Mendengar temannya bicara begitu, dua penjaga warnet tak menanggapi. Khawatir dua teman bicaranya tak paham soal sejarah Nazi dan Holocaustnya, ia menjelaskan sedikit. Tapi lagi-lagi tak ada tanggapan. Ia berlanjut tentang saham.

Saya nyengir sendiri. Tak bisa dibayangkan sebuah pembantaian merasionalisasikan pembantaian lain. Padahal sejatinya, pembantaian itu sinting. Israel membantai Yahudi, karena tanah, itu sinting. Apapun alasannya. Dulu Hitler membantai Yahudi juga gila. Tapi meski sekarang Yahudi yang jadi pelaku, tak pernah ada celah untuk pembenaran.

Perang selalu menyakitkan. Selalu meyisakan penyesalan. Selalu membunuh harapan. Dalam perang, yang menang jadi arang, yang kalah jadi abu.

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Ketika Berita Ber-Striptease Ria

Berita. Sebuah karya jurnalistik mengenai suatu peristiwa yang lazimnya aktual dan akurat. Orang yang menulis berita disebut pewarta atau wartawan.

Sejalan dengan reformasi dan kebebasan pers di Indonesia--katanya sih bebas--berita dan media makin marak dan beragam. Semua yang bisa dibuka, dibuka. Malah makin vulgar. Misalnya liputan-liputan kriminal di media cetak dan elektronik. Sebagian besar sarat nuansa kekerasan fisik dan seksual.

Etika pemberitaan pun diabaikan. Seperti kerahasiaan identitas korban dan pelaku, gambar atau deskripsi yang terlalu detail tentang modus kejahatan, dan sebagainya.

Perlahan, berita pun menjadi penari telanjang. Dia benar-benar kehilangan fungsi. Dulu memberi informasi, sekarang memberi hiburan. Sebab media lupa untuk siapa dia lahir. Atau memang media bukan lahir untuk memihak kebenaran, seperti dulu. Atau sekarang media lahir untuk menambah kekayaan kaum kapitalis?

Bahkan posisi berita sekarang makin tidak jelas. Berita ada yang sebenarnya gosip. Gosip juga disamakan dengan berita. Lalu apa bedanya gosip dan berita? Dalam buku Sembilan Elemen Jurnalisme, sebuah buku yang menjadi acuan wartawan, untuk menghindari adanya bias dari diri wartawan dan untuk mendapatkan berita yang mendekati yang objektif, harus dengan metode objektif. Hanya satu. Disiplin verifikasi. Itulah beda berita dan gosip.

Jadi, berita hanya dari satu sumber--korban atau pelaku--haram diterbitkan. Berita itu belum memenuhi syarat utama jurnalisme. Kecuali pihak kedua buron atau terbunuh. Lagi, setiap karya yang tidak memenuhi verifikasi dan delapan elemen lain, tidak termasuk jurnalisme. Gosip apalagi. Makanya sangat mencengangkan ketika Cek&Ricek dengan bangga memproklamirkan diri sebagai:"pelopor jurnalime infotainment". Ironis.

Terakhir, berita tidak menyumpal pembaca dengan kebenaran. Hanya memberi jendela atau pandangan baru atas apa yang terjadi. Maka, jangan pernah percaya suatu peristiwa dari satu koran. Lebih baik memiliki banyak batu dan bisa memilih mana yang terbaik.

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Suatu Senin

"Git...aku chatting ama Gilang".

"Hmmm..."

"Aku chatting ama Gilang, aku suruh dia cepat-cepat".

Begitu kalimat-kalimat yang keluar dari bibir seorang remaja. Ia duduk di sebuah bilik warnet, tepat di seberangku.

Bahagianya mereka yang dapat bertemu dengan orang-orang yang mereka sayang. Menatap, menyentuh, memeluk. Satu cara untuk bertahan hidup satu hari lagi.

Sebab rindu itu membunuh. Sebab ia mengiris-iris dan membuat gila. Perasaan yang tak pernah kenal negoisasi. Perasaanku yang terlalu rindu.

Benarkah aku bisa terbunuh?
Tidak. Jelas tidak.
Aku hanya tidak bisa tidur berhari-hari.
Kebal dari lapar berhari-hari.
Jatuh dari motor karena tidak konsentrasi.
Menulis dengan mata yang basah.
Yah, aku tidak akan terbunuh.

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