Reader Response #2 — THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (section B)

The Lathe of Heaven is a story from Ursula K. Le Guin about a man named George Orr who possessed a power to change his dreams into reality. It may seem cool and unbelievable and would make us think of how lucky he is. Despite all of that, dreams that he made are turning the world’s peace upside down and brought chaos when the mad scientist appears, Dr. William Haber.

Starting from chapter 8 in the book, the story begins to tell how George’s dreams have gotten worse. After he dreamed of a plague that whipped out 2/3 human population in this world, which is something that beyond logic, he dreamed about the world war and aliens invasion. I found the first part to be really intriguing. How a man’s dream can change the world, not only in the book but also in the real life. It is something illogical for a mere human being can really control the world like George did with just dreaming. But the fact that this world keeps developing is because of every people’s dreams have taken part in it. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison are just 2 real life examples on how a man’s dream could shock the world and bring changes. Dreams are the source of power in this life, because they give someone a vision of a goal in his/her life; and it could end up in either a good or a bad way.

Truthfully, I don’t really find the last couple parts of ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ to be amusing. The plot changed from dreams to ‘Aliens’. I am not saying that Aliens are uninteresting, but it is just something that’s really common and stopping me from curiosity. The book was first published in 1971 and at that time, stories or movies about monsters and aliens would put people in awe. Perhaps the technology has spoiled me from believing the existence of monsters or aliens or life in the out space although the last chapter wasn’t so bad. Being loved by Lelouche cured George’s problems and finally stopped Dr.Haber from destroying the world, and everyone lives happily ever after with the aliens.

People who are gifted can also have dreams where they could see or at least predict the future. We called these dreams, ‘Prophecies’. Some prophecies are told to be true, and some aren’t. Back in 2012, there was this really huge dream by somebody who is really famous in my country, Indonesia. She was so famous that people from all over the nations would come to her and pay lots of money just to get a clue for their futures. She had a dream and made a prediction exactly the same as what the Mayan did, “End of the world would occur in 12/21/2012. Almost everyone believed because same prediction was made before based on these dreams and brought trauma for everyone. But thank God, it never happened and hopefully there wouldn’t be other bad predictions about doomsday.

Film Response #1 —— The Shining

First of all, i have to say that Stanley Kubrick movie “The Shining” is really a remarkable movie. The adaptation from the novel is right to the point and leaves me in awe. There are so many great factors on how this movie has proven to be one of the best horror movie in its era. Well played by the actors, great cinematography, intriguing sound effects, and combined with Stanley Kubrick’s skills as a director had kept me mesmerized throughout the movie. But the thing that really caught my attention was the sound effects. I love how Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind knew the right timing to put the sound effects and drove my emotion as an audience. Wendy Carlos is a prodigy in music and she always knows what she is doing and when to do it.

Even in the beginning of the movie, it’s undeniable how intense the music was. The dark, eerie sounds letting me know what was this show about. If you were just seeing the scene without hearing the sound, then it would just be  plain old pictures from the 80’s. But the sound effect makes this movie even scarier than the majority of horror movies that I have seen these days. In the part when Danny was trying to open the room 237, the music went to a high pitch and really gave me chills to the point where I had to prepare myself in case something will pop out of nowhere. The music was going up and down following every actions that’s happening. Oh, and the other thing that’ really concerns me was because most of the sounds that i heard throughout the movie were familiar. It could be a sound of boiling water in a kettle, or water dripping, or even sounds from Disney cartoons that we might have seen when we were little.

Audio can drive dread to the heart of the audience. In a movie, music can determine when an audience is afraid, and when to listen for other important clues. Fear is one of the primary needs in making a horror movie to be frightening. In some scenes, the music and sounds were silenced so that the audience can get the information from the dialog that is happening and making them wonder for what is going to happen in the next few minutes. When Jack was talking to Llyod the bartender there was no music. The audience needs to hear and focus on what Jack is telling Lloyd. During other periods without music, such as when Jack told Wendy to leave the typing room, made the audience contemplate what has happened rather than continuing to fear Jack’s actions. Sometimes, actions alone are not enough to build the tension for the audience and that is when music comes in.  During Halorann’s death, the silence of the house is quickly broken by loud sounds, causing the audience to be far more startled than the mere sounds of Jack swinging his axe. Jack returns to his madness and so too must the music. Not only do the quick notes show insanity, but the long notes eventually show insanity as well. But instead of Jack’s lunacy, these show Wendy starting to go insane. The long notes slowly become voices in the latter part of the movie. This can cause the audience to wonder, “Has the music always been voices?” This is extremely similar to Wendy’s dilemma of the hotel always seeming as sinister as it is when Jack is insane, wondering if a woman has actually been in the hotel, and if Jack has always been psychotic. Repetitive high pitched notes in a common rhythm are a staple in the horror industry. It’s just the way Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind put every notes in the scenes so precisely and take it to another level.

Reader Response for The Shining by Stephen Hawking

“The Shining” is Stephen King’s imaginative story about a man named Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and the son Danny. The opening chapter of the story takes part in 2 different settings. First is the Hotel up in the mountain called The Overlook Hotel and the second is the house of the family. The Shining has a taste of horror, trauma, and darkness inside but still manifest the feel of a loving family that keeps on soothing the heart of the reader. Overlook Hotel in the story has opened for many decades and have gone through the test of time holds many mysteries. From mysteries however, come curiosity that introduce us about reality in life which we might never think and what is happening surround us.

I do really like the story for it’s way of keeping me attracted and getting me hooked as the pages keep on going. Firstly, Jack Torrance is told to be a loving father even though that his past wasn’t really something amusing for me to read. But the fact that he was an alcoholic reminds me of what my father also used to be. Time flies, people change, either it’s going to a good direction or not depending how one would think. Also comes the wife, Wendy who stands loyal to her husband even for what he had done to Danny which in my opinion is unforgivable for hurting your own kid when they haven’t even know what is wrong or right. Jobs could be stressing, and the story tells me as a reader how a real life is when you have become an adult.

” Hotels are superstitious places “, I definitely agree with this. Especially since I come from a foreign country which holds many horror stories about Hotels, Resorts, Hospitals, and many others. We believe that it would be wise to not have thirteenth floor or room thirteen, otherwise bad luck would come and steal away your fortune. Hotel tends to have many mysteries about suicide, murder, and people who just did something awful in one of the room. There is one special hotel in an island called ‘Bali’ in Indonesia where they put one room always locked and keep people away from getting to close to the door. The room is filled with many green color stuffs which believed to be a place for the queen of the sea in that area. Especially Hotels that have been opened for ages, would surely have something that even the people who know don’t want to talk about. But i find it amusing as you know that life is not always filled with joy, there is also sadness, pain, and tears.

All in all, The Shining by Stephen King is really a wonderful story and has so much emotions inside to keep me entertained. It’s really rare for me to finish even one chapter of a book and this book has proven that not all of them are boring . Great author, great novel, and by far the best.

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