Have you ever entered the imaginary world? In our imagination, animals can talk and fictional creatures flourish. Because our imagination creates a world so different from reality, people come alive with excitement and fun entering that new world. Books and movies take you to these new worlds. They pull you into a story and the pleasure of that world shines bright in your eyes as if it is reality.
The Chronicles of Narnia by Clive Staples Lewis
“I think you doubt your worth. Don’t run away from yourself.”
- King Aslan
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a 7-story adventure that its characters advance through. Long ago, a great lion named Aslan created a world called ‘Narnia’. It was to be a peaceful land where all animals, mythical creatures, and humans could exist in harmony. Diggory, a magician’s nephew and the first story’s main character, saw the creation of Narnia. He received a magic apple that grew into a magic wardrobe. As time passed, Pevensie children, who lived at Diggory’s house during the war, discovered the magic wardrobe that is the gateway to Narnia. The remaining 6 stories of the Chronicles of Narnia center around the Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. The first time they visit Narnia, they arrive during a winter that had lasted for over hundreds of years because of a White Witch. The Pevensie children help Aslan to recover Narnia and regain peace in the land. The Pevensie children govern Narnia, but throughout their reign, they encounter many hardships that they work to overcome. After the adventure in Narnia, they return to reality and become normal students again. However, they return to Narnia due to magical powers while on their way to school one day. What has happened in Narnia that there is a need for the children to return?
Recommendation
“What is in the wardrobe?” This SMT reporter is sure each of us has pondering over this once as a young child. The book focuses on this question and creates a new world where animals, humans, and ancient Greek mythology characters coexist. One of the main characters in this book is King Aslan. Aslan is not a typical lion but something similar to a celestial or god. He controls every adventure the children enter and helps lead them through it. Whenever children are in times of trouble or lose their will or hope, he appears and advises them through the turmoil with words of wisdom. Before reading this book, there are several things you should consider first. First, this SMT reporter recommend reading the series in the order of its development, and second, if that doesn’t appeal to you, read the series in the sequence that the books were published. For those who like chronological order or want to enter a huge adventure according the passage of time, the first recommendation is best suited to you. For those who seek pleasure from background information to the adventure stories and desire knowledge of hidden secrets, the second choice will suit your needs. This SMT reporter is sure that, regardless of reading order, you will feel fully satisfied with the series and even want to recommend them to others interested in fantasy.
Avatar(2009)
“This is how it's done. When people are sitting on s*** that you want, you make them your enemy. Then you justify taking it.”
- Jake Sully
Avatar
The year is 2154 and Earth is no longer able to sustain human life due to the lack of energy sources. The Resources Development Administration (RDA) turns to Pandora, a moon home to the Na’vi and poisonous to humans, to mine a much needed valuable natural resource called unobtanium. In the process, the RDA receives help from Dr. Grace, who turns humans into Avatars, enabling them to assimilate into the Moon’s environment and collect information about the place. Avatars are creatures that are approximately ten-foot tall and blue-skinned, looking just like the Na’vi, natives of the Moon. Each avatar is controlled by a human linked to the host body through controls in a link room. Jake Sully is a paraplegic former marine who willingly participates in the Avatar program as his brother’s replacement. At first, his only reason for joining the program is to get his legs back, which is the reward Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of the RDA's private security force, promises him. However, experiences in the new world make him realize how much sacrifice it takes for the Na’vi Clan, and he is changed forever.
Recommendation
As hard as it is to believe, this film was released almost ten years ago. <Avatar (2009)> presents audiences with an unforgettable experience through its characters as they face challenges on the Moon of Pandora with its high-quality imagery. The movie is renowned for its beautiful graphics, especially, its astounding 3D imagery. The film has a captivating plot, but what is most impressive is how it delivers the message of nature’s beauty and power. Detailed graphics plays a big role in bringing the fantasy world to the real world. The exotic but beautiful creatures seem true-to-life in front of the audiences’ eyes. Along with that, Jake and Neytiri’s relationship shows that differences can be overcome when a common goal and desire are shared. In the end, the biggest message is unraveled: who the real owners of the world are. Like the words of Jake Sully, “Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world, and in here is the dream,” Avatar will surely pull you into the fantasy world, making you feel the real world is a dream and that Pandora is the real world.
Kim Hong Taeeun / Society Section Editor
smt_tek@sookmyung.ac.kr
Kim Shin Hyerin / Reporter
smt_shr@sookmyung.ac.kr
