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SCOPE APRIL 2017
April 2017
SCOPE Bulletin Rachel Wong Odette Lau Seleste Woo Abigail Wong
Kelly Wing Keona Pang Tiffany Wong Long Shan King
Wisdom by Julia Willemyns
I remember a single sparrow was perched on your back when I called your name you looked up and nodded at the clouds in the sky as if you were excusing yourself from small talk “Silence is silver” you would say.
You ate fire in Dresden
“Then what is gold?” I asked.
and sank all night in submarines.
“Words with meaning.”
Drank turpentine for a living
You would then wink and continue,
with whores next door
hands weaving slowly.
screaming vomiting whispering.
You were among the scholars of war
You lit cigarettes in boxcars
The major?
as you burnt holes in your arms
Missed Opportunities.
in a narcotic tobacco haze.
Envious of those who passed through universities
You showed me the scars
with radiant cool eyes.
saying they meant more then the battle injuries.
ć˜Ľ
Strength of
Hua watercolour/ink/charcoal rachel wong
ć˜Ľ
Sakura, Sakura by Yuet Shen
Chaste kisses hang from crooked trees adorning it ever so lovely. As the breeze whispers Sweet nothings.
Pink petals flutter down,
It lingers; a pastel pathway.
"blurs the line between romanticism and grit"
All The Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy
A NOVEL REVIEW by Will Garing
In my opinion Cormac McCarthy is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest American writers alive. A big claim, I know, but I implore you to pick up on his books, as I did 6 months ago with his 2006 novel The Road. After reading All the Pretty Horses, I have reaffirmed just how talented and beautiful his writings are. Don’t let the name put you off, All The Pretty Horses is not your little siblings’ book about how pretty equestrian animals can be (although it certainly plays a role). No, it’s a Neo Western that blurs the line between romanticism and grit; it follows a young man and his search for a cowboy’s life in 1947, as he journeys through the American frontier into Mexico. It’s a stunning work of prose that explores themes of nature, friendship, betrayal, and most of all, the postmodern existentialism in a rapidly advancing society. To put it simply, it goes from moments of breathtaking language and imagery of the wild, to moments of hard action and wit. Now, don’t feel like you need to be into westerns or horse riding or mexican landscapes to enjoy this book. I, for one, had no pre-existing interest in either of those concepts, and yet I couldn’t put the book down. McCarthy’s writing style can seem a bit jarring to first time readers, with his run-on sentences and preference to only leave in essential punctuation marks. But after 3 or 4 pages, I was absolutely hooked. In a similar vain to Joyce (for all you grade 12 literature students) but not to the same extreme, he prefers to leave out what he calls “weird little marks”, and experiments with pacing and scene-perception via the use of polysyndeton and run-on sentences. His minimalist approach creates a great flow, and never a tedious moment. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their literary horizons - or simply, if you want an amazing story that grips you to the very end. It’s an addicting read, and whilst not one of his most iconic works like The Road or Blood Meridian, it’s entirely approachable and leaves you with the urge to have your own journey into the unknowns of nature.
SYNOPSIS
The path to redemption is never an easy one - and this is certainly true for protagonist Shouya Ishida. Flashback to his grade-school self, whose antics revolve around self-amusement and attention. When Shouko Nishimiya, a transfer student who is also deaf arrives, Ishida is quick to take her disability and place a target on it. The bullying escalates quickly - as it often does - spiralling out of control and into the unforgivable. When his ostracising ultimately leads to Nishimiya’s departure, his classmates turn against him and he becomes the newest victim. Perhaps the generic response would be that it “serves him right”, but what’s more important is the aftermath - the awareness of the pain he had inflicted, and an equally strong resolution to come to terms with his wrongdoings... And thus begins Ishida’s coming-of-age story. This f ilm teaches the importance of listening - and by this, I am not referring to the sensory experience, but rather one’s attempts to understand, no matter what shape of form the other’s voice may take. And so, author Yoshitoki Oima asks the audience to similarly listen to the quiet, but powerful narrative that is Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice - or more accurately translated, “Shape of Voice”). Life is breathed into the characters as they jump out of their original manga pages and meet audiences in a new f ilm adaptation.
A FILM REVIEW by Rachel Wong
Having read the manga a couple years back (shoutout to Noten, who I owe for the recommendation), I was both excited and apprehensive - after all, it’s not easy to create an adaptation that lives up to its original counterpart, especially for a beautifully crafted manga such as this one. But Koe no Katachi abolishes all my initial concerns, and surpasses my expectations. As always, KyoAni delivers, with its intricate, whimsical art style and emotion-inducing pacing. Voice actors, The mellow soundtracks complement the setting of the story mar vellously, and together, a compelling 2 hour version of the 7-volume original is born. And my verdict? I absolutely LOVED it. On the contrary, a friend of mine said, as we were walking out of the theatre “I don’t get it”, to which - after some intense, f ist-shaking, indignant bursts of defense - I realised they had just pinpointed one of the most pivotal aspects of the f ilm. This friend, who was expecting a ground-breaking revolution or a grandiose epiphany had been struck with an opposite, yet equally power ful message; the value of storytelling is not proportionate to the scale of its plot, and it is sometimes the most mundane of events, or the smallest of moments where we learn the most from. As a certain English teacher once told me, meaning can be found anywhere. In fact, the themes presented are not without merit; we learn that while one may never reverse their past, they are capable of change. We learn that adults and children alike, make mistakes and learn from them. We learn that forgiveness is an option. Such is the beauty of the slice-of-life genre.
OUR VERDICT
声の形
A Silent Voice K Y OTO A N I M AT I O N SLICE-OF-LIFE, DRAMA, SCHOOL
A Letter to the Dead by Christine van Voorst
DEAR SOPHIE, I write.
I pause and stare at the two words scribbled in black ink for what seems like forever. My
focus is directed to the name that continues to haunt me till this day. Her name.
I look down at my hands which tremble so much that I can hardly keep a grip on the foun-
tain pen. My stomach tightens with guilt as I recall how our last conversation ended. All the memories I have are so vivid that it feels like reality. My vision clouds as I am thrown back to the rainy day of Friday, April 13th, 2012. ***
“You’re so stupid, Sophie, so unbelievably stupid.” I say leaning forward in my car seat in an
attempt to see past the heavy rain. I know I’m hurting her but I’m overcome with an urge to contin-
ue. “Sometimes I wonder how unlucky I am to have someone as pathetic as you as my girlfriend.”
Silence. In reality, I know that in fact I am the lucky one to have someone like Sophie in my
life, yet my pride is too strong for me to admit that. The longer the silence lasts, the more the air around us begins to fill with tension.
“Let me out,” she finally says, there’s no mistaking the hatred in her voice. I turn to face her
and see her unbuckling her seatbelt with shaking hands. It is only when she reaches for the door that the passing streetlamps illuminate the tears on her face. I immediately regret everything I
said. I open my mouth to apologise but I am cut off by a sudden impact that throws us both forwards.
Fortunately, my seatbelt restricts me from flying through the windshield of the car, but it
doesn’t prevent my head from slamming against the car’s steering wheel.
My body is thrown in every direction while the car continues to flip, everything’s happening
so quickly that I can’t even process half of the things I see and hear. It is only when the car comes to a stop that I notice the throbbing pain in my head. I look up just in time to see another car slide to a stop, there’s no mistaking the huge dent in the hood caused by our collision. I’m still in shock as I continue to look around from inside my car and nearly miss something that’s lying on the side of the road, my eyes widen as I realise it’s a human body.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and climb out of my irreparable car as fast as my injury would allow,
but with every step I take, my head spins more than before, so much to the point where I feel on the edge of unconsciousness.
Was it the other driver? Was it an unlucky pedestrian? I think of all the possibilities on who
the victim could be. But the moment I recognize it, my body is frozen in shock. I finally realise that Sophie wasn’t wearing a seatbelt during the crash and because I was so focused on the victim, I hadn’t even bothered to check on her. Which could only mean...
“No...” My voice is hoarse and barely above a whisper, my eyes fill with tears as I fall on
my knees, oblivious to the blood spilling out of her body like paint, staining my clothes. The world continues to spin so quickly that I can hardly concentrate on staying upright.
I reach forward in an attempt to hold her hand, but before I can, my body gives out in ex-
haustion and I collapse beside Sophie. The world around me becomes a blur of outlines and colors as I slowly begin to slip into oblivion.
Still, I look back at Sophie before my eyelids can completely close and think of how happy
we’ll be together after recovering from this accident.
Little did I know, that would be the last time I’d ever see her again. ***
It is only when my pen clatters to the wooden floor of my bedroom, that I fall back into real-
ity. I shake my head to clear the horrible memories before picking up the pen.
I look back down at the words I’ve written so far and debate about whether to carry on or
not. I don’t want to continue writing the letter. But I have to, for her. Because it’s the third anniversary of her death.
If it was even possible, my hands begin to shake even more than before THIS IS ALL MY FAULT. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. BECAUSE I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU. LOVE, SAM.
Threads of
Intersection
STRING ART by Natashia Lee
A dark sh of magic “I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it." "Seen what?" Her smile widened. "Everything.� In our world, there is only one Hong Kong. One New York. One London...but what if there were more?
Book Review
Kelly Wing by
Grey London. Red London. White London. Black London.
hade
written by
V. E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic introduces you to the quirks and dangers of each realm: the mundane Grey, vivid Red, deathly White and void Black. It follows the story of a young man, an Antari named Kell, who can travel between these worlds. When smuggling goods across Londons, he accidentally finds himself caught up in a plot to overturn the fortune of his nation. Enter Delilah Bard (Lila), the most badass thief you can find. Having lived in Grey London her whole life, she has always dreamed for more. For adventure. For magic. As the paths of these two characters cross, you’ll find yourself thrown into a whirlwind of excitement and suspense. Truth be told, I had hit a bit of a reading slump lately. Every book seemed to recycle the same generic plots and characters. Having gone into A Darker Shade of Magic with relatively low expectations, I was ecstatic to discover that I genuinely loved the characters, from the wits and antics of Lila, to Kell’s sarcasm and Rhy’s adorable nature. The setting itself was beautifully crafted; the richness of Red London evoked feelings of magic similar to those felt when reading Harry Potter. The book also provided plethora of poignant quotes. I’ll leave off here with one of my favorites. “But the thing about people, Kell had discovered, is that they didn't really want to know. They thought they did, but knowing only made them miserable.”
Bel ieve r
Co ld
S y mpho n y
IMAGINE DRAGONS
MAROON 5, FUTURE
CLEAN BANDIT, ZARA LARSSON
M ovie
Re al l y R e al l y
H o w Can I S ay
BTOB
WINNER
DAY6
Cha nge
G re e n L ig ht
Fool
RAP MONSTER, WALE
LORDE
WINNER
I Would
Wait
Cru s h
DAY6
NOMBE
YUNA, USHER
V ib in' Out
I Do n 't Wan n a K n o w
Carry Me H o me
FKJ
ASTRID S
JORJA SMITH, MAVERICK SABRE
T hrou g h t he Nigh t
S up ermark e t F l o w e rs
R ain
IU
ED SHEERAN
SOYOU, BAEKHYUN