For most college students, March is a month to begin something new; some start new relationships, and others set new goals. To start something new, however, a bit of courage is needed. How about getting a spoonful of courage by taking a walk through the arts? The Sungkyun Times (SKT) now introduces a movie and an exhibition recommended for Kingos to enjoy in March, along with a book and music that can encourage Kingos to try and dream of something totally new.
Movie: The Florida Project
The movie The Florida Project, released on March 7th, has been highly anticipated by audiences since its premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2017. It is the story of a 6-year-old girl, Moony, who lives with her single mother in a motel called the ‘Magic Castle’ instead of a ‘real’ castle in the ‘Florida Project’ (the early name for Disney World) which is right in front of the motel. Even though Moony and the rest of the kids living in the motel are always cheerful and imagine their house to become a real castle, a bitter reality lies behind their lives. Since Moony’s mother pays the bills by theft and prostitution, neighbors try to keep a distance from Moony and her mom, thinking they might have a bad influence on their kids. Through Moony’s life where tomorrow is not guaranteed, the film depicts children who dream and laugh along with people who want to develop a ‘real’ castle for them. The biggest feature of this movie is its beautiful and vivid color. Just like the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is also notable for its original color usage, The Florida Project is decorated spectacularly by purple, which is its main color. The Florida Project mixes the pure and lovely appearance of children with the bittersweet and sometimes ugly reality where they live. In particular, the setting that Moony and her mother are living across from Disney World helps the audience to enjoy the movie by finding the hidden message with a broader viewpoint, not just a mere fragmentary one.
Exhibition: Hi-POP
Inspired by the word ‘popular’, Pop-art has broken the boundaries between art and commerce and became the essence of modernist art in the 1960s. The exhibition, Hi-POP, brings together five artists who led the heyday of Pop-art: Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol. This exhibition is a special exhibit which shows a large selection of 160 works sorted among each artist’s collections. The biggest feature of this exhibition is its space composition. Each space of the five artists becomes a piece of a puzzle of Pop-art, and as a whole reminds visitors of New York, the city of Pop-art. In the exhibition, visitors can experience making their own eco-bags using a silk screen, a technique that Andy Warhol used frequently. There are also various photo spots of actual works all over the exhibition, so visitors can experience being part of these works.
Book: Alchemist
Alchemist, one of the major works of Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, would be a great book to read in March. Santiago, the protagonist of Alchemist, follows the same routine every single day. After having a dream in which he finds treasures in the pyramids of Egypt, Santiago cannot stop thinking about the dream. At last, he makes up his mind to leave his comfortable and stable life behind and start finding the treasures which appeared in his dream. On his journey, he encounters a number of incidents such as getting scammed and meeting the love of his life. Santiago also meets an ‘alchemist’ who helps him find the treasures. After a long journey, he finally figures out the answers to the treasures and realizes what he was looking for the whole time. Many Kingos might be seriously worried about their dreams and careers. Some might even wonder whether they are chasing the ‘right’ goal or not. Joining the journey with Santiago, Kingos can get the courage to take their first steps towards their dreams just like Santiago did. Some people think they have achieved real happiness in their lives, while merely keeping their dreams in their mind untouched. As the book Alchemist describes, however, true happiness cannot be achieved by just having dreams. Rather, they can be achieved by visualizing them and trying hard to make them come true in real life even though a long journey is required. After all, having the courage to start and decide something is what Alchemist wants to give to its readers. As the Alchemist says, “when you desperately want something the whole universe will help your dream come true.”
Music: Dear Cloud - To You, Getting Stronger by the Day
Recommended music for Kingos in March is Dear Cloud’s To you, getting stronger by the day. Dear Cloud is a modern Korean rock band formed in 2005, which has been a four-member mixed band for over 10 years. With the appealing husky-toned voice of the lead singer Nine9, and varied band performances, Dear Cloud is empowering people through its music that is comforting them in their weary everyday lives. The biggest trait of this song is the lyrics that give courage with comfort and sympathy. The song conveys a message of hope; if you have survived a tough day, tomorrow you will be stronger and the wounds will heal day after day. Every Kingo, from freshmen who just entered college and are unaware of what to do, to seniors who are fearful and worried about their future, would be able to get the strength and courage to make a fresh start and try something new in March through this song. The song To you, getting stronger by the day is included in Dear Cloud’s mini album Let it shine which was released in 2013. The album Let it shine consists of six songs, and To you, getting stronger by the day is listed as track four.
