Utility of Daily Routine
The world of rainbows viewed
with heightened senses
A movie without voices, a flower without fragrance, a dance without music…. The mere thought of them gives me a sense of emptiness and feels like something is missing. “Senses” make the world so much more diverse. Can you imagine life without senses? This is a reminder of how our senses make our life richer and more meaningful.
📝Text by. Su-bin Cho
The first line that filled the entire theater
“Wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothing yet.” This short sentence is the first words that the movie said to the audience to whom movies were mere visual entertainment, and a monumental line that heralded a new era of sound movies. Until the 1920s, movies did not have speech and the audience had to understand the story only with the actions of the actors and actresses and subtitles. So visual elements were critical in silent movies. Directed by Alan Crosland and released in October 1927, The Jazz Singer marked a major turning point in the history of movies all of which were largely standardized. However, only two scenes of the entire movie had voiced lines and the rest of the scenes had only subtitles as in the previous silent movies. Still, the two scenes were all it took to grip the audience with an overpowering sense of euphoria and excitement. After all, the movie was a success, catapulting movie producer Warner Brothers to the ranks of major film producers. Although some people disapproved of sound movies, insisting that “the nature of cinema aesthetics lies in visual beauty,” The Jazz Singer ushered in the new era of sound movies, which subsequently started to pour out and caused the film production industry to thrive.
Cleopatra wrapped in fragrances
Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, is known as a beauty icon. She was not only a beauty but was also a great conversationalist; she had a beautiful voice, and she was well-versed in philosophy, science, and languages. Of all her irresistible charms, her biggest attraction that enchanted so many people was “fragrance." She applied essential oils extracted from roses, Crocus, and violets on her hands, and almond oil and lotion made of honey, cinnamon, and orange flowers on her feet. Roses were always piled ankle-deep on the floor of the palace where she lived. Her bathtub was always filled with fragrances whenever she was in it, and she applied animal-derived perfumes on her body to maintain an air of sophistication, luxury, and mystery.
“Fragrance” was also a tool of diplomacy for her. Cleopatra wore perfumes to maintain a close relationship with Julius Caesar of Rome. She always covered herself in fragrant oil whenever she tried to seduce Antonius so that the fragrance had already spread all over the beach by the time her ship was approaching the shore. Lying in the center of the ship was Cleopatra looking fatally attractive and captivating. Although invisible, “smell” permeates deeply into our brain and remains a powerful and lasting memory. Perhaps the power of fragrance is one of the reasons Cleopatra has been considered a timeless beauty icon until today.
Nowadays, “the game of reading” is becoming popular among young people. While few people read newspapers or books these days, reading has emerged as a hip trend. This trend known as “text hip” is quickly going viral. People look for pretty book cafes and visit them to enjoy reading, browse through paper books at independent bookstores, and buy books recommended by pop idols or social media influencers. They then share “images of themselves reading books” and “their experiences of reading books” on social media.
For them, reading is a form of play and a tool to express themselves. It looks more like an act of consuming books as a “commodity” than “reading” in its pure sense. Nevertheless, it is clearly a sign that there is a growing interest in reading, and that books are perceived in a more positive light. In addition, there is a catalyst that has further fueled this trend.
In October, Han Kang became the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in literature, sparking a nationwide interest in her books. As a result, people rushed to bookstores and formed long queues to buy her books across the country. The fad of text hip may have started out of a desire to showboat, but most people see it as a positive phenomenon in the sense that, in a way, books that have lost ground to video content are back in the spotlight.
People obsessed with text
