Maksud saya kostum para superhero. Saya kan berusaha berbicara dengan Bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar. Dan moga-moga Polisi EYD yang terhormat berkenan tidak mencela gaya bahasa saya secara terang-terangan. *Duh!*
(Eh, tapi apa benar superhero bisa diterjemahkan dengan "adipahlawan"? Atau malah "adipendekar"? "Adipejuang"? Istilah-istilah memang suka bikin pusing. Ah, sudahlah!)
Kalau diperhatikan, kostum (saya pilih istilah ini saja, rasanya lebih pas) para pahlawan pembela kebenaran itu jarang yang praktis. Superman dengan celana dalam di luar; Batman... tidak kelihatan di mana letak celananya, soalnya hitam semua; Spiderman yang tidak jelas di mana letak lubang untuk hidungnya, kendati sudah pasti mulutnya tertutup semua -- bagaimana dia akan bernapas? Lewat seluruh pori-pori pakaiannya?
Selain kelihatan unik, gaya, menarik perhatian, kostum mereka bagi saya tidak banyak manfaatnya, malah membuat ribet. Apa gunanya, misalnya, jubah untuk Superman dan Batman? Waktu Clark Kent pertama kali menyadari kemampuannya terbang, dia pasti sedang mengenakan busananya sehari-hari -- barangkali kemeja kotak-kotak dan celana denim sebagaimana digambarkan dalam cerita bergambar karya Jerry Siegel dan Joe Shuster itu. Kalau tidak salah, kostum Superboy yang pertama dijahit oleh ibunya. Jadi mungkin saya harus mencurigai selera sang ibu, yang -- sebagaimana lazimnya para ibu -- ingin anaknya tampil se-TAMPIL mungkin, alias menjadi pusat perhatian. Namanya juga bangga. Hm, jadi ingat ibunya Agus.
Pahlawan-pahlawan rekaan para komikus dalam negeri sama saja. Er... sebenarnya saya harus mengakui, tidak banyak tokoh sains fiksi domestik yang saya ketahui. Saya cuma kenal Gundala Putera Petir, dan... Sri Asih *tersipu-sipu*, yang populer di era remaja ibu saya, karangan RA Kosasih, komikus wayang yang belum tergantikan itu.
Sri Asih boleh dikatakan juara busana pahlawan salah kaprah. Saya pertama kali membaca petualangan Sri Asih di perpustakaan sekolah saya di Surabaya, dan entah kenapa merasa terpikat pada kisah-kisah keberaniannya selanjutnya. Sebagai anak-anak, bisa dimaklumi kalau saya waktu itu tidak melihat kejanggalan pada kostumnya yang ala... wayang orang! Padahal Sri Asih hidup di jaman modern, sehingga kalau dia muncul bisa-bisa dia dikira pemain ketoprak kesasar, walaupun kekuatan fisiknya dahsyat.
Saya berpikir-pikir: seandainya ketika tengah menjalankan tugasnya, tahu-tahu para pembela kebenaran yang gagah berani ini ingin membuang hajat (hajat 'kecil' ataupun hajat 'besar'), bagaimana dia akan melakukannya secepat mungkin dengan kostum yang sedemikian ruwetnya ya? Apalagi kalau di sekitar lokasi kejahatan tidak ada wc umum. Para pahlawan wanita pasti menghadapi tantangan yang lebih besar. Wonder Woman yang punya pesawat sendiri mungkin tidak terlalu mengalami masalah, dengan asumsi pesawatnya memiliki kamar kecil. Tapi bagaimana dengan, misalnya, Supergirl (sepupu Superman) atau Catwoman? Bisakah kita membayangkan Supergirl terbang dengan membawa-bawa gulungan tisyu?
Ibu ini lain lagi cara pandangnya. Dia tidak habis pikir, komentarnya dalam satu sesi obrolan maya dengan saya, kenapa para pahlawan itu merasa perlu berganti pakaian ketika akan menumpas kejahatan. Memangnya mereka tidak bisa melakukannya dengan menggunakan pakaian harian mereka?
Saya mencoba berargumentasi bahwa barangkali pergantian busana itu dimaksudkan sebagai representasi kerendahatian mereka, yang tidak ingin menjadi individu yang dikultuskan. Selain untuk menghindari mudahnya mereka menjadi sasaran para penjahat yang biasanya memiliki akses pada teknologi canggih, meskipun tidak memiliki "adikekuatan" (alias kekuatan super, hehehe...). Tapi dalam hati sebenarnya saya sependapat dengannya, apalagi -- seperti saya sebutkan di atas -- kostum para pahlawan ini pada dasarnya tidak praktis.
Jangan-jangan ini kemauan ibu mereka...
PS. Sondi, mungkin kamu benar, saya sedang terserang blogging frenzy.
Busana Adipahlawan
Star Trek: Energize!
On the way to a dining venue a couple of days ago, I found out that some colleagues and I have something in common, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Looooongg... time ago, when I was still in kindergarten, my friends and I were avid fans of the original Star Trek (Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, remember?). We often reminisced an episode, and I used to be the bad guy, hehehhe...
But later, after I got hooked up to The Next Generation, I decided that the succeeding series are far more interesting than the original version, and the best of them all, even compared to the later offsprings, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Perhaps because Gene Roddenberry, the creator, was not around anymore when the latter two were in production.
Anyway, a colleague argued that The Next Generation's elemental appeal is its logical traits. It's science fiction, but the technology and phenomena displayed were based on actual science (with lots of imagination, of course). The character Q, for example, is widely believed as the materialization of the quantum principle in the relativity theory. Q can hop from one universe to the other, and is not impeded by time. Even the so-called wormhole is a concept that is also recognized in astronomy (if I'm not mistaken), though its existence is still debatable.
One of The Next Generation's most popular device among the Trekkies seems to be the Holodeck. You know, the holographic amusement room in which everyone can fulfill their wildest dream by, well, using another dream. Okol -- apparently another fellow Trekkie! -- says that she sometimes fantasizes being a local heroine (sorry, the heroine's name is confidential, hehehe...) in the Holodeck. Holodeck isn't actually my thing, though if I got the opportunity to try one, I'd certainly opt for being... hm. Funny. I can't think of one. Maybe I'm already satisfied being myself, hehehe...
My favorite USS Enterprise's apparatus is the transporter, to bring me anywhere I want. A single order: "Energize!", and I'd be in Bakoel Koffie in a second (ok, make it 5 seconds).
To boldly go where noone has gone before...
Questions, questions
I'm the kind of person who gets disturbed by unanswered questions, unreasonable statements and/or situation (unless those related to spiritual thingies), and illogical explanations, or -- worse yet -- inexplicabilities! That applies to almost anything, from movie storylines to relationships, hehehe...
The above was my comment to Eda Nana's scribble about -- you guessed -- dealing with unanswered questions. It's amazing how similar we are when it comes to the nuisance, anger and sometimes (ok, many times) despair generated by the non-existence of rational, logical explanations. And, yes, I often find myself awake until dawn, my eyes locked on a certain page of a book for almost fifteen minutes; or in the dark lying on my bed -- with my thoughts wandering. Why? How? How could I/she/he/them? When? Was it...?
And before I realize it, the next morning has come and I have to induce myself with a cup or two of coffee to make a go for the day. I am fortunate enough to possess such physical strength which helps me through weeks of limited sleeps. Of course there was time when the pyschological suppression was getting on me so forcefully that it seemed like I had a flu or severe coughs forever (I'm glad it's over!). But mostly a brief-but-nice chat with God prevents me from further devastation or overwhelming impuissance.
As probably implied in my recent postings, lately I've been wondering whether I'm asking unnecessary questions and sweating the small stuffs. The thing is, I don't even know which stuff could be considered "small" and which ones are not. I'm happy to say that I am not fussing over some certain things anymore -- lots and constancy of prayers are my ultimate reliever AND mode of distraction from negative emotions. I have to admit that I still have unpleasant thoughts lingering my mind occasionally, but I don't let them bother me like I used to.
Experience has taught me that some questions will be left unanswered, curiousity kills and is sadly never fed, yet in time we will forget them and move on with our lives. No, of course I'm not talking about a suspense-thriller script, silly! I remember a long time ago, when my sister and I were merely teenagers, she got mad about something and refused to speak to everyone in the house, and locked herself in her room for several days. I still don't know what caused it. Back then (when things had returned to normal), I asked my sister, and she would remain silent and be all smiles. Now she couldn't even recall the incident, let alone her motive. But who cares, it's not important anymore.
Life enlightens me in a lot of ways. These days I learnt that patience and self-restraint -- including and particularly related to the unanswered questions -- can lead to yielding to whatever God is planning for you, and eventually you may gain peace and comfort.