MJC ZENITH Oct 2018

ZENITH Oct 2018 General Paper @ Meridian JC Page 1 of 27 ZENITH 2018 Dear Meridians, t his is a compilation of some of the best essays written by your peers. While these essays are not perfect or model essays, there is a lot of merit in them, and they are clear evidence that there are indeed a number of good writers amongst yourselves! In order for you to better utilise these essays, you could attempt to unpa ck each question or even try doing an outline before reading them. While you may find some of the examples and points useful for application to other questions, do be judicious in using such information in a manner that is relevant to the POC of the question you are answering. Lastly, you should not attempt to copy or regurgitate them and hand them in as your own! The Zenith Editorial Team Mr Max Cheong Ms Vanessa Tan Ms Geraldine Sim Ms Michelle Choy Contents ‘Any adaptation of a novel for film, television or the theatre is never as effective as the original.’ Discuss. (GCE 2006 Q1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Consider the view that we can no longer trust the media to tell the truth. (MJCJ2MYE2018 Q2) -------------------------- How far is science fiction becoming fact? (GCE 2017 Q7) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can the use of animals for scientific research ever be justified? (GCE 2017 Q2) --------------------------------------------------- To what extent is clean energy the answer to the problem of climate change? (MJCJ2MYE2018 Q6) ------------------- ‘Military Strength is just as important as good diplomacy.’ Do you agree ? (MJCJ2MBT2018 Q4) -------------------------- How far is it possible for one country to forgive another for its past actions? (GCE 2015 Q2) ------------------------------ ‘Harsh punishments create more problems than benefits.’ Do you agree? (MJCJ2MYE2018 Q12) ------------------------ 2 4 6 8 10 13 15 19

ZENITH Oct 2018 © MJC English Department Page 2 ‘ Any adaptation of a novel for film, television or the theatre is never as effective as the original.’ Discuss. (GCE 2006 Q1) Novels and books are the fuel to ignite a young mind’s passion for reading. Novels are the gateway to an ever- expanding arsenal of vocabulary and the literary genius in youths. In the modernised society we live in today, the quality of adaptations has cert ainly improved over the years but have they become as effective as the original? Personally, I feel that the words printed in a novel are much more effective in its essence, sparking imagination and strengthening minds than watching any adaptation - be it film, television or the theatre - where people sit motionless for an hour or two as their brains rot from the inactivity. Adaptations are without a doubt not as effective as the original novels or books. A typical movie runs for an hour and a half on avera ge (and reaches two to three hours at most). How is that enough time to fit an adventure of a protagonist that spans around 300 to 600 pages, like that of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling? Adaptations realise this problem, which is why the plot is usually reduced and thinned to fit into the movie. A great example of this is the recent debutant Justice League. The plot was very rushed and many backstories that would help the movie run a lot smoother were removed from the original cut. It left many DC Comics fans who follow the comics religiously feeling very dissatisfied and wronged. They were whining about how abrupt the sequences were and even petitioning for a reboot. This clearly shows that adaptations are not (and probably will never be) as effective as the original because it will eventually come to a point where the director has to rush the content. In addition to my first point, adaptations are not as effective as the original content because a book can definitely enhance the overall experience. While it i s true that movies have actual special effects and CGI (computer-generated imagery) to make it more realistic, adaptations cannot include something that a book can: emotions. A classic example is the novel -turned-movie Gesundheit, which was adapted into th e movie Patch Adams. At its best, a movie can only include ‘inner thoughts’ as narrations, but there still does not exist a tangible way to relay the emotions expressed through writing. When strung in a quintessential order, the literary experience can make even a grown man cry. The emotions portrayed in the film can only be expressed through tone, body language, and facial expressions. However, it is more relatable in the novels as even things that are intangible can be written. S uch phrases include ‘butterflies in my stomach’, ‘fluttering/palpating of my heart’ and ‘a chill running down my spine’. Adaptations simply cannot imitate that level of relatability with the audience, and thus are not as effective as the original. Furthermore, novels are a good way to broaden one’s vocabulary and to learn more sophisticated writing techniques from the best. Sitting for an hour in front of an LED display screen with an all -surround sound system will not stimulate the brain that much as it only needs to comprehend what is seen and heard. A book, on the other hand, trains the brain to decipher the meaning of sentences and underlying meanings and maybe even wordplay. A book forces the brain to understand the level of literacy and literature in front of the reader. An exceptional example is the literature book ‘Lord of the Flies’. When a person does not understand a word, his curiosity grabs the better of him and he will decide to find out its definition. This helps one expand one’s vocabulary and literacy. When a person reads frequently, he will eventually become an avid reader and think like how the author wrote. None of these benefits can be achieved through the non -simulating adaptations and that is why the originals are much more effective. However, critics may propose that most people are audio-visual learners and can hence interpret an adaptation better as they can see and hear rather than read and be forced to imagine. The majority of the population really do prefer to have something where they do not have to put in the hard work to achieve a

ZENITH Oct 2018 © MJC English Department Page 3 level of satisfaction, even if the level is lower than if hard work was put in. I, for one, do not believe in such a claim. Imagination is much better than someone else’s view of how it should be