whoever controls the media controls the mind

Hello everyone!  I'm so sorry for not writing in such a long time- I've been really caught up with school work, SAT preparation and work for various extra curricular activities. Blegh. However, I did have some really exciting moments over the last month. I turned 15, got accepted as a student officer for THIMUN Hague (are any of you guys going?) and even dressed up as River Song for Hallowe'en. Fun stuff. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about my life right now. Today's post is centered around a simple and often discussed topic: messages from the media.

The media dominates our lives. It's everywhere - In our homes, at school, on the roads. Media reaches us through several different forms, from television, to the Internet, to the billboards we see on the highway and the advertisements on taxis and sometimes the stickers on cars. Wherever we look, we're being convinced to buy a certain product because it will make us more beautiful/intelligent/attractive to men or women/etc. However, many of the ideas conveyed by the media are negative and self-deprecating. The fact that we're constantly being bombarded with these messages means that the negativity is very, very hard to ignore.

One of the largest problems with mass media is the message that it sends regarding our body images. The women and men that you see in the media always fit exactly the same criteria: skinny, fair-skinned, glossy hair, and golden ratio facial features. This is not an accurate representation of humans. We're all of different shapes and sizes. We all have different skin tones, different hair types and different features. But the media tells us that only a select should be considered beautiful. They sell us products that they claim will help us become their definition of beautiful, such as the skin-whitening creams mentioned in my last post. Those of us who don't fit this criteria often suffer from a warped self image that drives some of us to develop life-threatening diseases, such as bulimia and depression just because they don't look a certain way. I've previously talked about that over here.

There are several other issues that plague the media. It contains a huge amount of glorified violence and abusive behaviour. Seeing violence in the media has negative, long-term effects on us: it causes us to become desensitised, meaning that we become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. We may become more fearful about the world around us, or be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways to others. Cultural stereotypes are prominent in the media, diminishing the richness of human diversity. The media also peddles gender stereotypes, differentiating products for young children through colours and labels, convincing them that the genders are completely different and they both require completely different items.

Messages from the media influence how we think. Mass media can be considered a shared system of knowledge, one that largely affects our mindset. It can affect how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others and most importantly, our beliefs and values. Historically, beliefs and values are learnt through local communities. They are taught by family members, educational systems, cultural groups and our own balanced judgment. While we continue to learn much from those in our community circles, our values about what is 'right', 'true' or 'beautiful' are greatly influenced by the media. If something is depicted as positive in the mass media, then we tend to accept it, no matter how negative our balanced judgment or previous knowledge tells us that it is. 

Although right now, messages in the media are mostly negative, we can use it to do good. If the media influences the accepted norms around us, we should be able to use it in order to make sure that those norms are realistic. For example, H&M recently released an advertising campaign for their latest swimsuit line, where they used a plus-sized model. In recent years, companies such as Disney have begun to embrace diversity; in 2009, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog became the first African-American Disney princess. 

It's good to see the media tackling issues that are relevant to our world today because it is through mass media that our mindsets begin to change, as it influences our values. If models are of different shapes, sizes, races and looks, if violence is no longer glorified, if diversity is embraced, then the media will be influencing our world for the better. If the media begins to transmit positive messages, maybe the people who have negative self-images will begin to feel empowered. 

We can change the negativity that has plagued the media for so long if we just begin to question it. If we identify where it's going wrong, we can take measures to steer it back onto the right path and make a difference for the better. As Jim Morrison once said "whoever controls the media controls the mind."

they click their heels, spread their wings, and fly.

In one of my previous posts,"once you label me, you negate me", I talked about how the media is still filled with a lot of negative sexism. For example, women are overtly sexualised in order to sell products, and models are often airbrushed to look perfect on the front cover of a magazine. However I mentioned that there are some incredibly strong female characters in fiction. Yet re-reading that post, I realised that I only talked about characters in television shows. There are some amazing, incredibly strong female characters in literature, and it is time to recognise them. I've put together a list of seven of the most powerful female characters in literature who continue to inspire me and several others with their phenomenal brilliance and strength of character.

Screenshot from Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Left is Beatrice, right is Hero.

1. Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing
If you have been reading this blog for a while now, you will know that Much Ado About Nothing is my favourite play ever. We read it in Year 10 at school and most of us ended up loving the play. Recently, Joss Whedon released a new movie adaptation of it. If you haven't seen the film, I highly recommend it. Who doesn’t love a story full of love, trickery and thousands of clever insults? Much Ado has all of that and more – and that might just be why we love it so much. 

But part of the reason that the play appeals so greatly to the modern audience lies in the characters. Beatrice, the female lead is widely considered to be one of Shakespeare’s strongest female characters. (she certainly is the sassiest). Much to the chagrin of her father, she refuses to marry, having not found the perfect man, and also because she does not want to eschew her freedom. When Claudio falsely accuses Hero at the wedding in Act 4 Scene 1, Beatrice explodes with anger and stands firmly by her cousins' side. After this event, she rebels against the mistreatment and unequal status of women in the society at that time. One of my favourite Beatrice lines is "oh that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace!"

Hermione in 'The Goblet of Fire' 

2. Hermione Granger, the Harry Potter series.
If you have not read Harry Potter, you have not lived. Ever since I first read the books several years ago, I have always loved Hermione's character. Sure, she may have started out as an irritating, know-it-all, eleven-year-old (it''s leviosa, not leviosar), but Hermione's character quickly matured. She continues to amaze us with her ability to maintain a clear mind, even in the most tense of situations. Her intelligence is her greatest strength, and although she can be a bit of an overachiever at times (like when she got an 'Exceeds Expectations' in her Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. and was upset about it), she always manages to use her knowledge to save her friends. 

3. Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Not only is this powerful female protagonist an incredible computer hacker with a photographic memory, she also survived an abusive childhood. She’s a resilient character, who does not rely on anyone for anything and does not want to rely on anyone.

Screenshot from 'The Help'

4. Skeeter Phelan, The Help.
Actually, almost every female character from The Help, with the exception of Miss Elizabeth and Miss Hilly Holbrook, is seriously strong. They should all be on this list. But Skeeter stands out to me, because of the risks she takes by writing The Help. She wants to make a difference and she doesn't care what other people are going to think of her. Plus, she's independent- she thinks for herself, and makes her own decisions. She even goes to college, even though her mother is sure that it will ruin her chances of getting a good husband. Because, obviously, a man wouldn't want to marry a woman who is smarter than him.

5. Kira Walker, the Partials trilogy.
Partials is a relatively new series- the first book came out last year, and the second book came out in March. If you haven't read it yet (and a lot of people haven't), then you should. The book is set 11 years after the Partial War, in which engineered organic beings identical to humans released a virus called RM that decimated almost the entire human race. A group of survivors have regrouped on Long Island, while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. However, the survivors cannot have children, as no child born is immune to RM, and they have yet to find a cure. 

Kira is a medical intern, and when her best friend Madison falls pregnant, she decides that she has to find a cure for RM, no matter what it takes so that Maddie's baby survives. This includes a series of very dangerous, illegal journeys to find a Partial to study. Her determination and loyalty to her friends is admirable, and she's not afraid to break the rules to do something that she knows is right. Throughout the course of the series, she uncovers some shocking secrets about herself and those around her. She will go great lengths to find out the truth. 

A still from 'The Hunger Games'

6. Katniss Everdeen, the Hunger Games.
 Katniss is a pretty strong character overall. After her father's death, she becomes the sole caretaker of her family, hunting in the forest at the back of District 12, and trading food on the black market. She is brave enough to volunteer to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games- something that must have frightened her to no end, considering that she knew that she would either have to kill others or die. Plus, her ability to shoot an arrow doesn’t hurt.

7. Cassandra, Agamemnon

Although Cassandra has a very small role in the play as a whole, she is very important. She is the first to recall the past crimes committed in the house of Atreus. Furthermore, she is the one who sets the scene for the end of Agamemnon, as well as the next play in the Orestia, Libation Bearers. She does this by foreseeing her own death, and Agamemnon’s death, as well as the vengeance that Agamemnon’s son, Orestes will take against Clytmnestra.

Cassandra has the ability to see the future, but has been cursed by Apollo so that no one will believe her. She foresaw the fall of Troy and the death of those around her, but was unable to do anything about it because people believed that she was crazy. Her gift caused her endless anger and frustration. When she was brought to Argos by Agamemnon, she saw her own death. Although shaken and scared, she understood that she could not escape it, and summoned all of her strength to face death bravely.

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So there you have it. If there's a character that you really admire who hasn't been mentioned here, please add her on in the comments! As Stana Katic said: "I don't believe in weak women. I think women in general are pretty powerful."

ghosts with beating hearts

Source: mudchild.tumblr.com

I recently read a book called Wintergirls, which was written by one of my favourite authors, Laurie Halse Anderson. Other books that she has written include the award-winning Speak (which was turned into a movie starring pre-Twilight Kristen Stewart, that, according to FlavorWire, is supposed to be very good), and one of my favourite historical novels, Chains (this should be made into a movie too. Quvenzhané Wallis would make a PERFECT Ruth). Anyway, Wintergirls was published all the way back in 2009, but I'm glad I didn't read it earlier. I probably wouldn't have understood it properly.

The novel's protagonist, Lia, is an eighteen year old girl who is struggling with anorexia nervosa- an eating disorder in which the victim becomes overly conscious of their weight and food & calorie intake, resulting in self-starvation. At the beginning of the novel, Lia receives news that her best friend (or perhaps it would be more accurate to refer to her as Lia's former best friend, as they had drifted apart a few months prior to the start of the book), Cassie, has just died. Cassie was a victim of bulimia, another type of eating disorder where the patient follows frequent binge and purge cycles in order to lose weight. On the night Cassie died, she called Lia thirty-three times. Lia never picked up. Over the course of the book, she struggles with a feeling of guilt, her relationships with her family and her disease. She frequently has hallucinations of Cassie, who taunts her, telling her that she is "a wintergirl"- not dead, but not alive either. The New York Times reviewed the book as being a "fearless, riveting account of a young woman in the grip of a deadly illness". 

As gripping as the book was, it was also hard to read. Lia was constantly engaging herself in self-depreciating dialogue. She would repeatedly tell herself that she was fat, stupid and disgusting. The text provided the reader with an insight into Lia's conflicting thoughts- she would feel hungry, and then would reprimand herself the next minute, reminding herself that to give in would be to show weakness. She had a warped view of reality, believing that starving herself and depriving her body of essential nutrients was strength. In her mind, the thinner she became, the stronger she was.

The fact that Lia's character is so believable and realistic reminds you that there are so many people out there who suffer from the same disease. It allows you to take a peek into how their minds may work and how they must feel. Most teenagers these days have body image issues. We feel as if we're under pressure to be perfect and to be perfect, we must look perfect. As we are anyway going through so many different changes, both emotional and physical, it's easier said than done to be comfortable in our own skin. Many of us are under the mistaken impression that we have to be stick-thin in order to be beautiful. This can lead to teens falling off the edge of the cliff and into the grips of a deadly eating disorder.

The idea that skinny=beautiful originates from the contorted view of beauty that we are bombarded with by the media. Look into the pages of any gossip magazine and you'll see praises for the size zero models, singers and actresses and scathing reviews of those who have gained weight. It's easy to compare yourself to the tiny figure on the page and simply wonder why you aren't as thin.

From left to right: Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

At my school, the Year 9's recently had their science fair. One particular group did their project on eating disorders. They took pictures of Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato and asked people to comment on who they thought was healthy and who they thought was fat. Surprisingly, many people said that Cara was healthy while Selena and Demi were fat. This shocked me, because Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are not fat. They are a healthy weight, and they are both beautiful people. Why is it that we don't embrace all body types?

Look at all of the successful people out there who are comfortable in their own skin! Take Adele for instance. She's been the recipient of a whole lot of criticism regarding her weight, but has remained confident. She hasn't let it get to her or affect her performances at all. I mean, did you hear her at the Oscars? Jennifer Lawrence is another example. She didn't want to lose a huge amount of weight for The Hunger Games (even though Katniss is supposed to be starving) because she didn't want little girls to be like "oh, I want to look like Katniss so I think I'll skip dinner". Scarlett Johansson doesn't have a flat stomach and is still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. Just look at this Tumblr post. Even Marylin Monroe showed absolutely no resemblance to a twig.

In conclusion, to be thin is not necessarily to be beautiful. Each of us has our own unique body type and we should learn to love the way we look and feel comfortable in our skin. Starving ourselves is not the answer, by any means. Don't strive to be thin, just be healthy. I leave you with this. Out.