Resistance

Resistance; the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another.
In George Orwell’s 1984, resistance is a key factor. As the book progresses, readers come to the realization that Winston and Julia resist their government, specifically ‘Big Brother’, a reoccurring structure within the book.
Winston Smith, the main character of the book is fully aware of the shape of Oceania, and begins to resist the various aspects of the state. One of the key themes of the book, Psychological manipulation is presented to us. The party begins to control its people with psychological motivation that is designed to overwhelm a person’s mind aptitude for independent thought. For example, Winston realizes what the party has been doing and starts to resist it by writing in his diary, which is illegal. To relate this furthermore, the lyrics to the song The Resistance, by the Brit pop band, Muse, has clearly stated:
Quell your prayers for love and peace
you’ll wake the thought police
we can hide the truth inside
Through this part of the song, the Thought Police are presented to us. In the book, the thought police are the ones that make sure you DO NOT have thought of your own and that you believe what the inner party wants to you to believe, through telescreens, which monitor the behavior of the population. So, what Winston does is write in his diary about his true thoughts and feelings and begins a relationship with Julia to fulfill their sexual needs, as they both realize that they feel the same way about the party.

War is Peace

War is peace. War is peace. War is peace. Took me a while too, you know, to really catch the meaning. Moreover, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength, did you know that? Yeah, that’s what I thought, you don’t get it. Well, according to the book we’ve been reading in class, 1984 by George Orwell, the society Winston Smith lives in, the main character of the book, believes that the three quotes above are indeed, true.
Let’s take a deeper look into the meaning behind…
WAR IS PEACE
Well, this is an example of the idea of doublethink, which is “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” (Orwell, page 32). It’s an integral concept from the book and is also a word in their official language, Newspeak.
Orwell has created an “Inner Party” to his dystopian society in the book, which controls what people think, say and do. Throughout the book, many historical events happen and are vanished, then re-written, and then erased again to make people believe what the Inner Party wants them to believe. One of the most important aspects that have been altered in their society is who they are at war with.
The idea of War is Peace makes the society believe that war is good. War solves all problems and therefore leads to peace. Although, in reality, that is not true.

Media: simply bliss.

Though media has had its up and downs, its “ups” have truly been bliss. It’s had a wide range of negative aspects but to look on the other hand, we can surely see that there is an even wider range of positive aspects.
Ask yourself, would I know anything about what’s going on in the world if it wasn’t for the media. The answer would unquestionably be NO!
Television, radio, Facebook, and the internet have been great sources of spreading new ideas, news and issues. A concern towards society is developed when children watch documentaries and television shows.
Newspapers, printed daily, have not only given us daily news but also enhanced vocabulary and given us new ideas on how to handle certain issues. It has been proven that newspapers have been a great way for children to start reading, as it has a range of different topics suitable for all ages.
All sources of media have helped people be aware of new ideas, news, updates even stuff to do (and people are always looking for something new to do). Research has shown that media takes up so much space in everyone’s lives. No one can live without their TV, their phones (BBM, especially BBM), even Facebook. They’ve all contributed in the change of people’s culture and social lives.
Though media is mostly seen in a negative way and that it has affected us negatively… there are so many ways it affects us positively.

Struggle of the Teens

She’s too skinny. She’s too fat. She’s too short. She’s too tall. And the list goes on, and on, AND ON! There’s always an imperfection in everyone’s body image. Magazines have not been helping teenagers overcome those imperfections and embrace them, especially girls.
Teen magazines and television programs have been glamorizing skinny models that are far from what an average woman look like. Studies have shown that a model is actually 23% skinnier than an average weighing woman. Approximately 3,000 ads in magazines, billboards and television are seen daily by an typical American, whether they like it or not. It seems like all those ads are shoved into people’s faces forcing a certain image, style or even personality. Teenagers especially are influenced by these advertisements and are forced to think that if they did not look like a certain pop star or actress they weren’t pretty.
“Thinness= Beauty” media has been emphasizing that idea for so long that people have come to believe it. In my opinion, it has become a physiological problem for most teens suffering from the anxiety. Girls should start to think about themselves and how they can dress to impress through their body style because no two people have the same bodies. It’s just how it was intended and for a girl to go through so much pain- emotionally- is too hard on her, her family and others who care for her.
I believe that parents should start to speak with their children about this issue, even if they aren’t suffering from it…
A few useful points:
• A mother should always talk to her daughter about how the pictures of models in magazines are airbrushed and altered into lies because no one looks like that.
• Raise awareness about the health risks of being too thin and that its not right to impress people at the price of her health.
• Limit her from certain magazines and television shows.
• Start an awareness program in her school.

Beyoncé, Gorgeous and Haiti!

No doubt, Beyoncé has made a massive statement last year (2009). What with album- If I Were a Boy and her video clips, it was all attention grabbing (well, at least to me it was). To me, not only is her music high-quality, but her personality- she’s a true woman. She knows how to put herself out there but not TOO out there. We never hear gossip about B, she splits her personal life from her career, which is what most artists should do.
The If I Were a Boy hit maker signed up to model the Fashion for Haiti t-shirt. The t-shirt will be sold for 25$, and proceeds will be donated to Haiti by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund held by the two former US Presidents.
Beyonce says, “Join me and the fashion industry by buying and wearing the Fashion for Haiti T-shirt. Together we can send a message of hope by raising much needed funds for the people of Haiti.”
The t-shirts will go on sale on the 16th of February.
I think that having a woman like Beyoncé modeling for such a cause will make her fans look up to her more and have more people helping Haiti because stars are too. Beyoncé is not alone in this. Singer Jordin Sparks has designed a necklace, Scarlett Johansson has designed a handbag collaborating with Mango and Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears have both sold designer dresses on online auctions.

Alexander McQueen, RIP!

I guess those bright colors aren’t as bright to the family of Lee Alexander McQueen. No doubt, McQueen has left a mark in the fashion world and the lives of those who adore his designs and who he was.

Most may think that a hotshot designer like McQueen had an easy path to fame and glamour, but the ugly truth states the complete opposite. McQueen was born as an Englishman in the year 1970, with a taxi-driver as a father and his mother, Joyce- a social science teacher. Living in a council house (worse than it sounds), with five other children- three of which were girls; he grasped a passion for designing dresses for them. Shortly after, he announced his love for design and his commitment to one day become a fashion designer.

After working for a few designers, in 1994, McQueen decided to apply to London’s most prestigious design schools: Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design.

I WON’T BORE YOU WITH HIS BIOGRAPHY…
SO…

Back to his tragic death that shook up the fashion world. Known for his lavish designs and unconventional runway shows, McQueen committed suicide at his own home. McQueen’s family has asked the media to leave them alone to mourn over this death, until they feel it is appropriate to speak about it.
Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, the Italian designers behind luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, told Sky Showbiz: "We are deeply touched by the sudden death of Alexander McQueen, a designer who was admired for his creative genius and unmatched inspiration.”

There is no doubt that McQueen will leave the fashion world with an infallible void. It’s a true shame that McQueen’s death comes days before London’s Fashion week and a month before Paris’ Fashion week, where he was to showcase his new designs.

RIP McQueen.

Satisfaction? Anyone?

One of Hollywood’s most dazzling women, Eva Longoria. “Hottie?” or a “nottie?” Well, I’m not going to try to sound deep and say, “Looks don’t count, beauty comes from within, she doesn’t need to have the looks, no one looks good without makeup… etc.” Though that is true in some ways, it isn’t true in others. Or is media just affecting me so much, that I’m thinking that? HOLD ON… let’s take a closer look.

All means of media and communication have broadened my eyes to see that all those striking stars we see in magazines, TV channels and tabloids (not that I follow them too much) are truly drop dead gorgeous. But are they really? Media has been showing us what the “just what the doctor ordered” woman should look like. That sets the bar higher for people to expect such an image. For example, being a 16 year old young lady, I am directly affected by TV. Why? Well, I like to have it on in my room in the background. Sometimes, I flip the channels to find something attention-grabbing. What’s more interesting to a girl like me than make up, hair and all areas pertaining to beauty? I’ll watch those channels (such as E!) and think to myself “Wow, if I don’t look like that, am I not going to be looked up to?” then I stop for a few seconds and force myself to think “Looks aren’t everything. You’ll look good if you carry yourself with confidence and delight.”
Recently, I’ve seen through ads that many companies are trying to build up self-esteem. MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA!! What better way to make girls believe that beauty is from within unless it was in this huge campaign? The campaign that really caught my eye is the one from Dove ®. Its known as, ‘The Campaign for Real Beauty’.
http://www.dove.us/

They have also had a few videos done for this campaign that have been broadcasted around the world, including Kuwait.





What a motivating way to reach out to girls and women around the world and slap them in the face to make them say “What was I thinking? I AM beautiful”. Because truly, if you abandon all those tabloids (and shed a few layer of foundation, bronzer and whatnot)… you won’t have an image to live up to. Yes, we would all love that (I know I would).