CTL Showcase for H110 | Love Library | Media Center | Room G | May 12 11:00am-1:00pm

I put this flier near an entry of Aztec Corner Apartments. I figured a lot of students wouldn’t be on campus so I brought the flier to them. It says “I don’t know about you, ladies, but I’m sure F@*King tired of cat calls and unequal treatment. I want more power than that of turning a guy on. You? #girlpower”

I posted the CTL Showcase flyer on one of the entrances to Storm Hall West.

“When will we live in a world where discrimination towards women no longer exists? #equality”

 I posted this right outside olmeca on the bulletin board

Having a close look at this picture one can identify a character standing in the middle of with what appears to be a dilapidated capitol building as the backdrop. The picture above is from the video game Fallout 3 from the Fallout series. The name really tells what the setting of the game is: a post-nuclear wasteland right in the middle of the former capitol of the once glorious United States. The character in the middle of the image is what is known as the “hero,” (or villain depending on your actions) that you play as in the game.

This image was taken from a Deviant Art forum (http://www.deviantart.com/art/Fallout-3-Character-3-102739970) and was posted by a user named Ghettomole. It is a screenshot of the game and it was posted in 2008. The image itself is only about 1440 by 900 pixels and occupies only about 156 kilobytes on my computer’s hard drive. The image is supposed to take place somewhere in the near-future, post nuclear war.

The game serves as a homage to the 1950’s and takes and uses the spirit of the time to its fullest advantage. This game uses that time’s music and artistic style taking inspiration from art deco, abstract expressionism, and pop art as well as taking tunes from the Jazz and swing movements. This image brings up the driving question to the game: What would happen if a nuclear war had broken out in the Cold War era? This question, essentially a simple what-if scenario is what made me choose this image. This picture makes the superficial viewer think of what the background is but the deeper viewer will think why the background is as it is; why is D.C. destroyed and obliterated and why is that character there. The strange futuristic armor that the character has only adds to the intrigue as well.

Learning in lecture about the fervor and widespread fear rampant in and around the American psyche during the 1950’s Cold War made me think of this video game. Besides being a personal favorite, I also chose this image because I find it fascinating how far American society and culture in general has gotten; we can simply laugh and have fun with a scenario that used to strike fear into people as close as our parents.

I made my flyer for the CTL Showcase and posted it on the bulletin board between West Commons and Storm Hall.

In case anyone wanted to see the actual digital copy here it is. 

http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2043123,00.html

This is a picture of a Buddhist monk Quang Duc who set himself on fire June 11, 1963 in South Vietnam. During this time there was a political crisis in South Vietnam, which was under the rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, when the government was more focused on growing the catholic minority and pushing monks out of the region. Monks faced a great deal of discrimination in a place that they called their home and many did what they could to fight back. After his self-immolation this became a common way of protesting discrimination not only for Buddhist Monks, but also Czechoslovaks and Indians. In 1992 a cropped portion of this photo, that focused on the monk on fire, was used for the album cover for Rage Against the Machine to further their political agenda for the album. Each song of the album is linked to some sort of political message, which is why and extremely politically controversial picture is their cover photo. One of the most popular songs on the album is “Killing in the Name”, which is about police brutality and institutional racism (like racism in the government). I first thought about doing this photo for the essay when I heard about the riots in Baltimore where people are taking to the streets to fight against the police brutality that has been rising, but mainly the brutality and death that Freddie Gray endured. When a community sees a problem that do what they think is right, even though their idea of ‘right’ is not always the best option.

Audrey Hepburn was an iconic hollywood starlet of the 1950s. She is most recognizable from her film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which was made in the early 1960s. These two pictures were taken from Hulton Archive/Getty Images from Sheknows.com, and both were photographed in the early 1960s. After her breakthrough role in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Hepburn became an international icon for the era, and was “ranked by the American Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American Cinema.”

Long after her film career ended, Hepburn went on to fund and work for the UNICEF humanitarian organization, and eventually became the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She was honored the Medal of Freedom from George H.W. Bush, while also receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. These were just a couple of awards and recognitions that Audrey Hepburn was awarded with for her efforts and hard work in UNICEF.

However, despite all these prestigious awards and honors, Audrey Hepburn is only recognized in the media as a “pretty face.” Media decides to portray Audrey as one that lived a happy life, who gained success and wealth because of her looks. The media fails to include all of her amazing and remarkable accomplishments in her humanitarian career, simply for the sake of keeping her as a beautiful Hollywood icon.

Audrey Hepburn’s portrayal in the media, although not necessarily untrue, is one major example of how media has the tendency to take history and “conveniently leave things out,” to make it seem different than it actually is. Yes, Audrey Hepburn was the hollywood icon of he 1950s and 60s, however the media does not attribute all of her humanitarian efforts after her career, simply because it wasn’t her image. Many people today who think of “Audrey Hepburn,” think of her role in “Breakfast at Tiffiany’s,” as they do not know about her post-career success in humanitarianism, all because of the media’s portrayal of her. Although it is easy to criticize the media now, media back then was completely different than it is today. What is important to take from this example is that as a society, we ourselves must constantly question the media around us, and take a careful look at how it is portrayed/relayed to us.

Audrey Hepburn was an amazing woman, with an incredible background, iconic filming career, and awe-inspiring humanitarian career, and she should be recognized for all aspects of her life, not just the “shiny” part.

In the video titled “My Choice” shot by Tassaduq Hussain, it shows shot after shot of women including Ninrat Kaur, Adhuna Akhtar, Anupama Chopra, and more who have made a difference in their respective careers telling you every single thing they see as their right as women. The video is a collaboration between director Homi Adajania and Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone, and produced by JSW and Sangita Jindal found on Vogue’s website. “My Choice” is a short film made dedicated to #VogueEmpower, Vogue India’s social awareness initiative. Filmed and launched in October 2014, “My Choice” aims to bring awareness to the cause of women’s rights nationwide.

According to studies, women in India enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period, however, in approximately 500 B.C the status of women began to decline, and they have remained unequal to men ever since. Although reform movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to religious orders, women in India have faced confinement and restrictions. Practices such as Sati, Jauhar, Purdah, and Devadasis are all examples of this oppression in India’s history. These practices include widows being immolated alive on their husband’s funeral pyre, immolation by wives and daughters of defeated warriors, and requiring women to cover themselves to conceal their faces and form from males imposing restrictions on their mobility. In today’s society women are still seen as subordinate and inferior to men with their lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In the twenty first century women living in India aren’t capable of earning money, are seen as economically and emotionally dependent on men, live with their husband’s family after marriage, and are required to cover themselves as to not distract, or entice men. In the video “My Choice”, the actors stand up against this discrimination. Phrases such as “my body, my mind, my choice”, “to be a size zero or a size fifteen, my choice” “to marry, or not to marry” “to have sex before marriage, to have sex outside of marriage, to not have sex, my choice” and “remember you are my choice, I am not your privilege” are all stated to show that we are individuals and what we choice to do is solely up to ourselves. In a world that has evolved so quickly, how do we still have oppression with regards to women today?

Although oppression of women started a long time ago, it is still heavily prevalent in certain parts of the world today. Vogue took the opportunity with this video to state women are not under the control of men or other women. Every individual has the opportunity to do whatever it is they please. I believe Vogue was brave in putting this video out in India during a time where women’s oppression is under concern, however in order to make a difference in the world today, more steps are going to needed to be taken to see a change.

http://www.vogue.in/content/watch-deepika-padukone-new-vogueempower-film-my-choice

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-pictures-that-shocked-the-world.php   -JPG

With the recent riots in Baltimore overtaking all discussions and social media, I became interested in other events around that world where social unrest have caused turmoil. In the picture shown above, taken by Oded Balilty of the Associated Press 2006, we can see a single Jewish settler challenging Israeli security officers during clashes that erupted as authorities cleared the West Bank settlement of Amona, east of the Palestinian town of Ramallah. Thousands of troops in riot gear and on horseback contended with hundreds of stone-throwing Jewish settlers living in this illegal West Bank outpost after Israel’s Supreme Court cleared the way of demolition of nine homes at the site.  Balility’s photo from this incident were so influential, that it resulted in him winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

The powerful images captured by Oded Balilty are crucial in depicting the oppression and injustices going on not only in the United States, but as well as around the world. His images, although heart-wrenching, provide an eye opening view on important issues that many are blind to. The media now strays away from the real problems at hand, and for the most part, only airs images which give its audiences a false sense of security.

The photo was found when searching in the Google search bar “tragic photos in history”.  Although, not the original picture which I believe is on the official Associated Press website, it is still a very clear picture and was 500 x 350 megapixels.