Wandering terrorism

Terrorism is  a conduct that involves many interest and ideals, but the impact caused in population depends on the conception of this term in the powerful areas. 

Terrorism is a system in which a group imposes power, or, social movements that are focused on the defense of their ideal and their traditions. Even though there are ONG's specialized in  the eradication of these type of belligerent conflict, the majority of the margined regions in the world find out in terrorism a desperate  way to be listened and to have a deterrent conversation about the deficients in public services and the respect of human rights.

Even when there are people who fight against these types of ideals, the powerful sectors in the Western World consider them as terrorist; however, it is important to consider the great amount of emergent terrorist groups against american culture, because in places such as Middle East and Extreme Asia consider United States as a plague that consumes every single resource of their towns, and with this, the freedom and sovereignty of their nations.

But, all this nationalism affected in all aspects by fandom and religious principles that transforms the seek of rights and sovereignty into dictatorships and new types of social repressions.

One of the most conflictive zone in the world concerning to terrorism is the Middle East, this region is very influenced by their religion and their moral. Nevertheless, since the arrival of the Taliban regime in the 90's brought a series of terror and a fanatic application of Islam rules in afghan  population. For these reasons, the most terrible crimes began to occur in Afghanistan in favor of the "pure religion" such as in Middle Ages with the inquisition and he Crusades. Because of this strong repression to women's rights is that the photograph of The Afghan Girl is so polemic, this photograph showed the situation in Afghanistan just by the expression of the girl.  

I formally believe that terrorism would stop with real democracy and with peaceful resolutions, or at least, with tolerance. Tolerance to comprehend the reason for their attacks, because there are movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and ETA that want the independence of their territories.  Despite of my peaceful utopia, the world's leaders won't consider this type of measures for stopping terrorism. 

Many of these movements are raised because of injustice, but, Do they have to defend attacks and discrimination with more violence, I leave you with a quote of Mahatma Gandhi:

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

   -Mahatma Gandhi

(leader of the Civil Disobedience's movement in India )

The prettiest thing in the world.

Manga is an art that have become an icon of japanese culture. It has symbolic and polysemic stories full  of emotions, moral teachings and it is a clear reflection of social pressures and hypocrisy.

I haven't learn more about manga because since I was little I know it, and when you know something since you were little is simply a review of that topic. Meanwhile time was passing, I began a really close relationship with manga, because I felt they gave me different ways to see life, or to know how to be polite, and to fight for my ideals and my principles. The first manga that showed me all this stuff is Sailor Moon; this manga teaches you about self confidence and bravery when you face troubles that you think they're bigger than your capability. Other manga that really left me a learning is Digimon. Digimon is the series that nowadays kids must watch, because it has so many beautiful meanings and symbols of universal values; nevertheless, the most meaningful thing Digimon taught me is "never stop dreaming". Even if there are some genres in manga and anime that mainly don’t give a “good image” to humankind, all the genres are little stages of Japan’s progress in the second half of Twentieth Century.

Manga represents the senses of nationalism in genres such as kodomo and mecha, but also in the majority of them criticize social moral and the excessive discipline in labor and academic terms. And with this, you can have other perspective about the complex japanese culture that is full of purity , but also full of the generalized depression since the atomic bombs; nevertheless, manga i the clear example of the initiative of progress and economic independence of japanese population.

comic books in real life

Since the end of Nineteenth Century, comic books began to reflect the deficiencies about the society, but also were strong resources for propaganda and patriotism in the World Wars. In cases like Captain America, Superman and Batman, who were the symbols for the defense of americans principles. With this new way for justifying wars and crimes in them.

Comic books have become  in most of the cases an attempt to society in terms of human rights, and then, in nearer years, the eternal search of post-modern art, the true realista, and the emergent current of existentialism, where the question of the meaning of living was an imperative. I think that comic books grow with society as a reminder of  the deficiencies of it. However, the Western world prefers to see these characters that represents the archetypes of their societies, because humankind is a specie that needs a model for follow the moral and ethical rules imposed by themselves.

Nowadays, comic books are seen as an artistic expression, trying to corrupt the first function given by the first comic works, a propaganda for the super world powers  or even to criticize an ideology, such  as some Disney’s animations, that satirize the nazi education and social darwinism.  I consider that the meaning of comic books have changed among the time, because of the individualism and the political issues are seen in a different perspective, an artistic perspective that promotes the corruption of the stories, imposing the inking, graphics and editions, but also it made a new subculture that overvalue and defends the revolution of comic books.

 

Polysemy in kids movies and series

After seeing the seminary of Colin Stokes, I began to analyze many series and movies I watched in my childhood. Even though most of kids series and movies are focused on the cultural identities,  that is joined to the ethical and moral rules, Colin Stokes got a point by stating the gender position and the meaning of certain actions; for example, the Hero's Journey in boys' movies. The Hero's Journey is always accomplished by the main character, just like in Pokemon, where Ash always achieves every single medal in each stadium he visits; of course, not in all the cases, but he persists and obtains his goal with the advices of his friends, that are like their mentor. 

In the case of girls' series is pretty different, because in some cases like Old Disney's Princesses, submission is the great symbol for them, they just look for the "blue prince" mounted in a white steed. But, if we see japanese and european series and movies, we find the other way around. These series show an unusual  "girl power" able to save the world, just like Sakura Card Captor, Saber Marionette J and Pretty Cure which are japanese, Aifric which is irish, The Worst Witch which comes from England, and many more series that demonstrates the capability of girls as the saviors of the world, fighting against monsters and situations that symbolizes the obstacles passed by women to achieve success. These topics are related to other seminary gave by Chimamanda Ngozi, We should all be Feminist. Just by trying to change women social position in male chauvinist societies as a reveal of the women's labor and social value in decisions and battles.

There is a huge segregation between the series and even in the symbolic games presented there; nevertheless, series like Slam Dunk, Hungry Heart and Digimon shows the pluralism in some games and sports where women got importance, but they're still marginalized for practicing it. Even though in many cases society accepts or denies certain series and movies in terms of pluralism and aims of gender defenses, this media provides new meanings and roles for both boys and girls, there are a lot of frictions in social thinking and the fast changes in the world.

Finally, the gender unification in all the areas is occurring, maybe it is slow, but it will completely change the roles and even the sanctions of gender discrimination, balancing the ideals of male chauvinism and feminism. 

... And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost is an american poet born in San Francisco in 1874. His poems have become the most meaningful in the United States because of his great artistic expressions concerning themes such as, the rural life in New England, philosophy, the sense of life, and other topics that catapulted him as the founder of modern poetry in his country.

In Frost's poems, one of the most endearing elements is the use of natural phenomena to describe issues related to feelings, stages in human being's life and even his poems question, if not the existence, but the real meaning of a eternal peace, that also is applied to the purgatory or the perpetual conviction of suffering. 

Most of the poems of Robert Frost relates issues about life and death, and all of them have lots of symbols, polysemy, that leads the reader to create many different interpretations about certain sources used frequently by Frost such as the winter, the light and the darkness. Certainly, those are the three main elements in the poem I've chosen for analysis, "A Winter Eden". In this poem prevails the psychology of color that is evident in some verses when the author provides the symbol of peace and purity by the search of a serene and safe place to live forever, such a kind of heaven, and criticizing some stereotypes imposed by the Church concerning to the individuals' fate , rejecting the defects and unknown things to them.

Finally, Robert Frost is a poet who could criticize, in an elegant and subtle way, the limits imposed to individuals, either in society nor beliefs,  that tides people's souls. Also, Frost remarks frequently the free will in terms of  success and an end of life more peaceful to each person.

It's a MUN thing.

In this last model of the United Nations, TecMUN, I was the Conference Officer in the General Assembly. The topic discussed in all the sessions was the topic about the claim of rights  in the Middle East countries concerning the constant interventions of NATO in their internal conflicts. 

The debate developed several postures about the different countries in the committee, specially about the political measures of Syria in its population. Also one of he most controversial discourses in the entire model was the position of the united States of America, because of the delegate's radical change of position. Finally, after a almost inevitable state of crisis, the topic was closed with 8  excellent proposals for exhorting NATO to not intervene in internal problems of the Middle East.

I learned too many things in three days and in the whole planning of the event. I learned what important is the support of others in order to achieve together the great model that we had. Also I learned that doesn't matter the amount of people that complain themselves about the situation of their country, what counts is the determination to begin the change in it. Since I was in TecMUN my sense of seeing the problems in the world have changed in a very strong way, and also i changed the way of solving them, because now I know that there are plenty possibilities of solutions available to any problematic in the world without a war. But the main learning that I had in TecMUN is the unconditional teamwork. I had the sense of family in a model, not only because many of my best friends are there, but for all the new relationships that I got in only three days, and I sorry because I haven't been in a scenery like that for a year and a half.  I loved TecMUN and I hope that in the future I can be in other models like this one.   

The capitalism in the arts.

The performing arts are the ones that have dynamic forms and techniques such as: music, dance, theater, and the performance, that is a branch of the conceptual art. These arts have been since immemorial times because they were the way in which ancient human communities could communicate between tribes, as a universal languages that endure nowadays.

Since the global economic crisis in 2008, some governments began to cut the budget of the cultural sector. This cut affected the managing of the: musical instruments, the theaters' infrastructure, the artistic and cultural institutions budgets, and many other issues that have been created a controversy. Discussing this topic is hard, because since it is a cut thought for the increase of the life quality in society; nevertheless, the budget cuts were deteriorating other social sectors, making them controversial.

There were many protests against these cuts, one of them was the artistic circles in the country, but they didn't find a solutions for the problem. One possible proposal that can be applied in order to  have a balance between the national budget and the internal managing of finances, is to low the costs most irrelevant by a financial study and distribute the money resultant in the other organisms that need a strong amount of money for solving their debts. The short term consequence is that it will be a certain decrease in the organisms budget, but in a long term consequence, the government's economy can stabilize in a considerable way.

Macbeth is a real boy!

Macbeth is one story that can be translate in real life, because its characters have virtues and defects really approach to the real human being behavior and existential problems. Despite of the contractions and the antique language, Macbeth is a great story that can make the human thinking grow in terms of ethics and the "cause and effect" law. 

In this particular play of Shakespeare, as I've said before, the characters are really close to the real human being. Perhaps because Shakespeare tried to represent the society, the most common reasons for a murder, and this part of remorse that every human being can feel whenever something chaotic or out of the ethical and moral context of the individuals. In addition, Macbeth is a kind of fable, because every virtue is contrasted with and defect and this set of characteristics creates this "archetype" or "prototype" of the conception of human beings, those ones that cannot take decision by their own, because they are always manipulated by other people, but at the end they are the ones who act.  That is the case of Macbeth, because he was manipulated by Lady Macbeth, but at the end he wanted to kill anyone around him. Also Lady Macbeth is a manipulated being; nevertheless she is manipulated by her sins, because at first she was manipulated by her ambition, but in the final part the remorse dominates her in a psychosis that dramatically killed her.

The Elizabethan english was a real challenge, because all the contractions, vocabulary, the reasons why it was wrote in verse, and many other factors were the main problems for my occasional miss understanding and Alz Heimer attacks, but avoiding some thing, much part of the play was comprehensible. Now, I feel capable to read almost any book in english, because Macbeth gave me some bases for understand better texts.

I hated the language, but it's a successful (and enjoyable) challenge reading this novel.

Macbeth invading soap operas and real life.

Nowadays, many elements presented in the book Macbeth are part of current lifestyles, and in much more cases, in stories. Elements such as ambition and feminine manipulation, coupled to  the guilt  and the capital sins, give form to the soap operas',  TV series, reality shows, and even in our realties themes. In first place, one of the TV genres most representative of this implying of themes based  on Macbeth is the soap opera. In almost all the series concerning to this theme, the principal cause for all problems in the plots is ambition; for example, the enterprise owner's partner  is the manipulator of conspiracies and murders all among the story, but at the end of the story all his/her actions turns against him/her and finally love triumphs. 

However, in real life treason and power fights are too common for our society. Maybe because since ancient times, the power was a crucial  reason for beginning a war in order to expand their territories, or likes in the Crusades, to spread the catholic religion all among the european continent. Other point very common between real life and Macbeth are the capital sins and the double morality in characters. Basically, in real life the double morality is over abused, because is a social hypocrisy used to blame and to exonerate powerful people crimes , or only to avoid embarrassing situations that can devalue the person's position.

There are too much more elements of Macbeth invading all what we know, but also is work of western societies for change the bad points in common between this play and real life, and in a more proportion, it is work of the individuals to change their habits into new ones that can make a better world.

Shakespeare, Macbeth and a few thingies more...

Shakespeare was one of the best writers in english history, and his version of writing is the one in which is based english nowadays. His writing styles composes a special rhythm because of the great amount of contractions and rhetorical figures he used in his poems and dramas. Also, one of the reasons his play are more understandable than his poems is because his plays were presented on theaters created by Queen Elizabeth I that were called Elizabethan theaters; these places were specially designed for people of lower classes who can  appreciate master pieces of theater , increase their culture, have a time of entertainment and paying low costs.  

Despite of Shakespeare's english is the basis of actual english, there are a great amount of differences between them. Some of them are the pronouns he used like thee, thou, thing; also, the use of contractions makes the reading really hard for the english speakers nowadays, because these contractions may  misunderstand the context of the reading. Other thing different is the redaction, perhaps it is because William Shakespeare belonged to the baroque literary movement, in which the style of writing was too elaborated and complicated. However, in most of the part of the works of Shakespeare, the english is too similar to the actual one.

In all the themes he uses in his work, specially in Macbeth is the  transience of life, the ambition, the honor, and the guilt of obtaining what you want by harming others. En Macbeth also the manipulation is showed in how Lady Macbeth forces  Macbeth to kill whoever is interfering in her ambitions, making macbeth think that those ambitions are his ones. 

Shakespeare is one of the best writers in history of humanity, but his contractions are worse than hell.   

Improvement in the semester

In this semester I feel that my  organization  skills have improved in some way because in last semesters I  used to make my works one or two days before the death line, but now I try to make them with some anticipation in order to give other works more dedication and effort to them. Also, my multitasking skills have improved dramatically, I think that is because in the last weeks, I had to pay attention to many projects at the same time, giving them  the same importance and searching a lot of information for each project. Nevertheless, all this stress that the program is giving to us is, even if it harms my health, is a kind of preparation  for something much bigger, college. 

I began to consider the relevance of my improvement by remembering how I was in middle-high school, and comparing the attitudes I had in that time to the attitudes I have now for academic works and projects is very different, because  now almost all my time is spent in organizing and doing my works, than before when I only did my works at the vey night when I'd could made them in the afternoon.

I know that I need to improve more, I'm not perfect and I can't try to please everyone, so I have to improve in think a little bit more in my personal projects first rather than thinking in helping others projects first and let me until the very last place. It's good to help people, but it doesn't work if you sacrifice your hopes for helping someone that may not appreciate your help.

How Internet affects our life.

Internet is a very useful tool in which we can find information, entertainment and a faster way to be communicated with our partners; however, the internet can be unsafe, distrustful, and we have to be really careful when we use internet.  Nowadays, we have almost anything on hand and the need of searching books in libraries and bookstores are lesser than some years ago when internet wasn't open. Also, the need of sending mail has decreased and replaced by the electronic mail (as known as e-mail); nevertheless, this new form of mailing have provoked a worrying increase of spelling and grammar mistakes, because of the great amount of acronyms that are used in each language. 

Without considering the advantages and disadvantages of internet, it is a part of our life, without it all these technological revolution wouldn't be occurring,  and the progress os communication, animation, finances, and all the jobs created by internet would be only a  far dream apart of our reality. Even though internet provides too much possibilities of work, interpersonal relationships and  many other things, it also is one of the most common addictions in teenagers, because of the anxiety it provokes in them by seeing notifications in social networks, online games, etc.

Despite of all the health   problems the t we can have by the over exposition to computers' and cellphones' radiation, internet is a fundamental part of our civilization, and if someday it goes away, a period of chaos would be inevitable, because our social and working lives depend on internet more than ever. 

Reflectioninception.

Reflecting about the social issues about tattoos, piercings and dressing trends, I can understand in a better way the social, economical and even politic circumstances about them, because they not only represent a symbol of uniqueness between each individual, also can be a demonstration of their ideology and the beliefs they have. At the same time, these learnings gave me a wider panorama about the influence of the Western countries in Eastern ones, but also the rejections of those influences in the Middle-East and some religions. With this, the world remains, in a certain way, as a mixtures of all the cultures and ideologies, arts, and the daily life of every culture in the world.

Maybe right now those reflection have a too weak meaning, but if I relate it with some social and historic context, just like we analyze art, with a great amount of previous information to really understand the reason a specific type of trend or movement is realized. So, I think if we make a real analysis about them our thoughts would be more accurate according to tattoos and piercings, because now we can have a theory framework about this kind of manifestation in some groups. 

Sierra, Santiago. 160 cm Line Tattooed on 4 People. 2000. El Gallo Arte Contemporaneo, Salamanca. TATE. Web. 

  

Fashion according to runways.

Clothes are used as a kind of protection to sun and other natural phenomena, but since the WWII, the canons of beauty and clothing changed with the emerging of  the industrial design and the use of materials crated for the war combat to make clothes more resistant and specially for a specific type of body, the thins bodies. 

But, clothes not only make changes in the way of dressing, also they impose the way of hairstyle, body complexion and even the image people must demonstrate to the public. Fashion trends provokes in society a new type of mentality in which the physical image has more relevance than the intelligence  or the abilities of people. At the same time, these type of social manipulation creates in the population a chain of low self esteem that can transform in eating disorders or depression.

In other cultures as Islam, Amish, Mennonite, African tribes, and Tibetan Buddhist monks  forbid  the use of western fashion because they consider them as a transgression to their traditions or a rupture of  the rules imposed in their religion.

In conclusion, clothes are used to protect our  bodies from the weather, but there is no reason to change our identity because of the current fashion trends. Although every culture and society has a different type of fashion, we must not get influenced by them, we can choose what type of clothe use and nobody can change our mind because all of us are unique in clothing as in personality.
   

Why piercings are the new "cool accessories"?

Since ancient civilizations such as egyptians, mayans, aztecs, and others used piercings for religious issues, class position, the amount of years of the people, and as a evidence of strength. However, the concept of piercings that the western countries have nowadays is related to teenage vandalism, certain urban tribes where piercings are an important trend, and even to be like some celebrities who have them. Notwithstanding, piercings are well seen in women, because is a symbol of femininity and, in a certain manner, to distinguish the from boys when they are little.

Nowadays, piercings are used on strange places for reach some kind of increase in pleasure, social status in certain groups and individuality. But, in the most part of enterprises, institutions, and  labor spaces  it is forbidden the use of them. These type of limits in the labor and education areas may be a strong reason for the disrepute of piercings. Also this type of corporal modification has risks, but their complications are in percentage lesser than in tattoos or other types of body art.

It is not bad to wear piercings, but it must be a decision of the person and not  a decision from social pressure, of fashion trends. Piercings may be a new form to separate urban social circles where the western trends are in constant change, but if it does not has a limits between them, the real significance of piercings as in other cultures more related to nature and spiritualism.

Tattoos and society.

The use or the prejudgments made about tattoos is because there is a social context in which the tattoos belong to religious and spiritual strength, like the buddhist monks have some mantras and images from Buddha in the bak or another part of their bodies as a symbol of a connection between the monk and the religion. Nevertheless, in other societies  tattoos are seen as a transgression to the body, which is the most sacred temple in the universe; social groups such as jews, catholics, extreme asian societies, some circles in Latin America, and in some parts of the United States. Also, tattoos are considered as symbols of status in some mafias and fanatic partisan groups.

Despite the bad Western image of tattoos, some cultures in the central and southern part of Africa tattoos are used for rituals, class differentiation, priest union to the sacred gods, and for the transition from girl or boy to an adult individual capable for having new responsibilities. In a certain manner, in the Polynesian Islands have an use for tattoos like african tribes, but the great difference from the polynesian cultures such as the maori and aboriginal tribes in New Zealand and Fiji Islands use the tattoos as a communicational way, because in all their bodies they have their genealogical history, their adventures and their exploits of courage and strategy. 

My opinion about tattoos remains neutral, because if tattoos are used since millenary cultures, tattoos may be consider as acceptable at least to a certain point. Also, I consider that depending on social rules and manners, all the tattooed people must have a limit in their corporal modifications in general, not as oppression, but to have a better acceptation in society as well as the care that they must have in the tattoo shops, they must investigate establishments authorized for tattooing with sterilized material and with personal that have at least a narrow knowledge about medicine and the risks to tattoo a person.

By conclusion, tattoos are not bad neither good, but people must consider all the risks involved in tattoo industry.

Tattoos are not just a symbol of adolescent rebellion, but to express art, the self identity of a person or stories belonged by millenary tribes.