A point to a post?

Further advice that I've seen from people who are successful bloggers and what not.

1. Have an aim for each post, say what you're gonna say and don't waffle. Unless it's a chatty post I guess...
2. Be regular with your content, and stick to it so people know what to expect and when to come back.
3. I don't have a third piece of knowledge, but things that come in threes are always more satisfying.

4.  I just thought of another one and broke the three pieces of knowledge rules I guess. Oops! But, finally, don't have massive chunks of text in one post.

So basically I've broken most of those rules... oops...
I just have phases where I really feel like blogging, mainly when I'm back from uni but it's still term time for everyone else. So I go into overdrive and blog A LOT then. Who says boredom is not productive?

Just one bean in the can

I've been watching videos and reading blogs by 'social media people' who have 'made it', for want of a better word, about how they first started their blogs and youtube channels and got to the place they are today. I have come to a few conclusions about why they have reached the heights of popularity that they have done.

For the most part, social media stars are good at what they do because they have had the privacy of not having a spot light on them for many years, so now are very well practised at the art of vlogging, video making and writing. Because of this there content is entertaining/informative to watch.

When the big stars of today started out, there was barely anyone else out there to compete with. Thinking about some of the youtubers that I watch, Tanya Burr, Louise Pentland and Zoe Sugg all cover similar topics with there videos. They are 3 powerhouse women who are now well respected and admired for their knowledge and tutorials, therefore it is hard for new people to edge in because they have to bring something new to the table in order to justify viewers spending time consuming their content.

When these three (and of course there are many more big you tubers, however I'm British and these you tubers are the 'biggest' three that spring to my mind) have the 'basics' of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and hair covered and their own, now beloved, personalities to bring to the table, it's a tough thing to break through. Especially when hoards of women all over the world have the same interests and want to create similar content.

 Of course not everyone on social media wants to be the next star, but since we can readily view the kind of lifestyle that people who are successful have, what isn't there to like? Except perhaps the fame and everyone knowing who you are, that must always be super strange...

As many of the big youtube names say, you should not start out with the intent of getting big and famous, cause that takes some doing and many a year of content creating before you are likely to get anywhere! I've experimented with making videos, but I think I'm far more comfortable behind a key board so I think I'll just chill here for a while and type stuff to myself :D

Speaking out

We live in a consumer culture. We want instant gratification, and if we want something, we think we are entitled to have it. Next day delivery, and instant digital downloads mean we don’t even have to wait for the post man; the words and music of others are literally available at the click of a button. 

What does that do to us as humans? Our ability to have some level of self control, to appreciate delayed pleasure and accept that sometimes the answer is no, and be denied what we want? 

Our cultural expectations of immediate relief from pain, hunger, and ‘really needing that extra pair of shoes or top’ does a greater level of harm to the way we think that shouldn’t be laughed off. 

I’m trying to avoid what might be seen as ‘feminist' cliches but here it is.    bodies are used for advertising, to encourage us as a member of the public to say yes and satisfy our wishes and desires. From perfume, clothes, and shoes to alcohol, holidays and cars, and really anything that anybody wants to sell. Beauty and attraction, or to use a darker word lust, are used all over the world and online to tempt people to gratify their demands. 

Women’s bodies are used to create a passage to ‘giving in’ and taking what we want; of course a picture of a women, or part of a woman, on a poster never says no. Poster women are always inviting the consumer to indulge, a women’s body becomes associated with something that we are entitled to take, and that can be taken because ‘we like the look of it and wanted it”.

That scares me. I am a women, I don’t want people to look at my body and think, yeah that’s what I want so I’m going to take it. No one has the right to touch me without my consent, and no one has a right to look at my body and have possessive thoughts. My body belongs to me. It is not a pick’n’mix sweet to be ogled and then consumed.

But what can I do? I can’t stop other peoples thoughts, I can’t stop women’s bodies being used to sell products the world over. I may be recycling other peoples words, but this time the words are coming from my lips, I have recognised for myself what society and advertising is doing and I believe recognition is the first step to inviting change. Talking about these topics keeps our minds receptive and engaged with critically challenging, rather than blindly accepting the world around us.

Injustice

I am feeling the unjustness of the world acutely tonight, and it's definitely been building over the last 2 weeks in relation to 3 areas. A feeling of injustice fires me up unlike anything else, and I've definitely noticed feelings of genuine anger, which I haven't felt in years, if I have ever before.

• a personal situation
• a historical situation
• a global situation

Personal situation is the easiest - I have a housemate who doesn't care whether he does his contributions to the housework, and is perfectly happy to say he doesn't because other people (mainly us female housemates) do his share of the cleaning before he has a chance.

Not only is it insulting since we have only done 'his cleaning' after he clearly had no intention of doing it, but utterly disrespectful to neglect the agreement to share out the work we made when we moved into the house.

Fuelling these feelings has been the topic of my politics module this week, which was feminism. Why does it fall to women to do the domestic work? I'm wary of generalisation, but the specific guys I live with didn't know how to make sure the bathroom floor was dry after they got out of the shower - they don't think! And of course it's not just them who don't think, but when you're the one turning off the lights, the tv, putting the bins out, dealing with the letting agent and any maintenance issues and they keep pointing out to you that they (unlike other housemates) have done their chore for that week, it's hard not to scream all the extra things they don't think to consider that you've done (and then point out that they really didn't do their job that well anyway...)

So feminism is in fact the global situation (crossing over into historical) that has been on my mind. Mainly the male bias in society, and the injustice done to women throughout history that has not be corrected. Why are there still so few women in parliament, and why do the men shout and scream and jeer like animals in a place where decisions are made that shape the lives of everyone in the country? Why are women forced to fit into roles biased towards a typical males life, and obstacles such as maternity leave that will NEVER effect a man (until the time men can also grow babies?) be so limited in terms of duration and paid salary during the maternity period.

Why has our society developed in a way so that earning money is valued higher than caring for another person and ensuring there are a decent bunch of people to become the next generation? Who would choose to rescue a suitcase of money over a baby from a burning house? In such a situation most of society would condemn a person who would not save the human life. And I'm not implying that women who choose to work rather than be a full time mother should be blamed - I'm blaming the whole structure of society that was designed, without any input from women, to suit people who don't have raising the next generation as a biologically integral part of their lives.

My historical (and also partially global) situation stems from watching The Imitation Game. Bio-epic has to be my favourite genre of film - to think that it is based on true events is remarkable. To think that homosexuality was treated in such a disgusting manner, and that a man who saved millions of lives ended up committing suicide due to legal 'punishment' for his feelings is horrific. It's fascinating  because it seems so unreasonably unfair (to put it mildly) that anyone could think that anyone deserves 'hormonal castration' no matter what there personal background. The isolation and loneliness of Turing is poignantly portrayed, it really struck a chord with me. It is unlikely anyone has gone through their life without feeling lost or alone at some point, and although perhaps not on the same level as Turing, the humanity of these feelings invokes deep empathy and connection to Turing.

So in all, at the moment I have a strong dislike for society and the way the world has turned out. Humans are awesome, but we also suck. I want to change something. I also want to smash something first, then I'll do the changing part.

The Lion King

Yesterday I was up in London to see The Lion King musical...  WHAT A SHOW! My favourite scene has to be the opening where all the puppets bring the African plains to life to the tune of Disney's classic the circle of life. I think my favourite puppets were the zebras just because the way they've captured their movement is so realistic, not that other puppets didn't capture the real animals movement, but the zebras really caught my eye! The whole theatre exploded into applause as the final puppets made their way on to the stage to complete the scene for an opening to rival the finales of most shows!

The production design was wonderfully exotic, and I love the way the actors are true to their cartoon characters in their intonation and tone of their voices. Rafiki is my favourite character in the Lion King just because you never know what he is going to do! In the stage version the actress has the most spectacular vocal range and the best parts of the songs to sing (in my opinion!)

The way the film has been adapted to utilise the spaces and strengths of a theatre I found really interesting (since I'm studying a module on adaption between stage, screen and novel!) and they have been so innovative and creative when designing the stampeded scene and communicating the disarray and poverty that Scar brought to the pride lands.

In short a wonderful show, and one to catch if you have the time (and the spare money cause those tickets prices are sky high!) if you might be planning a special trip to London!