The Grammys

This year was the yea of the 52nd annual Gammy Awards. This event is one of the most waited and followed events of the year. Indeed, this is the moment where we expect to see all our favorite artists. We also know that numerous singers are going to provide stunning performances.

However, I want to write about this event because even if a lot of artists were there and rewarded, it seemed to me that the media particularly focused on three female singers. Indeed, everybody was talking about Beyonce’s ten nominations, Taylor Swift’s eight nominations, and Lady Gaga’s five nominations. These three feminine artists were then leading the show with their numerous nominations. A CNN journalist even added that the Grammy producers used to head to head competition between Beyonce and Taylor Swift to lure viewers to stay tuned through the entire telecast. Others artists were nominated but unfortunately, this year the media really focused on the three women.

And I realized that several people were saying the same thing, which is the fact that despite amazing performances, the show focused too much on Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. People were even saying that Taylor Swift didn’t deserve all this attention since her performance was disappointing and didn’t show a huge talent. And everybody agreed that even if they all have released several songs this past year, other artists also were present, and were not rewarded the way they should be. In a way, a lot of people agreed on the fact that it was not fair for the other artists, who were less popularized through the media. Even if this year, the show was still really good, I agree with everyone since before and after the show, the medias were still talking about the same singers, nearly forgetting about others who had fewer nominations.

The tragic death of Jerome David Salinger

A tragic death occurred on January 27th, 2010. This is the worldwide writer Jerome David Salinger, who passed away. He was 91 years old. His death is a tragic one because literature lost one amazing artist.

Salinger, who was born in New York, began his stunning career in 1940 by publishing short stories in famous magazines of that time. However, soon after promising beginnings, he entered in World War II. But being a soldier didn’t prevent him from writing. As a reporter revealed, Salinger used to carry a portable typewriter with him. And the most surprising thing is that his work was published. After the end of the war, the writer came back to the States and started a prestigious career as a novelist. One of his numerous works entitled “The Catcher in the Rye”, was even added to the reading lists of educational institutions. Unfortunately, success didn’t come alone. In fact, the author became the center of controversy, which pushed him to become increasingly reclusive. With years, the author even used to say that he continued to write, but only for his own satisfaction.

I wanted to write about this tragic loss because an author, who was recognized by critics and readers as one of the most popular and influential authors of American fiction, was persecuted by the media. This is the perfect example of the bad side and the power of the media. Indeed, a prestigious writer stopped publishing his work because of the media’s eagerness. And here, I’m saying that being informed by the media is a good thing, but its power, being limitless, can waste people’s lives. This worldwide recognized talent had to stop practicing. Nowadays, influential people still encounter the same kind of problems because of the media, which doesn’t care about hurting people. The only thing that matters is giving news, even if that means attacking and hurting people’s feelings… Unfortunately, Salinger was a victim, and the world, as a direct consequence of the media’s bad side, was deprived of maybe amazing novels…

One Burning Issue: Health Care in America

These past months, we are hearing about Barrack Obama’s new reform. In fact, the president decided to change one of the main problems of America, which is the health insurance.  Recently, I was reading an article, which was explaining that because of health care system’s high prices, an increasing number of individuals, families, employers, employees, and little children are uninsured because they cannot afford such prices. Numbers were also given. Indeed, I learnt that 45million of American don’t have any insurance. And the article didn’t stop there because in it studies revealed that health insurance prices usually increase 4 times faster than people’s wages. Stating that, the president revealed that his plan was to lower health insurance price, offering affordable insurance in order to allow everyone to have a high-quality health care. In his plans, the president talked about major changes. Indeed, he first stated that a new national health program would be available allowing people to have affordable health care. And thanks to this new system, ill people wont be ignored by insurance anymore, and wont be charged more because of their disease. In fact, pre-existing conditions wont be taken in account anymore. Moreover, employers will have to contribute in their employees’ health coverage. So basically, the president has decided to change the entire system, which constitutes a real evolution in the American system.

I wanted to write about this topic because coming from a foreign country, I couldn’t understand how it was possible for a country to not provide more help to its population. Indeed, in European countries almost everyone is covered by health insurance, allowing them to use the medical technologies offered in their country.  I think that this reform is more than needed because living here made me realized that not everyone was able to have medical aid. For instance, in European countries, people can’t buy medication without prescription, whereas here this is possible. Because of high prices, people don’t take care of themselves, and avoid medical following. Hopefully, with this reform, which constitutes the president’s priority for 2010, people will have insurance and will all get treatment.

Remembrance Day

This last January 27, 2010, 700 people gathered at Auschwitz, which is the site of the former Nazi’s camp. I wanted to write about this event because I think it’s important that people don’t forget this huge genocide. That’s why this week I have decided to write about that day.

The Remembrance Day has been established by the United Nations in 2005 as a global day of commemoration, and this year is the known as the 65th anniversary of liberation. Journalists reported that the remaining survivors and other people, who were there to honor the million victims, walked among the barracks. They were thinking of the 1.1 million people killed in that camp in the gas chambers, and the one who died from starvation, disease, forced and inhuman labor, or even from medical experiments. In an overall speech, they were thinking of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. This whole reunion was organized by the European Jewish Congress. This congress has collected support from numerous presidents. Barrack Obama was part of the support since he spoke of that day as a “sacred duty to remember the cruelty” of Auschwitz. The French president Nicolas Sarkozy even said that “ Auschwitz is the symbol of absolute evil that remains seared on the human conscience”. So here, we can see the good impact news can have on people because they allow us remembering such horrifying acts.

The Congress used this event to once again remind us the tragic history saying that the Nazis opened that Auschwitz as a concentration camp in the summer of 1940. Even if its primer goal was not to be the house of detention and murder of Jews, Auschwitz became a huge detention camp because of its location. So, the plan to kill all European Jews, also know as the Final Solution, occurred there.  Several articles revealed that only 7,000 survivors when the camp was liberated, unfortunately nazis had evacuated 60,000 jews several days before the soviet arrival. Some of the survivors are still alive today and were at the Auschwitz some days ago.

Talking about this event in the news is a really important thing because that prevents the Holocaust to be forgotten by the younger generations. Indeed, humanity has to remember this because this is the real illustration of what humans are able to do. Also, this illustrates what racism can engender… Everyone has to be aware that differences are not always accepted, and that creates stereotypes and murders… Unfortunately, racism still exists since during that day nazis people have profaned a jewish cemetery in France.

The case of Roman Polanski

I was recently shocked to hear about Roman Polanski, the famous film director, in the news. He is now detained in Zurich where he traveled to receive a lifetime achievement award. The whole story happened more than thirty years ago. Polanski has committed one of the most shocking crimes, he rapped Samantha Geimer, who was 13 at that time. This occurred in Los Angeles in Jack Nicholson’s house.  But what is more alarming is that this man is not in jail, he hasn’t paid for the harms he caused to that innocent girl. Actually what happened is that Polanski moved to France before an arrest warrant was issued. And unfortunately, there Polanski was protected by a law preventing the US from arresting him.

In this whole story, the shocking details are about the support Polanski received. This support goes from famous French actors to even American directors and actors like Woody Allen, Martin Scorses, and others. In 1977, everybody was talking about him since he was involved in a child sex affair. I wanted to write about that story because over the years, Polanski has still been able to live a normal life doing as if nothing has been done. Indeed, movies from him have been released. One of his movies is The Pianist, for which he received an Oscar, but his price has been collected by Harrison Ford. Polanski knew that he couldn’t come back in California because he would be immediately arrested. This person, who is a rapper, had been able to win an Oscar. Even if Polanski is a genius, that doesn’t make him free from what had been committed. And unfortunately here we can see differences because if someone non-famous commits such a crime, there is no solution for him other than jail. And in this case because of his worldwide reputation, Polanski is protected. How fair is that?

However, recent news indicates that Polanski will be forced to come back to California to be judged in the court of Los Angele. More than thirty years after the unlawful act, Polanski will be finally judged.  But still, in this type of crimes, justice shouldn’t have taken so long to arrest or judge the rapper…

Students’ future endangered?

With the last worldwide and huge economic crisis, reforms have been taken. One of the most alarming ones is the budget cut in universities. Unfortunately governments haven’t found other ways to close state budget gap than depriving universities from important found. A recent article even indicated that UC and Cal State would probably been forced to reduce enrollment by 27,000 over the following years!! But the damages are not done yet since to survive the UC would have to rely heavily on student fees. Apparently, fees in UCs could reach the amount of $18,000. As explained in the UC study, “ the university becomes dependent on high student fees”.  So because of that crisis, students are going to meet difficulties… is that normal? I mean it’s even going to be complicated to enroll! Students will have to pay even more than what they are paying now!! What is hard is that future generations are loosing opportunities of career and education because governments haven’t found other solutions…

These unfair consequences have been felt at SMC since the amount of classes proposed has decreased. Emails have been sent explaining that because of the budget cut fewer classes were going to be proposed during the winter semester. The price per unit has also increased. Another problem is that because of the economic crisis, numerous students couldn’t afford the new prices of the UCs , so they moved to community college. Consequently, SMC is overcrowded and finding open classes turns out to become a real problem. This is just an example, but unfortunately this problem occurs everywhere, and students can’t do anything.

However, one good point in all of that, is that the governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared that the government can no longer afford to cut higher education. He even added that never again a greater percentage of the state’s money would be spent on prisons than on higher education. We will see what future holds, but hopefully universities’ budget will recover changing students’lives…

A worldwide prestige race for height

Every prestigious country has a building of its own that will characterize the country. For instance, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Italy has its Tower Pisa, and just recently Dubai built its own too called Burj Dubai Tower. This piece of information has been covered by numerous channels since that building is the world’s tallest skyscraper. It reaches a height of 2,684 feet  (818 meters). This construction has cost the moderate amount of $1.5 billion.

However, recently the tower has been renamed and is now known as the Burj Khalifa. This occurred since at some point the constructions stopped due to a lack of money. The president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa Bin Zayed lent huge amount of money allowing the construction to continue.

This skyscraper is the representation of new techniques. Indeed, each floor of this building is capable of rotating independently. This rotation is occurring thanks to the wind fitted between each floor as explained a journalist on CNN.  More than 160 floors formed the skyscraper. Not only luxury apartments are constructed, the tower is also going to be home of a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.

It appears that plans to build similar skyscrapers in other countries such as Canada, Europe, and South Korea have been formulated. The huge mediatization of this event has charmed other countries, which now want their own skyscrapers. And now that techniques have been discovered to build high skyscraper, the race will start…

The Huge Catastrophe in Haiti

On January 12, 2010, a huge earthquake occurred in Haiti. This is a real catastrophe since its magnitude has reached a 7.0 on the Richter scale, which is known to engender violent and destructive jolts. On that day, countless homes, hospitals, schools, government infrastructures, and the United Nations peacekeeping headquarters, were destroyed. The horror continues since journalists report that bodies lie dead in the streets or trapped under remains. It appears that an estimation of the number of dead has been done and is at least 100,000. The government can’t have a definitive number since bodies are still found…

The earthquake has been covered for days by almost every news channels, which have provided details and informed the population. In this case, the news has played a major role since by informing us, numerous donations have been sent by viewers. Indeed, by showing the misery and the help needed there, people have acted by sending money. Another good thing is that texts have been sent to everyone to ask for donation. These actions are showing that the media can help in such tragic situations. Also, the rapidity of the media is a good advantage since all around the world, countries have learnt the news, allowing governors to act. For instance, here the president Obama has declared: “ we stand united with the people of Haiti, who have shown such incredible resilience, and we will help them to recover and to rebuild”.  So by being informed, several nations are now able to work together to help Haiti by taking prompt action. Indeed, they already have sent helicopters that bring food, and medicine. Doctors, and rescuers have been sent as well. People well-known, here Angelina Jolie, and others flew there to help. So here, the medias have played a major role since by informing, people like us have been able to send money and countries have been able to act quickly.

Is it still safe to travel?

On december 25th   a plane incident occurred once again.  Travelers described that moment of panic saying firstly they heard a pop. As explained a there was a flamish light and then a fire. Nothing serious happened thanks to passenger who reacted quickly enough to stop the terrorist.

Who caused that fire? Simple answer, a 23-years old man called Umar Farouk Abdulmutallad. He is actually treated for second and third degree burns on his thighs. As revealed on CNN, this suspect has extremist ties and declared that the explosive device were acquired in Yemen with instructions explaining when he should use the device.  In order to divert the authorities, the young man has hidden the explosives in his underwear. By luck, the device failed to fully explode.

By I’m wondering, is it normal to avoid another terrorist attack just by luck? How come that even now terrorists can still pass through security? I mean more than 8 years after September 11th and despite billion of dollars spent on investigation and security, the terrorist succeeded in passing through securities of two different airports with explosives and being able to attend the plane!! Is it normal? That means that our government failed.

Immediately after the attack, President Obama claimed that all appropriate measures would be taken to increase security for air travel. He even added that additional screening measures would be put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights.

It almost seems like the terrorism has been forgotten by our governments. Indeed, even journalists talk less about this topic. However, it seems like this terrorist attack made everyone realized that terrorism is still actual…

Avatar, a revolutionary movie?

When commercials about avatar started, I was not really putting attention to them since I was seeing blue aliens playing. It seemed to me like a video game adapted for wide audiences. So, obviously I was not planning to see that movie.

However, few weeks after the movie release, I changed my mind because of what I was hearing from people and most important because of what the news keeps repeating over and over again about that movie. First, people are used to saying this movie is revolutionary, you have to see it! But what made that movie revolutionary??

Now, media play their role of selling a product to us customers. Indeed, interviews of James Cameron, James Gianopulos, co-chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, and main actors have been played on numerous channels. In these interviews, the most shocking peace of information revealed, is the price spent on the film: $300 million. This makes Avatar, the most expensive movie ever. Knowing that, I began to realize that maybe this movie could have something special. And later, thanks to other interviews, I learnt that this movie has to deal with technology improvement. In fact James Cameron has created a new film camera that combines computer-generated imagery with live action. This is part of the multi-billion dollar budget. As Gianopulos explained in an interview, this camera allowed Cameron to see the virtual world he created as part of the live performance. And even James Cameron revealed that he was waiting for the technology to catch up to be able to realize the movie the manner he had intended to do. Inevitably, everyone realizes that this movie is revolutionary.

In addition to these incredible improvements. Avatar has encouraged directors of realization to produce 3D movies. As a French journalist pointed out, we experience the world in 3D, why shouldn’t we expect to see movies in the same manner? That’s true, and current improvements mixed with the worldwide success of Avatar will maybe change the way movies are recorded making 3D movies the dominant form of film.

Avatar has been seen by millions of people exceeding the number one US box office Titanic. Media had played a major role in the promotion of that movie explaining and diffusing images behind the scenes to make us see that movie. And that works since this movie have already been number one in numerous countries all around the world!

Finally, the story is a metaphor of our society since it’s about men of the 20th  century who exploit and destroy his planet without caring about consequences of their acts. So this movie is not only the example of exceptional technology improvements, it is also a movie that delivers a message on a burning topic, which is the protection of our planet.