CRASH

Crash is a Crime/Drama film made in (2004) which was written and directed by Paul Haggis. All the characters have multicultural differences however they are living in the same society. It represents issues of racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and hate. The film included individual perspectives of different races and harsh realities that occur in some peoples day to day life.

It includes African American people, Hispanic people, Persian people, Caucasian people and Asian people. All these people have different lives and lifestyles but they end up colliding into each others lives.

RACISM AND STEREOTYPES
The google definition of racism is "The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races."
The google definition of stereotypes is "a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing."

In the film we see racism and stereotypes when…
-An Iranian is thought to be Arab, although Iranians are Persians
-Both the Iranian man and white woman assume a Mexican-American locksmith is a gang member
-A black cop has an affair with his Latina partner but he never gets where she is from correct
-A white cop thinks a light skinned black woman is white so he sexually assaults her
-When a white producer tells a black TV director that a black character doesn't sound black enough

There are many other scenes and situations where there is racism and stereotypes, it is an ongoing theme throughout the film.

weekly news

Sex abuse: Football Association (FA) to investigate allegations (BBC News)


Former football players have been coming forward to say they were sexually abused as youth players. The NSPCC set up a hotline for them to call and it has already received more than 100 calls. It is to be expected that many more ex footballers will follow and call up, which may damage the reputation of football in the UK.

Four ex professionals have spoken to the media about what they had experienced in the past, while two former youth players who left the game due to abuse have also come forward.

Who has spoken out?

16th November: Former Bury and Sheffield United player Andy Woodward (aged 43) told the Guardian he was sexually abused by convicted paedophile and former football coach, Barry Bennell, while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.

22nd November: Steve Walters (aged 44) also claimed to have been sexually abused by Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra.

23rd November: Former England and Tottenham footballer Paul Stewart (aged 52), told the Mirror he was sexually abused as a youth player. He began his professional career with Blackpool and he also played for Manchester City and Liverpool, claims an unnamed coach, not Barry Bennell, abused him daily for four years.

23rd November: Ex-Manchester City player David White (aged 49), claims he was also sexually abused by Barry Bennell in the late 1970's and early 1980's, while playing for Whitehall FC.

24th November: An anonymous ex-footballer contacted police to say he was a victim of George Ormond, a former Newcastle United youth coach.

What have the ex footballers said?

Andy Woodward: "It was his way of finding out which players were the weaker ones or the softer ones. It started within a few weeks. Initially it was sexually touching but it rapidly got worse and he raped me. I don't want to put a number on how many times it happened, but it was over a four-year period."

Steve Walters: "I just had to pretend it never happened and block it out. I knew it could never come out and I was absolutely petrified because I thought that if it did ever come out that would be it for my career - finished. All these years, I've had this secret inside me. It's been unbearable but, just from reading the article from Andy, it already feels like a massive burden off my shoulders. I have to do this, and I just hope it will help bring more people forward, too."

Paul Stewart: "One day, ­travelling in the car, he started to touch me. It frightened me to death, I did not know what to do. It progressed to sexually abusing me. He said he would kill my mother, my father, my two brothers if I breathed a word about it. The mental scars led me into other ­problems with drink and drugs. The level of abuse got worse and worse. I was always under threat, if I was not playing well, he would threaten me with violence as well as sexual abuse. He was a monster."

David White: "While I believe throughout my football career I have come to terms with what had happened, I now realise the effects of Bennell's actions were much more far-reaching than I knew then. I have come to terms with the fact Bennell's actions influenced almost every event and relationship in my life."

Who is Barry Bennell?

-He was a youth coach at Crewe Alexandra
-He has been jailed three times for sex abuse
-He was jailed most recently in 2015 for two years for a sexual offence committed against a 12 year old boy
-He permanently remains suspended from football

I think that it is good that these footballers are coming out and telling the news what has happened to them previously as it is  not an easy topic to talk about. It is said that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. However, because child sex abuse is very secretive, many of the cases will never be reported. It is disgusting how someone will happily ruin a child's life like that. 

weekly news

Pascal the puppy is left for dead after cruel children covered him in industrial glue and dragged him through mud in Turkey (Mail Online)

Pascal is a puppy who is only 4 months old and when he was found, he could hardly move. He was found by an industrial estate in Istanbul.

The children had put so much glue on him, it was almost as strong as cement and one of his ears became necrotic because there was not enough blood getting to it. His skin was also extremely damaged from the strong chemicals in the glue. He had to go through many medical baths to help him recover. It was said that Pascal was very scared and traumatised, he would turn away when he saw doctors and nurses so he could hide his face.

Thankfully, he is being treated and cared for. Hopefully he will be able to return back to his normal self. 

I think is is horrible that someone could just leave him on his own as he was only 4 months old. Also, how disturbed these children must be to let a dog suffer like that. As I have a dog myself, stories like this really hurt me as I know that all dogs do is love their owners. Although you hear stories of dogs killing people or seriously injuring them, its because the owners have taught the dog to act that way. It is never the dogs fault. No dog should ever have to go through such a traumatising experience, especially as they don't know whats going on. It is so cruel how someone can abandon a dog, let alone watch it suffer.

Pascal is on the way to recovery and he has made a friend along his journey.

analysing print and audio visuals

PRINT

This film poster is for 1 of 26 James Bond movies. The central image is of James Bond himself, dressed in a smart suit which suggests he is wealthy and is either in the middle class or upper class. The colours black and white contrast with each other as black suggests danger and death whereas white suggests purity and innocence; however, both colours suggest power and authority. They've used a direct mode of address as James Bond is looking straight into the camera, showing eye contact. The image of the skull behind him could have a few meanings. James Bond could be in front of it because he is a more important character in the film. It could also be behind him as it may be his enemy creeping up behind him, or it could show a split personality. This would make the audience want to see the film because it will make them want to know what the skull figure is doing and it shows mystery.

VIDEO

This video is from a song called Formation by Beyonce, which was also performed at The Superbowl. The lyrics talk about issues of race, class, gender and cultures which is why I chose to show this. In the video, you see black man dressed up in suits looking very smart standing outside a large house. The children in the house are dressed very nicely which suggests they are middle class or upper class, and very privileged. This goes against the stereotypical view of black people and their social standing. There are also scenes of Beyonce standing on a police car which could be linked to the stories of american police officers shooting innocent black people. She looks into the camera a lot which shows how she is a strong, powerful and independent woman.

weekly news

'The miracle twin born with her brain outside her skull and expected to die the odds to survive 4 months on'

Baby girl, Aniyah Todd, was unfortunately born with encephalocele. She was expected to die at birth and her parents were told to prepare for her death. She only had 10% of her brain inside her skull so her family were warned that she would most likely die. Surgeons were made to remove most of her brain tissue during a life saving operation.

Aniyah's mother has said "the journey has been very tough, it was horrific when I was told my baby would not live. However, after she was born and struggled to breathe and as she turned cold in our arms, we finally accepted we would have to say goodbye. A after around an hour she was still with us and doctors kept coming in to check what was going on and looked shocked that she was still alive."

Fortunately, Aniyah has been getting stronger and stronger, doing much better than everyone had predicted. As there is a large part of her brain missing, it was unlikely that she would be able to function. Her family had hope for their daughter even though the doctors suggested they give up.

Media Proposal

I have decided to do print based designs as I feel like that is my strongest point. I may do a DVD cover and a poster as I have made digital posters before. It also allows me to use my own photography. This is for my teen thriller film. Posters are shown everywhere and it visible for anyone to see.

weekly news

RUSSIAN TEACHER FORCED TO QUIT AFTER BEING EXPOSED AS PORN STAR SPECIALISING IN 'SCHOOL GIRL' ROLES (MIRROR)

School teacher, Svetlana Topol (aged 27), has been forced to quit her job as she was exposed by an anonymous person sent links to the videos to staff and pupils. She had been working at one of the most prestigious schools in Russia since 2010. It was said by staff that she was a modest young woman who was never seen wearing provocative clothes to too much make up.

One of the video directors came out an said "I know people who have worked with her and, oh my, she is a real bad teacher. She does the kind of stunts many actresses fail to perform. She can do both traditional and alternative ways. She is very popular among the viewers." 

It was reported that there had been previous rumours about her sideline before, but it was believed that she had quit when she was landed the job as a teacher. However, the anonymous person who sent the links said that some of the videos were made this year. These videos were filmed in Hungary and the Czech Republic as 'adult movie actresses' earn ten times more than they do in Russia. 

Some people have said it is outrageous that a teacher had been working as a porn star previously but some others said her adult movie work had not harmed her pupils, until the videos were leaked.

I personally do not think her teaching career should have been affected by this incident as she is clearly very clever and had the right qualifications to be teaching at one of Russia's most prestigious schools. It is also not her fault the link got leaked anonymously. Although, I do understand it can bring the schools reputation down if they have a pornstar as a teacher there. As many people say, what is on the internet stays on there forever so she must have been aware of this before applying to any job. 

This story also links to another previous story where Kristin Sundman was forced to resign from her teaching role as the school found her porn videos. Some of the videos contained her in the shower or in various other settings. It has happened in manny occasions around the world.