The Help : Memories of the Old South

Memories of the Old South

“God says we need to love our enemies. It's hard to do, but it can start by telling the truth.”

Aibileen Clark, a maid

     After discovering segregation through the eyes of a little girl of the American south, Harper Lee’s in To Kill a Mockingbird, the movie The Help offers us a new perspective about one of the darkest times of America’s history. The film focuses on the daily life of coloured maids in the segregated city of Jackson in the 1960s, through the point of view of Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a tonic young woman who dreams about becoming a famous writer. The movie, released in 2011, reminds us that in thirty years between the time of and To Kill a Mockingbird in the 1930s, and the time of The Help, nothing changed.

     Tate Taylor’s film introduces us to three different categories of characters: first, the help, that is the coloured employees, then the stereotypically southern characters, and finally the young spirits who want to make a change. Once the grounds are laid, the director follows the path of Skeeter, performed by Emma Stone, who has just got a job as a cleaning advice giver at the local newspaper. She decides to ask hints from her friend’s black maid, Aibileen Clark. Aibileen, magically portrayed by Viola Davis, has spent her whole life raising white people’s children, instead of taking care of herself and her own children. Sadly, her son died in a tragic accident few years ago. Here starts the real story. Rather than giving Skeeter cooking or cleaning tips, Aibileen decides to accept the young woman’s offer and to give her testimony about her life as a black maid in southern homes. There is only one problem: writing a book which criticizes social codes at the time is strongly forbidden by the Jim Craw law, “Separate but Equal”. Secret meetings with the other maids they convince to participate to the collection will continue throughout the movie, until the triumphant, but anonymous, publication of the book.

     The film treats a difficult subject, but is quite well handled by Tate Taylor and his outstanding feminine cast, lead by Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard. Such a female cast clearly put the men out of the front scene. The particular care given to the historical reenactment, costumes and set brings great credibility to the film, which could, at first, pass for a caricature of the different classes of the time. However, the movie is marked by significant omissions, such as historical events simply skimmed through, for example, the murder of Medgar Evers by a Ku Klux Klan member. He was a young black activist and member of the NAACP, who was investigating the murder of Emmett Till. Thus, the film does not show enough to the viewer about the real dangers incurred by coloured people at the time. Considering the almost nonexistence of the Civil Rights movement, every isolated “rebellious” act would be severely and violently repressed by the states or even by racists groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

     I met a young girl, Elena, who cried and laughed while watching the movie. She studies English at high school and is really interested in America's history. Even though the events took place about fifty years ago and on the other side of the world, she feels very concerned about these socials issues. I asked her a few questions about the film and Segregation in the United-States.

     I believe you really liked this movie, so, why did you enjoy it so much and what did you think of the choice of telling us the story through Skeeter's and the maids' eyes ?

     Elena : As far as I’m concerned, I really enjoyed seeing this film. This story reminds us how terrible it was to be a coloured person during Segregation, above all, in Mississippi. The originality of this movie comes precisely from this switching of different points of view. In fact, I’ve seen lots of films about Segregation, including Mississippi Burning, and I’ve always thought that the point of view of people who lived segregated wasn’t highlighted enough. That’s why I think this film is really special. I also enjoy this film because of its, compared to the sadness of this period. Moreover, I’m keen on the different maids who each had anecdotes to share. I also admired Skeeter, not only because she had the bravery to write about maids during this dark period, but also because she made her dream came true by becoming a brilliant writer.

     Did this film teach or make you discover new things about Segregation in America and about what happened at this time, or do you think, like many critics, that it's mostly a dramatic movie ?

     Elena : As I said before I've seen a lot of films about Segregation, so I didn’t really discover new things which I didn’t know before. Instead, this film reinforced my opinion about the cruelty of Segregation. Saying that it’s a dramatic movie is not really fair, considering the film is based on true stories. In my opinion, films like this can not only teach facts of history, but also the mentality of white and black people who lived during this period. Human beings always need a scapegoat in order to shift their hatred onto somebody else. During this period, it was the black people who took the rap. This is awful to say, but sadly, it's the ugly truth and you can observe this type of comportment through world's history.

     And finally, do you think it's good, today, to still talk and make films about this dark period, which a lot of people think we should all forget ?

    Elena : Our mistakes help all of whole humanity to go further. According to me, it is essential to talk about this dark period, and not only this one but the others, like World Wars or dictatorships. We must not forget about these periods which show the cruelty, nastiness and the narrow mindedness of human beings. People often want to forget about these times, but I think that it's our duty to remember past mistakes.

            In spite of real absence of important points of history, The Help, and especially its cast, marked the memories. Indeed, Tate Taylor, signing here his third movie, films a cruel reality with a light touch. Let's hope that nobody will ever forget the courage of these women.

Mattia C.

The end of the world records ?, by Joelle

As the 2012 London Olympic Games approach, tensions and dreams are at their peak. Each of us is looking out for our favorite champion and hoping this Games will be even more passionate than the previous years. How many tears of joy or deception will be shed? These are questions every supporter asks himself. Unfortunately, specialists of the French institute of biomedical research and epidemiology (IRMES) , think that sportsmen will shortly reach their limits. For the last 40 years, records have tended to stagnate. Breaking a record has become an extremely rare event, to such an extend that Jean-Francois Toussaint, director of the IRMES, believes that : “We will have to forget the old motto of the Olympics game “faster, higher, stronger” and replace it by “as fast, as high, as strong”.” In 20 years, half of the records will not be breakable anymore. And then, will sport still be as interesting ? Will the Games still thrill us ? Do not worry, we can count on scientific and technical advances to maintain the suspense.

History of an unbeatable record :

The record of the highest jump has not been broken for 15 years ! In 1993, Javier Sotomayor, a Cuban athlete, jumped 2m45. Since this date, nobody has managed to perform better. Why ? Simply because jumping higher goes beyond human limits. Doctors says that higher than 2m50, muscles and tendons could break ! All the athletes, who were close to this record have been badly injured.

The decline :

The end of the world records is getting closer. Every scientist agrees : we are reaching our human limits. The IRMES have ask mathematicians to study the tendency of the records to find the ceiling of several disciplines in the hope of determining when records will no longer be able to be broke. Results are striking ! For 40 years, the number of records being broken has not stopped falling. When we look closer, we can see that history has already known two similar falls : during the two world wars, men and women could not think about sport. However, it is the first time we notice a such slowing down of performances without any particular reasons. Then what are we going to do ? Without records, will sports still be attractive ? Fortunately for enthusiasts, several solutions appear to specialists.

                                  RECORDS HAVE STRAGNATED SINCE 20 YEARS

                                                       http://www.20minutes.fr

Sciences serve sport :

Although, at first sight, a scientist does not seem to have much in common with an athlete, he turns out to be very useful for certain number of athletic disciplines. The creation of new lighter and finer swimming costumes allows the swimmer to improve their performances of more than 1 second by 100 meters which is very good since usually refereeing uses the hundredth of a second to announce a winner. It is that phenomenon which allows swimmers to break 16 records at the world championship of swimming in 2008. Indeed observations show that once a new technical innovation is designed, records increase quickly.

Birth of G.M.O sportsmen :

However, lots of federations want to limit the place of the innovation, as they disagree with the transformation of their sports. That is why, the level of illegal drug-taking may rise in the next few years. Federations are afraid of scientific improvements, which could lead to the creation of “genetically modified athletes”. Such use of science will be very hard to control. For the time being, we can only hope that sports' values are strong enough to dissuade sportsmen from using this kind of innovations. Let's hope audience pressure and the happiness of honest victory will make convincing arguments

Exclusive interview !

Ishan Meyer, a common supporter and great basketball player, has kindly accepted to answer our questions. He knows different sides of sport very well and has strong convictions about sport's future.

_ Hello Ishan, thanks for answering our questions.

_ Hello

_ First of all, what is port for you in your daily life ?

I am a basketball player. I am 17 and I started playing when I was a very young boy, maybe 4 or 5 years old. Now I referee matches in Alsace. In my free time I also enjoy watching sports on T.V : basketball, of course, but also every kind of sport.

_ So why do you like practicing and watching sport on T.V ? What does it offer you ?

I think that watching sport and practicing sport are two different things, two different views of sport. Actually I practice basketball. It allows me to concentrate, to empty my head, to relax and to have fun at the same time.

Watching sport on T.V helps me to react to recent events, including world championship. It is an occasion to learn things about disciplines I do not really know, and to form my own opinion.

Refereeing is the convergence between these two activities. I have to express myself and be self-confident, but I need to stay focused. However I never forget to enjoy it !

_ Did you know athlete have almost reached their human limits ? Do you think the fact the records have become more and more unbreakable will reduce the interest we give to sport ?

I did know that but, to me, the end of the world records is a blessing in disguise. Of course, for people who are watching it risk to be less interesting because sport will be less impressive. But for the athlete who practice sport, it will increase the feeling of taking up challenges. After all, with perseverance and hard trainings, a sportsman could still improve a record even if it is supposed unbreakable !

It depends on everybody, but I think if you are really interested in something, it is not just because there are no records anymore that you have to forget about training. For the time being, athletes and spectators feel the need to practice and watch their favorite sport.

_ In your point of view, how can sport still be interesting in the future ?

In the future, the challenge will surely be to give the spectator the urge to watch sport. It is quite clear they will have to make the difference between collective or individual sports since collective sports are not only interesting for the performance but for the team spirit too. The organizers have to make the spectators want to live the passion of the sport. For example, federations should help national teams and motivated athletes to increase media coverages and so reach all of the viewing audience. For me, this challenge is the same as today.

_ Do you think scientific innovations are an advantage or a drawback for sport ?

As far as innovations are concerned, as long as they do not disturb the athlete I do not think they are a disagreement. To me, and for people who practice sport innovations are not very useful since not everybody wants to break a record.

Nevertheless, it is very important for the media because they always have something new to say. But in my point of view, sport depends on sportsmen.

For the future, I hope federations or media will not put too much pressure on the athletes because it would be a shame to distort sportsmen just to break records.

Indeed, according to numbers, sportsmen are reaching their human limits. Scientific innovations have already helped several disciplines, including swimming, to become more exciting. Unfortunately, science can not save the sports industry. However, as Ishan suggested, there are still many others alternatives. In the future, strategic sports may become more and more interesting. Historically such sports as rugby or basketball have changed their rules in history when records stagnate. It helps them to stay attractive. Finally, with the London's Olympic Games coming, future of sport surely depends on supporters' opinions and crazy imaginations !

Roland Garros, by Ahmed

ROLAND GARROS !

The French tennis tournament, Roland Garros also called «internationaux de France » is one of the four greatest Tennis tournament in the world with Open d’australie, Wimbledon and the US Open. Roland Garros started in 1928 in Paris. Nowadays Roland Garros is also called the “French Open”, his specialty must be the clay-courts. In this tournament you need 3 set to win the game and if you go on to a five set match than there’s no tiebreak. That is mostly why it is considered as the most physical tennis tournament in the world.

                                                                     Clay Court:

                                                                          

They are a few things clay courts are none for like slow down the ball and increase the bounce of it at the contact with the field. It is very hard to play a serve-and-volleyers technique on those field and players with a great service are not as much advantage than they are on grass court or hard court. But still players like Nadal with a really big defense are in there elements with the clay court, that’s why he won the French Open six times by now. It is also very special for players like Pete Sampras or John McEnroe because they never won the French Open not even a single time during their career.

The most known players in Roland Garros.

The number one in the French Open is a still young player Rafael Nadal. He won six times the French Open and haven’t even had finish yet.

                                                                             

                                                          

The second one is Bjorn Borg, he also won six times the French Open and had the record of the number of French Open winning but Rafael Nadal seems to be ready to beat the king.

                                                                                 

                                                                                 

                                                                                 

The interview.

The person to interview was quite easy to find for me, my mother. She worked for Dunlop for several years and went to Roland Garros during almost 10 years.

- Hello  Mms Harakat, I'm here to interview you about your years in Roland Garros. At the time you were working for Dunlop is it right?

-Yes, it is. I’ve been working there for 15 years. I had always love my job their but I had to quit once I had my first son because I needed a more stable way of life.

- And how many years have you spend on Roland Garros?

-I spent 9 years there from 1980 to 1889. Certainly the best years while I was working for Dunlop.

- Explain to us How was it?

- It was just wonderful, I mean like every year I was only waiting to go there. Even if I was working quite hard all day long I could saw some of the matches and enjoy a little bit of Paris. That wasn’t the only advantage you could at any place meet a famous tennis player. Some which are still playing others who stopped years ago and are just enjoying the tournament or the young players with a dream.

- So which players have you seen during those days?

- I almost saw all of them it will be hard to give you the list in details (laughs)

- I can understand, are they players you have really met?

- Yes three of them particularly, they were sponsored by Dunlop that’s why I met them. I was working on their rackets. The first was Tarik benhabiles he won the junior tournament of Roland Garros and became the number 22 player in the world.

- And the second was ?

- He is a one you must know better than Tarik, it is Guy Forget. He has always been really kind towards me and I’ve spent much time with him talking on his rackets that’s why we became friends. He's now the trainers from the French Tennis team and was certainly one of the best french players in the world ! But most of all he was a great guy much than a great tennis player.

- Was it always like that ?

- No, some of them were more distant but Tarik Benhabiles, Guy Forget and my little favorite Steffi Graff were really close to me.

- Talk to us about your relationship with Steffi Graff.

- We were really close to me at the time, she was also the greatest tennis player I have met. On the court she dominate everyone with a lot of facility.She is still today the only one to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal the same year. But more than that she became a great friend of mine. I used to come to her room after her matches we spoke a lot but we practically never spoke about her matches. She really wanted a "normal friendship" with me and I was really glad by that.

- I'm glad you answered our questions, Thank you very much.

- You're Welcome, bye.

Redlight Dreams, by Adeline

“Their music comes from the 70’s, with funk influences mixed with such a great groove”, raved the DNA newspaper wrote after seeing them in concert at the Kobus club.


Are you fan of pop music? Are you looking for a great band that wakes you up and makes you want to dance all night long?
If you are, it’s simple: The Redlight  Dreams were made for you!

Created in March  2008, The Redlight  Dreams  are  composed  of  a drummer (Fred), a guitarist (Arnaud), a bassist (Maxime), a pianist (Etienne) and a  lead  singer,  Estelle.  Their  history  is quite  complicated.  In  fact,  before  the Redlight  Dreams,  Maxime  and  Arnaud had another group with their best friends (Noise Storm), and Estelle joined them. Then, because  of  their studies, the  drummer and the pianist of the time had to  leave,  that’s  why  Etienne  and  Fred joined them.

The Redlight Dreams are starting to become famous in Strasbourg and in Alsace. Since 2008, they have already given approximately a hundred of concerts in bars, festivals and for private  parties. Thanks to the M6 Mobile Music Live, they even had the chance to play with such artists as Housse de Racket and The Virgins, and so have become even more popular in the region.

Knowing that music is so ephemeral, The Redlight Dreams has directly tried to leave a trace of their  music style. Indeed, since their very   first beginnings, they have recorded their music. In 2009, they recorded an EP based on six compositions. This EP was sold for only one euro, just for them to be even  better known. They  are currently  recording  an  entire  album  in  a studio. I’m sure that they have a good future in front of them.

I have to tell you a secret, I was present at their first concert, I think that it was about five years ago. The sound was really rocking with a pulse that make you move. It  almost made me think of punk band like Paramore. When I saw them on the stage, I already knew that they were going to rock for a very long time.

Then I saw them, a few years later. They were amazing, really made to be on stage and  to excite the public! I could really see their evolution. You know, a band is like a butterfly that has to accomplish a metamorphose before it can really find out who it is. That’s what happened with the Relight Dreams. If you listen to their new EP of 2012 (which you can download for free on SoundCloud), you will noticed that their songs are even more groovy and jazzy. Their musical style has really evolved, and is now more well worked. In brief, it’s a real pleasure to listen to it.

It is in a cosy living room that I’m meeting Estelle, the lead singer of the band. I’m quite excited and honored to finally meet her. She’s quite impressive actually, she’s tall and beautiful, and well dressed.

TF: Hello Estelle, it’s a pleasure to talk to you today!

Estelle: It’s also an honour for me.

TF: I wanted first to ask you more about your band, because  we’re  here  to  know  a  bit  more  about  the “behind the scenes” of the RLD, if I may say it like that. How is the ambiance in the group? Are you all in this together like a small family or do you fight sometimes? Tell us all the dirty details!

E: I have to admit that when Clément and Thomas left the band, we couldn’t really get back on our feet. We were quite disappointed and all. That’s why we had an empty period for one year. Then we met Etienne and  Fred and they gave us a chance to project ourselves into the future. And now, thanks to them, we’re even stronger as a group.

TF: I’m getting more curious about you personally… Do you prefer the time in studio, when you’re recording or the time on stage?

E: That’s a tough question but… I would say what I prefer, before everything in this whole world, is be on stage. You can’t imagine the sensation you get when you’re in front a public who’s there for you! I love the fact that I share emotions with the audience and see that people really care about our music. On stage, I’m a completely different person and I lock myself into  a bubble, in my Redlight World! [Laughs]

TF: That is really touching! But I have to ask a last question, unfortunately. Where do you see the Redlight Dreams in a few years? Do you think that you will go on a music tour around the world?

E: What we want before anything else is to share our music, our passion, our universe with  everybody. But, of course, I would like to be able live from our music one day, because I have dreamed about it since I was little. I somehow put all my hope into the Redlight Dreams  so… I’m taking a risk by saying that someday, perhaps, we will make a world music tour!  Nothing would be more exciting for me, and for us!

TF: I’m crossing my fingers for you to realise you dreams! Before I leave you, do

you have something to say to our readers?

E: Stay close to your radio because the Redlight Dreams are soon going to be invading the radio waves!

If you want to listen to their fantastic music, you can to 

their Myspace  (www.myspace.com/redlightdreams) 

or 

their Facebook fan page  (www.facebook.com/redlightdreams). 

I hope that you’ll enjoy it !

How Many Frogs Do We Have to Kiss? By Camille M.

                                     

      Does a frog really turn into a prince charming as you're kissing it ?

Everybody knows the story of the princess and the frog … The grateful princess, to
reward her valiant firend, gives an ugly frog a kiss, and suddenly, the warts covered,
transforms into a handsome Prince Charming. The story is a nice one… But sorry girls, based
on scientific facts, a frog cannot turn into a Prince, nevermind a Prince Charming... But what
is a prince charming ? Why did we choose a frog to represent him ? What is hidden behind
such symbolism ?


How can we define a Prince Charming ?
According to wikipedia, « A Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to rescue of the “damsel in distress” , and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including the famous Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. » These characters are often handsome and romantic, a foil to the heroine, and are seldom deeply characterized. According to the young

girls the prince charming is either Prince Harry or «The One», in other words, your soulmate. Finding your soulmate is the dream of millions of young girls who dream of being treated like a Princess by their man ... This is why we called it a Prince. But what does a frog represent ? Why have we chosen frogs to represent the future charming princes by a « Prince Charming » ?


What do frogs represent ?
A Little bit of History … In many cultures the primary symbolic meaning of frogs is fertility. People noticed that frogs laid a lot of eggs, and so defined them as symbol of fertility. In Egypt, we can find a frog-headed goddess called Heqet who is the goddess of birth.


In the celtic culture, frogs used to be well seen. Due to their link with water and cleansing rains, Celts thought that frogs were able to cure and to heal diseases, In the christian religion, the frog is a symbol of resurrection because it has different development stages, and it seems to reborn, as it passes from one stage to another :
from the egg stage to the tadpole stage and from the tadpole stage to the definitive frog form.



In China, frogs represent the “yin energy”, and are a symbol of good luck and serenity, This is why they recommend to put a frog picture in Feng shui's practices. In Japan, frogs are representative of good luck,
especially for travelers. People usually pack a frog statue, or asked for the blessing of frogs, to protect
the travelers during long trips by boats, as the reptile is linked with water, and so assures their safety while crossing rivers and seas.


What does the frog transformation mean ?
In Fairytales, the frog represents transformation. The transformation of the young Princess who turns into a powerful and mature woman for having gone further than the appearances to find her man... And also the
transformation of the frog who will bring to the foreground, what the man has best in himself to turn into a Man, and to deserve his princess. However, behind the « If you kiss a frog it will turn into a Prince Charming metaphor, we can also find a real message being sent to all the children. This myth obviously says that « You need to kiss a lot of frogs to get to your prince », meaning that you may need to kiss a lot of duds in order to find the person that you are supposed to be with. It also says that you have to go beyond the appearances to find that person who will bring you the love you've been looking for, possibly for years. To conclude, we can say that beyond each myth or fairy tale, we can find moral, a lesson in life, which will allow us grow up and become more mature.

What do princesses think about the frog myth ? 
What do they think about frogs turning into prince charming ?
We had the honor to interview the most prestigious of the Princess … the lovely Princess D. R., and her best friend, Hello Kitty.

Do you think that a frog can turn into a Prince ?
ONCE UPON A TIME…No, but I do think a Prince can turn into a frog!

According to you, what does the “If you kiss a frog, it will turn into a Prince Charming “ myth mean?
Look beyond appearances. Just like in Beauty and the Beast: learn to love a person for who they are on
the inside, regardless of their appearance. Don’t be superficial. Also, I recall the famous saying « you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. » : this is used to encourage those who still seek true love. It is a simple yet meaningful metaphor about hope and love The frog is, historically, a charged and varied symbol: the devil, wart sharer in Europe, but also a symbol of life and fertility in Egypt.


Does a girl «have to be a Princess » to find her prince ?
Every girl is a princess !


Would fairytales have the same impact without any Prince/ Princess metaphor ?
Definitely not, they make children dream, and are classic characters in the genre. We identify with these heroic characters, sometimes “regular” people who become royalty…


According to you, are fairytales written just to entertain the youngest children, or are they written to TEACH something to the children ?
What would children learn from such famous fairytales ?
BOTH! Even though, originally, fairy tales were NOT intended for children at all, as very young children, we discover these magical, enchanting stories and enjoy the characters, the exciting events, talking animals and swashbuckling adventure, along with the very moment of storytelling with a family member but then as we get older, we grow up, we learn to read between the lines, and above all, to think for ourselves. This enables us to understand fairy tales at a deeper level, progressively grasping the author’s intentions and thinking about the message.

Fairy tales are usually quite predictable, so now that I am a grown up, I enjoy parodies, such as Thurber’s or e.e. cummings’exquisite texts. I think it’s fair to say that fairy tales intend to teach children the difference between good and evil, a good deed deserves its good end, etc…Also, children would learn new words and develop their imaginations. Also,
· Be true to yourself
· Be a good person
· See the beauty in a person, even a monster, who may take various forms, and love one’s inner beauty.

However, fairy tales are also full of negative stereotypes, messages, and images…. I reckon they often show women as merely pretty, passive, submissive and powerless ( Cinderella, Snow White…) , depending on a male helper, a prince charming to save her…Stepmother portrayals don’t really show women in a positive light either…There are not many feminist fairy tales out there! I wish they could be more rebellious and subversive at times.






Every princess has her favorite fairy tales. What are Yours ?

Miss R.’s favorites:
Alice in Wonderland The Little Match Girl
Little Red Riding Hood Rumpelstiksin and Frau Holle (That my
Grandma would tell me in Alsatian by her
stove)
Snow White Native American Creation stories
Cinderella Dr Seuss
The Little Mermaid Rapunzel (Tangled )
Gothic fairytales by Poe ( A princess can be a Rock’n Roll Princess too ! )


               
As each Princess, I have a Archetypal Princess’ Icon !
Here’s her Identity card :

Name : Hello Kitty
Date and Place of birth : 1st November 1947 in London’s suburbs
Size and weight : 5 apples high and 3 apples weight
Astrologic signs : Scorpio, and Tiger
Favourite food : Mama’s apple pies
Favourite word : “ Friendship”
Favourite subjects : English, Music and Visual Arts
Collections : Every tiny and sweet things like candies, twinkling little stars, gold fishes, hair accessories (especially bows and tiaras)



To conclude, we can say that reading fairytales about frogs and princess, is way of
opening children’s mind . To develop their critical minds, fairytales are a good
alternative. However we could also accuse fairytale of making the child more naive
then they already are, with their “all is well that ends well “ conclusions. Even the
most mind opening fairytales have also their limits … That is, the frogs are almost
always white, handsome, strong males. Recently a black princess joined the
ranks, but we’ve not seen a handicapped or homosexual protagonist yet… And will
we ever see a Princess kissing a frog… And the frog turning in a Princess
charming ?

                                           

Feminism by Christine

FEMINISM, a scary word?.

Feminism: the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. 


This article was written with the wonderful contribution of what you may call “une vieille”. As not all grand-mothers are born knitting on their sofas and have a lot of things to say. If you do not understand, her point of view is in yellow not MINE. I’m not 70, I was not born yet in the sixties. I’m just a student of Pontonniers, and there is few Pontonniers’ students of 70 years old.

Hysterical and lesbian: that’s two of the numerous terms used to designate feminists. As women and men are equal in the eyes of the law, the feminist movement is often qualified as useless, and people think that feminism is all about establishing women’s domination over men. 

Maybe you think the same, but have you read the dictionary? For the Oxford dictionaries, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” And equality is “the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities”. Which part is either definition is about submitting to men? That is one of the strongest preconception about this movement. Feminist are just asking for equality: they don’t want people to be conditioned by the presence or not of a uterus in their bodies.

Feminism didn’t exist when I was a teenager. I think it really began in the sixties, especially with May 1968. We were still under our parents’ responsibility until we became adult, at 21. I was happy when the movement began, but I didn’t approve of everything. I don’t consider myself as a feminist, but I was for the liberation of women. I didn’t seen the point of feminism, because I already considered myself as free and the place of women in society wasn’t a problem for me.

How many times have you heard “don’t say swear words, it‘s not pretty for a girl” or even “don’t cry like girl”? Because if feminism is, at first for women, it could also work for men as well. Why can’t women be rude and why can’t men cry? Why can’t women drive trucks and men dance? It seems as though, even though women have felt free since the 60’s, different roles have been assigned to men and women.

I wasn’t educated in a really different way from my brother. But the fact is, I had one brother and four sisters. Although cleaning was only for us, my brother did cook sometimes.

As women and men are equal in the eyes of the law, the fight for women’s rights seems to be a bit has been/ dated in France. Yet mentalities aren’t changing so fast. In their professional lives, women are confronted with what’s called the “crystal roof”. They can’t get powerful jobs and are stopped in their careers. Furthermore, women are still 27 % less well paid than men. If the government tries to struggle against this discrimination by imposing quotas and financial penalties, some firms would rather pay taxes than hire more women or pay them correctly. Why? The most frequent reason is that women want to get pregnant and to have family. Of course. In people’s mind, being a woman means being a mother. Our society firmly believes one day or another, every woman is meant to feel an irrepressible envy to make her ovaries work, to have five children and to stay at home to educate them. And she will be happy as a housewife dependant on her husband who, of course, loves to spend his entire day at work, without seeing his children grow up. At home, and even if it slightly changing thanks to the idea of gender equality, women still do 80% of the housework. In advertising, it’s almost always the female character who is wondering how to wash children clothes or how to make the perfect meal for her husband.

When I was young, the economic situation was not the same as today. There was a lot of women working in factories, or as housemaids. Women did not have access to some kind of jobs, as pilots or industry employees. I often heard that the women should stay at home, but the girls didn’t agree with that anymore. They didn’t want to stay at house anymore. I think the turning point in their mentalities was thanks to the evening classes given by the religious institutions. They learned a lot of things and so were more educated. The right to vote, given by Charles de Gaulle in 1949, was another big turning point in their lives. With a better understanding of things and a right to express their opinions, they felt stronger.

Let’s talk about rape.
Rape is a crime, but yet quite accepted in our society. You don’t believe me? How do you explain that 70 000 women are victims of sexual assault each year and that out of these 70 000 women, 90% don’t report their assault? One, only 2% of people accused of rape are condemned. 2%, out the 10% of the 70 000 women who have been raped. It’s huge… 1 girl out of 10 has been or will be raped in her life.

To fight against these statistics, an hashtag has been created on twitter : ididnotreport, where people, men or women, can write anonymously or not why they did not report their rape : because it’s too late, because we don’t believe them, because we said that it was their fault… Yet event to talk about the fault is horrible because does anyone have the right to rape a girl, destroy her life, because she was wearing short skirt?

Rape is not really something sexual, but a desire to dominate over the other, as their  body was not their own anymore.

I think one of the most important moments in feminism in France was when the Veil law was voted, when the abortion was allowed and when access to contraception was given to teenagers. I remember big manifestations for these rights, and it was a subject of a lot of conflicts between the pro and the anti. At home too, we talked a lot about that.

Still not convinced of the importance of feminism?
Here some website or videos, in French or in English (Please take a look or a dinosaur will come and eat your family). And remember, it is not because you don’t agree100% with the people who wrote these articles that you can’t be feminist. If feminism is hard to defined, it’s because it’s different for everybody:

www.osezlefeminisme.fr           www.whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com
www.chiennesdegarde.com    www.viedemeuf.fr
www.bitchmagazine.org    www.feminist.com
www.feministfrequency.com

And, of course, Ryan Gosling is just awesome:

                                       


I remember one of the strongest arguments between my mother and my father was about my older sisters’ right to have the driving license. My mother did not agree, because driving was for the men or the “trashy girls”. As girls, we had to be careful about our reputation.

Death in Society by Juliette

Death in Society

by Juliette

What place does death has in our daily life? How people see death and how do they feel about death?
Death is universal and guarantees the end of life, the extinction of breath and the cessation of bodily functions. Death is natural, unavoidable, fatal. In our modern society, death intrigues, surprises, terrifies but stays, above all, the unique way out for human beings. Man is not immortal, he’s ephemeral and soon after he cares to life, he becomes conscious that he will die one day. He doesn’t know when, where nor how. However, maybe this ignorance contributes to shape death as something mystic and mysterious for him.

Jean is an old friend of mine, the only one with who I can easily talk about this fastidious subject. Knowing that we have the same point of view of life, I was interesting in discovering if we had the same vista on death. Jean is fifty years old, her experience made me think that she had seen a few people leaving this world. Even if my interview meant digging up old wounds she was pleased to have that honour of being my interviewee.

Jean, first give me 3 adjectives that easily come to you if I ask you to characterize death.
I would say distressing, mysterious and hurtful

Did someone around you ever passed away?   How did you take that loss?
I lost my eldest cousin 3 months ago. She had a cancer: everybody knew she was going to die, so it was easier to handle. Yet, she was my cousin and I grew up with her, used to see her twice a year, she wasn’t really someone I was close to. She died so quickly I couldn’t see it coming. I really was shocked and badly surprise. It made me sad and it reminded me how fragile life is.

Beyond sadness, what did you feel?
I felt relieved for her. All that she’d been through was rough and no one would like to live like she did in the last years. But what I felt most was like if I was in some fantasy, like as if all of this had been a dream. A huge dream where everyone hadn’t really realize what had happened. I felt like everyone was blinded by sadness and that feeling of never seeing her again. This is, of course, entirely natural: losing a person is more painful that we think but it’s more than painful it’s unrealistic. I realized that her soul and her body were in the coffin, and it made the dream even bigger, into something unreal!

I can see that you’re finally realizing what it meant to you and I’d like to know if you speak easily about death with people around you? Because I am an interviewer and it’s part of my job to ask you questions and talk with you about death but it’s quite not the same with people that you see everyday..
To be trustful, I don’t. I mean, you can’t come to the office and say “Oh Jane, did I tell you that my cousin died of cancer!” Those things are things you keep to yourself and only share with family members who are aware of the events. I can’t start a conversation about death, even if I wouldn’t mind because I can talk easily about this. Some people simply think that it’s a delicate topic. It doesn’t surprise me to see that death is a taboo because it is! I can’t talk about death with everyone; people might think that I have problems or that I’m a morbid person. If people only could get over this idea that death isn’t to talk about maybe this society wouldn’t be so afraid of death. Death, even though it brings a lot of sad feelings, is something natural.

In that case, which way would you like to die?
I don’t know how I would like to die but I know how I wouldn’t like to. It’s simple: every painful way of dying, when you realize you’re going to die slowly: the stress of drowning, the pain of burning, the cold of freezing.

Do you think violent deaths affect people more than natural death? Why?
I do! I mean would you prefer to lose your son in a car accident, that you didn’t expect at all or that he died of leukaemia so you can accept little by little this illness and that he’ll pass away, enjoy the last moments, tell him everything is going to be fine and you’ll love him forever? Parents whose children has been murdered are never going to recover in the same way as parents who have lost their child to an illness. Violent deaths are even more frightening than natural and gentle deaths. Such deaths contain something that troubles one’s sense of humanity, something that stays in you, something terribly powerful and shocking.

Why do you think that death is so hurtful (morally)?
Us, humans, only know what it is to live. We don’t know how it is to die. We have this constant doubt and ignorance of what’s next. Every person we lose, even person that is close to us and that leaves, goes to the unknown land, hurts us. Because we are linked to each other by what I call human link. We are used living together, to create links and relationships that establish strong feelings. When a person dies, you know those mutual feelings are gone because this person is gone, you’ll never get to hold her, feel her warmth, hear the noise of her breath, hear the sound of her voice for real. There is a lack, an absence. You’re abandoned, alone and at the same time you realize that it can happen to you anytime, that you’re so vulnerable, so small and reckless. You’re just a little ant on a watermelon. Such a mixture of feelings actually hurts you, because you feel ephemeral, momentary.  

How do you live with death in general, in daily life? I try not to think too much about it, but we are overexposed to death. Death is everywhere! In TV programmes, films, documentaries, in journals, in games, in books. This determination to make death a banal moment has its defaults, it creates the impression we can protect ourselves but it also makes the world more violent. All these games and movies that show death as a banal thing in the end are really bad for our sense of morality. I think I accept this stage of life, but many people deny it when they should just think about it and make their own opinions that should create a kind of shield that protects them. By denying death we are just making ourselves more vulnerable. How can you fight an enemy if you haven’t ever asked yourself what that enemy represents?

As my guest spoke, I realized how fragile our little world is. Death doesn’t have its place in the society apart from sitcoms, movies or video games where it has become really banal because of the way it is represented: in sitcoms for example, the actors that play a man or a woman who has just lost a member of their family act the same way as a woman or a man that has just lost their dog. They show no real feelings, no extreme sadness and in fact it is not a realistic reaction. What the audience wants to see is how the police is going to resolve the murder and who is going to be the murderer not how the human reacted to his feelings.  When I look straight at real life, I realize that, in fact, death troubles people; it makes them uncomfortable and marks forever. Death is seen as a negative event. It doesn’t bring peace for the people still alive. The barricade they make around themselves to protect themselves contributes to the pain they will have when they are going to lose someone close to them. This barricade will contribute to the disappointment, the surprise and yet, also the sudden realization that we are all going to die. Death, in our society, is a taboo. Just count 6 seconds and think that someone just died. Do you see any change? No, because you have to keep living and accept the idea that people come and go.