The Circle - A few thoughts on internet privacy

I pride myself on knowing how to properly protect myself online; stalkers and people that I do not invite into my life have a hard time finding me on social media unless I specifically tell them where too find me. So, when I sat down to watch an interesting movie with my mother my mind went reeling with all the ethical dilemmas presented in the movie itself.

The Circle is a Netflix original movie based on the 2013 book by Dave Eggers, starring Emma Watson (yes, Hermione Granger/Belle herself) which focuses on the impact social media can have on privacy, and is a cautionary tale about the dangers of oversharing online.

Watson portrays a young woman called Mae who gets a job working at the Circle throughout her time there she makes certain choices that lead her to choose to become "transparent" and show the world every second of her day. She straps a camera to herself and live streams every day which leads to a few complications in her personal life.

I do recommend watching this film as it really makes you think about what you post online and how ethics can be thrown out the window for the sake of the truth. Ultimately what people choose to share online is their business,  no one can force you to share something private, and in some cases certain facts aren't yours to share.

Now I will list a few problems I have with the movie and the ethics surrounding character choices, needless to say, spoilers ahead:

• Mae is asked to drink something in a doctors office, containing nano transmitters, and at no point was she informed that was happening or that these nano transmitters would be able to keep track of her every movement until after the fact.
• Mae steals a kayak and goes into the middle of the water at night, almost dies, and her bosses use that as an excuse to convince people they should be watched at all times to be held accountable for their actions, AND SHE AGREES.
• Mae attempts to promote her friends work by posting it on her social media which backfires as his work involves collecting deer antlers and making chandeliers out of them, considered a tad controversial as the internet then calls him a deer killer
• She films people without actually asking them, just because she goes transparent doesn't mean her parents have to and as such their relationship is strained.
• The company has little to no ethics when it comes to their workers privacy, including the fact that they encourage their workers to share their lives on their own version Facebook/twitter/YouTube all rolled into one, which they can then keep track of because it scans the internet for all their other social medias and uploads them for everyone connected to see...

And that's just a few of the things that make me a bit uneasy about the whole corporation in this film, which is the whole point. The Circle is meant to make you think about your online footprint and how much you share. Its meant to make you think about how much information the world has access to and it's terrifying. The thought that everyone who has seen your profile can find your families medical history for one is an insane breach of privacy which also happens in the Circle by a few of Mae's colleagues just out of the blue. I guess we are just a little closer to this version of a dystopian world than we actually thought...

Think on it, xox

Taz

My thoughts on LeFou

While I am member of the LGBTQ+ community, I cannot speak on behalf of everyone but I do believe we all celebrated a little when we found out LeFou would be the first main gay character in a Disney film.

Growing up Disney was a massive influence on me, some my favourite movies being 'The Little Mermaid', 'Aristocats', 'The Black Cauldron' and yes 'Beauty and the beast'. 
Every child loves being able to see themselves in their favourite stories; I know that 10 year old me adored Ariel, one of the reasons being her red hair.
I was very confused about my sexuality for years and I think part of that was due to the lack of information and misrepresentation in media. 
Even now there is a lack of accurate LGBTQ+ representation, even when there is its 77% gay men, 23% lesbian women and only 9% bisexuals. Personally I have only seen two pansexual characters, that being Jack Harkness (Doctor who, Torchwood) and Deadpool, so I did a bit more research and...

...Thats not alot

Luckily every year there are more and more LGBTQ+ characters in media. The problem is that some characters come across as stereotypical and 2 dimensional. Stereotypes are there for a reason and yes they are sometimes true but after seeing the punchline 50 times???

If young people are view these 2 dimensional, stereotypical characters then they're going to be confused because they don't feel they fit into certain boxes.

Beauty and the Beast is one of the most famous fairy tales in the world, which then became one of Disney's most timeless classics. Disney fans leapt for joy when we discovered there would be a live action re-make, even more so when we discovered the incredibly talented cast, but it was the announcement that LeFou would be gay that caught the most attention.

While many leapt for joy, others immediately boycotted the film. The fact that Disney proudly released this information shows how far we've come. Sadly the movie was banned in several places or given a movie rating of 16+ or 18+ in others because of this.

Many believed LeFou would be pining for Gaston and possible resent Belle and the other girls because of his affections. In the original Gaston was not the greatest friend and LeFou was a bumbling sidekick, so it was interesting to see how this would unfold.

Thankfully LeFou didn't end up with Gaston (despite appearing to have some feeling towards him, but ultimately saw the toxicity of the relationship) and stepped out of his sidekick roll and became the sassy well rounded character we didn't realise we needed in the original. He still has that love/hate relationship with Gaston and in the end helps Mrs Potts to stop the intruders (I think we can all agree this was better than seeing him rip Babette's feathers out). The final dance brought a smile to everyones face and gave a hint to LeFou's own happily ever after.

Not only was Lefou and well executed and believable character but this means that we can expect more Disney, and it can be expected that many animation creators will follow suite.

Warner Bros & Son's 2016 movie 'Storks' showed families of every kind and Mattel have even hinted at a lesbian relationship between Darling Charming and Apple White (Ever After High) who after falling under a sleeping curse cannot be roused by Darlings brother so she steps up and tries 'mouth to mouth' aka the true loves kiss she needed.

ABC made strides with their show 'Once Upon a Time' with Mulan having feelings for Aurora and Ruby waking Dorothy with True loves kiss and expressing their love. Personally I'd love to see more of Merida and Mulan, who have great chemistry on screen as did Ruby and Dorothy.

While these are all great, they haven't had as much exposure as 'Beauty and the Beast'. 

Personally I think LeFou signified that in the past few years we have come far...buuuuut we still have a loooooong way to go. 

I know a little girl I used to look after who is going to grow up seeing all kinds of different characters represented and she will not struggle to find character she can emulate and that warms my heart. LeFou was a big step for Disney and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Catch ya later xx

Red Queen or Queen of Hearts?

'Alice's Adventures Underground' was always one of my favourite books. I have also fallen in love with Tim Burton's movies. I have memorised the Jabberwocky poem, but... I have not read 'Through the Looking Glass'...


I have dressed as the Queen of Hearts and called her the Red Queen for short. I see millions of people refer to the Queen of Hearts as the Red Queen, so from a young age I assumed that she had been referred to as the Red Queen in one translation or retelling...
Basically I thought they were the same person.



I was wrong.
The Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are two completely different characters!

The Red Queen is from 'Through the Looking Glass' and is a chess piece who advises Alice on how to move after inviting her to play. This is where we also meet the White Queen.

The Queen of Hearts is of coarse the classic, murderous monarch we all know so well.

So I learnt that I need to go back and read some more classics.
Catch you later xx

DESTROYED BY BOOKS

Do not even get me started on books. TOO LATE.

Wow, never have I been so mad at a book... that is a lie. I always get mad at characters and occasionally authors for killing off characters I happen to love. I wont say who or what book but the fact of the matter is I get so damn invested in these figures that it physically pains me when these things happen.

I have been known to:

• throw books across the room into a beanbag (never at the wall, that could actually damage the books!)
• Start actually bawling and sobbing, becoming a blubbering mess
• Stomp out to my mother and start ranting like crazy for hours
• Start frantically texting a friend I KNOW has read the book, lots of swearing, even more capitals.

These are just a few of the more major things I do when confronted with a plot that wrecks me. I have to hand it to the authors though; if they can cause a reaction from me that intense, they clearly know their stuff. If an author can pull my heart out of my chest, cause adrenaline to course through my bloodstream or even make my anxiety play up, I personally think it is well written. 

I found a few photos that may explain how I'm feeling around now:

Yup, that's about it... xox!

Taz

AVCon 2016

AVCon 2016

So I attended my first ever convention, and yes, it was quite a few days ago now, and no, I am no good at keeping up with updates...

ANYWAY, lets talk about my time at AVCon 2016!

Friday

Had a very nice sleep in actually. I wasn't registered to set up AVCon with the other volunteers so I didn't turn up to the convention centre till around midday and when I got there? MAYHEM! The con had not even begun and the showbags were having problems. I threw on my volunteer shirt and spent the next 3 hours helping to fix things. 
Oh well, at least I got to watch the opening ceremony right in front of the stage with new friends. Watch Tabby's AVCon vlog on youtube to watch the dance/fight scene during the tragically short ceremony. As well as everything else that happened that night. An interview with WOLFSTAR is soon to come.

Saturday

WOKE UP LATE! Had to do my eyebrows on the bus, My hair was sticking up so I threw a wig on it, grabbed my labcoat and ran out the door. I was almost late to my first volunteer shift which consisted of... Babysitting. Although technically I was babysitting a room, not the children because their parents were not allowed to leave without them.
CUT FORWARD to me walking down artists alley in the four hours I had left till I had to leave for a birthday dinner and this was the result:

That is my face, yes.

SKINNY MISTER you made me look so cute! (Find him on facebook) I feel kinda bad for wearing a black shirt though, his pen was running out a bit... BUT he was dressed as Tem from UNDERTALE, so awesome!. After that I went to the birthday dinner, slept through most of it and worked on my cosplay untill there were only the finishing touches left.

SUNDAY:

COSPLAY DAYYYYYY!
Started the day late for my shift, whoops I stayed up too late and overslept once again, then I missed my bus so I was half an hour late for a shift I got pulled out of anyway. This turned out to be a blessing because I was thrown into the group that helps out when more people are needed... Then I got to be Pikachu!

That is me, beside a random poketrainer. Seriously though the first thing that happened was a poke ball to the face. Then it was all trying not to walk into small children, dancing around, having people throw their arms around me and eventually, photos were taken. I am scouring the internet to find said photos because I couldn't get ANY!

After leaning down to small children and vehemently saying NUUUU to being captured, I finished my shift and went to go quickly finish my cosplay with the help of a friend in a nearby sandwich shop... 
 Lets finish this con off with a Yang! ;) 

Boom, nuff said.I think I look pretty good, and I am proud of what I managed to accomplish with a certain amount of help in making patterns, gauntlets and the finishing touches. There are some things I would tweak but overall? Solid attempt in my opinion.

Night Guys! xox

Taz

Let's get down to disness

So for my English assignment I get to make a blog on Disney Animation History.
I get to explore different Disney film's histories, pop culture and other fun facts.
While thinking of design aspects and titles I looked at a lot of Disney puns...

Puns are a literary device and the reason we all roll our eyes, so enjoy...

SO......

Because disney obviously love them...

Catch you later xx

Close to my heart... Or brain?

FEED

"Book good, totes read it" - The owner I borrowed the book from...

I borrowed this book from a friend and so far it is amazing, so I thought I would share. Written by author Mira Grant, the story follows the exploits of a team of bloggers during the zombie apocalypse.

News blogger Georgia Mason and her adventuring brother Shaun along with a tech savvy romance blogger Buffy are enlisted to document the campaign of an up and coming Presidential candidate.Throw in guns, chase scenes and surveillance that comes pretty close to spy wear and you have a typical adventure novel... And then spice the dish with some ZOMBIES! 

Zombies were created when the human race cured cancer... and the common cold... and death... Obviously something bad is going to happen right? Every dystopian novel has something specifically bad which happened in the past to change society and social norms. In this case it was zombies. 

So far I am really enjoying this book and am interested in where it is going. It's also a trilogy so two more after this one!!

BRAAAINS! xox

Taz

No Time To Read?

I'm late, I'm late for a very important update...
As Taz mentioned in her last post, I am currently in year 12 and the stress is really getting to me.
When I was starting highschool I had friends in year 12 and I said to one once "Only 4 subjects? You must have tons of spare time"...I want to go back and punch myself in the face!
I am currently studying Visual Arts, English Comms, Drama and Religion (compulsory) as well as trying to keep up with dance, hobbies and a social life.

But you know what I don't seem to have time for?
READING
Yes, reading. Me? The ultimate bookworm, who used to spend lunchtimes reading? Who got books confiscated for reading in class? Who read with a flashlight all night and now has awful eyesight?
Yes it is the sad truth. The last time I read a book was on my dance trip, as I've said before I usually by a book at the airport to read on my trip. When I finished 'Red Queen' I bought 'Black Widow: Forever Red' but I ended up sleeping for most of the journey back due to jet lag. So now it has joined my shelf along with 'Throne of Glass', 'Eragon', 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children' and the other piles of books I have collecting dust on my shelves.
I even tried putting a book in my bag to read at school ('Marie Antoinette: Serial Killer') and I forget about it after my friend told me there were police at school because some people were stabbed nearby and they found the guy on our oval. 

So reading and cosplay aren't going so swimmingly, luckily my final Performance Team performance was last weekend and Saturdays are finally free, so who knows? Maybe I'll have time to read again. 

But just to put this into perspective of how stressed school is I had a breakdown and cried until my nose bled. The councillor sent me home and I slept for 5 hours and I am still tired. Honestly I can understand why my friends dropped out XD

But it's not all bad news - I finished season 2 of Supernatural recently. It scares the shit outta me but I still like it?

Catch you later xx