Author: Anvita
Kahaani Final reflection 2021
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Above is a link to my Kahaani Final performance. Overall Kahaani 2021 was a very enjoyable experience. This year I had my friend Priyanka in my Kahaani dance. As this was my third Kahaani experience I had some skills when it came to dancing and performing, in fact, this year I was put in the front and centre of my Kahaani dance. Kahaani this year was very different due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we had to wear our masks all the time except for when we were dancing (or taking pictures), there was a lot of restrictions and rules regarding safe distancing which we had to follow. As for the dance itself, I faced another challenge, during the last song I messed up during the end. This was primarily due to last-minute changes and not enough practise on my part to make sure I was confident with that. However, I don’t believe that little mistakes during the performance mean anything. I learnt many skills and changed some of my attitudes, which is what matters the most. For example, I learned skills which had to do with leadership, organisation, and communication, all of which I had mentioned in my previous relationship. I also had a positive attitude throughout Kahaani because of the amazing people I was surrounded with, my friends, dance leaders, and other kahaani dance members. When I was initially allocated to the dance I was in I was really sad as I hoped to be in a certain dance with all my friends on the same day however I’m really happy with how things worked out. I also talked to Amara one of the chairs in Kolkatta GC to understand the way that we would be fundraising for the service without selling tickets. People ended up donating how much they wanted during the performance as well as on an online link.
#LO1, #LO4, #LO5
MYMUNOFS chair report: antibiotic resistance
My mymonofs chair report was due on Wednesday the 13th of January. I submitted the report earlier on in the holiday. My topic was about Tackling the proliferation of Antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a topic that we have previously learnt about in science. I knew hoe antibiotic resistance worked but not about the solutions that were being implemented, as well as the many the stakeholders. For example, Big Pharma and Meat industries play large roles in this issue. Antibiotics are necessary and aren’t very profitable, big Pharma companies aren’t incentivised to research and develop new antibiotics as they aren’t very profitable, however it very necessary that they do.
Here is an extract on the Meat industry stakeholder paragraph I wrote Meat is often mass-produced to ensure that consumers can buy cheap food such as fast-food. To mass-produce meat from farm animals, cattle are often kept in cramped conditions which are unhygienic and serve as breeding grounds for bacteria. To combat bacterial growth, farmers feed their cattle antibiotics. According to the NCBI “It is estimated, at present, that 40 per cent of the antibiotics produced are used for feed additives. Estimates allocate 0.5 million kg to the cattle industry, 1.0 million kg to poultry, 1.4 million kg to swine, and 0.4 million kg to other animals such as companion animals.” As a major consumer of the good, the meat industry has a role to play in solving this crisis. When animals develop resistance to antibiotics which is fed to them this can be passed to humans. In 2015, China announced that they found Colistin resistant bacteria. Colistin was used as a last resort antibiotic only given in extreme situations and wasn’t widely used. However, Colistin was fed to farm animals, who likely passed the resistant bacteria to humans. Due to rapid globalisation, this resistant bacteria could spread throughout the world. The meat industry can look towards producing meat in more ethical and sustainable ways which could require fewer antibiotics while still trying to keep the price for meat low.” Learning about the meat industry in this issue made me realise how unsustainable the meat industry is. Not only does it take up a lot of resources to produce meat to the point there if the fish, vegetables and food we feed to cattle were to be given to humans world hunger could be eradicated. Producing meat also creates a lot of carbon emissions. I already knew that but to add on the effects of potentially creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs from overfeeding antibiotics to animals I was extremely surprised. Considering the ethical implications of eating and supporting the meat industry I think I will continue to be a vegetarian. I have tried to be vegetarian for a year so far, but once I finished the challenge I had no real reason to continue. Though I have had a cheat day or two I think I will continue to try to not eat any meat. Other than that I have also decided to be more aware of when I take antibiotics to ensure that I consume them responsibly.
#LO1, #LO6, #LO7
UWCMUN 2020 chairing
During the last weekend, before school ended, I chaired at UWC’s annual MUN conference. I was a deputy chair in DISEC. This was my second time chairing a MUN conference, however, this conference was under different circumstances. Covid changed the way MUN was conducted. Conferences were moved online and this was the first time that I handled a zoom conference. It required a lot of multi-tasking and training beforehand. We learned how to work the different features, make breakout rooms, change settings and it was all very technical As this was the conference was around the end of the year it was a very busy time. I had test’s, assignments, and essays which were piling up. Seeing as this conference was the entire weekend I was forced to test my organisation and time management skills. Using all the time I had very efficiently. It was an incredibly stressful 2 weeks but I managed to have a positive attitude through the conference trying to enjoy and concentrate on being in the now. As each committee had 2 chairs rather than three there was also a lot of collaboration between me and the head chair. We called before the conference and planned how we were going to handle it. We tried to split the work evenly and made it manageable. Near the end of the conference, the chairs had to pick out delegates for awards. This is often a hard thing to do as there are many skilled and talented delegates however we used our best judgement and chose delegates who we felt deserved it. Another challenge which I did not expect was concentrating during the conference, being online can be challenging as it becomes very easy to tune out just by looking away from your screens, As the conference lasted more than 8 hours a day we had to be on our screens for extended time periods. Just as I had some trouble concentrating so did most of our delegates. At times debate would slow down and the zoom meeting would be silent. The head chair and I had to find ways to help the delegates get back into debating. We understood the challenge as both of us had previously been on online MUN conferences. At times we would ask prompting questions or even participate in debate with something controversial to make the delegates more interesting.
#LO2 (challenge) #LO3 (Initiative) #LO5 (collaboration)
Othello act 1 overview
Act 1 introduced us to the main characters Iago, Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona. From the opening scene, Shakespeare explores the concepts of deception as well as its antithesis, loyalty. In that scene, Roderigo accuses Iago of tricking him into giving him money. At this point in the play, the audience isn’t introduced to Othello or Desdemona however they can understand that Iago doesn’t like him. Iago is shown to be a hypocritic and deceptive person. Iago sent “three great ones of the city” to woo Othello in hopes of winning the promotion however continues to say that Othello was self-interested and gave the promotion unfairly to “ One Micheal Cassio, a florentine”, here audiences can pick up on Iago’s hypocrisy as well as his views on non-Venetians. Line 39 once again shows Iago’s views on non-Venetians as he calls Othello a “Moor” which meant a Muslim or African, a non-European, an outsider. Iago justifies his hatred to Othello by claiming that the pass over for a promotion was the reason however as the play progresses he starts adding more reasons such as his growing suspicion that Othello’s “done his office” which means slept with his wife. Iago is an insecure character who finds a reason to dislike everybody. He is shown as an unreliable narrator/character as, after his description of characters, those characters walk in and act very differently. Othello and Cassio seem to be the opposite of Iago’s description. Othello is a well-spoken, diplomatic, and a trusting character whereas Iago describes him to be self-interested and predatory. Cassio was described as a “bookish theoric” who doesn’t deserve his role, however, when they reach Cyprus in Act 2 Governenr Montano praises Cassio for he has “served him” and seen him in the field. Desdemona was described by Iago as naive, cunning, and deceptive, Iago also objectifies Desdemona, as if she were a prized possession or a sexual object. Through Iago’s character, Shakespeare explores the negative side of many large concepts such as racism, appearances/ deception, vengeance, hate, and lies, whereas most of the other characters show the opposite love, loyalty, truth, and community.
Kahaani Mid-way reflection
Our kahaani performance is next week. We have been practising our dances for a couple of weeks. As we near the performance me are rushing to finish off the dance, learn transitions, and polish off the moves. This year the Kahaani dance I was in had leaders who were in the grade below me. However, they were extremely professional and it was clear that they had previously lead because they were very good at teaching the dances. However, there were many challenges which we faced. For two weeks of practice, our dance leaders had grade 10 mock exams and they were unable to come to practice. This was a challenge however they asked Priyanka and me to step up and help lead the group for that short time. The dancers we have are really respectful and listened to everyone. I’m excited to perform in Kahaani this year. I know it will be an interesting experience as we won’t be able to watch other dances and have that kahaani community feeling. We only have 2 more practices before the final performance and I hope everything works out. This year Kahaani made me show leadership skills and I am very grateful for the opportunity. #LO2( challenge) #LO4 (commitment, showing perseverance, resilience.)
Othello: a response to Act 1 Sc 1
How is Othello characterised by others in this scene? Use quotations to support your interpretation.
Othello is characterized as an old black man using bestial imagery in his representation to dehumanise and villainize him. At the beginning of the first scene, audiences are not sure who Iago and Roderigo are talking about, however, there is a clear hatred towards that person.
- In the 12th line, Iago describes who we find out to be Othello as “loving his own pride and purposes”, essentially calling him selfish and opportunistic. Iago feels unfairly passed. over for the position of lieutenant saying that “Micheal Cassio” flattered his way into the job, though audiences are not given proof of that, rather audiences see Iago’s quest to send “three great ones of the city, in personal suit to make to make me his lieutenant”. Iago is portrayed as a hypocritical two-sided character who looks out for himself, manipulating Roderigo in the process.
- In the 33rd line the word “Moorship’s” is used when referring to Othello, the word moor which is used in a religious context to refer to Othello as a Muslim or someone with dark skin. The word “Moor” is repeated throughout this scene dehumanizing Othello’s identity to colour rather than a complex human being.
- In line 67, Roderigo says “Thick-lips” drawing attention to Othello being “different” from them appearance-wise.
- Iago later in line 80 describes Othello to be a thief, stealing Desdemona and the value and inheritance which is tied to her. “Look at your house, your daughter, and your bags! Thieves, thieves!”.
- Iago then describes his military commander as “an old black ram”, a ram is a sheep. This uses bestial imagery to dehumanize Othello and paint him in an animalistic way.
- Line 93 explicitly uses the word “devil” to describe Othell, using diabolical language to paint him and a demonical villain.
- From line 111 to 113, Iago insults Othello, characterizing him like a horse. ” you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you’ll have your nephews neigh to you, you’ll have courses for cousins, and jennets for germans”. Jennets are a less valued species of horse when compared to german, Iago insinuates that if Othello has kids with Desdemona they will also suffer sue to Othello being a black man.
- “To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor”, In line 125 translates to has been caught by a lusty man, making Othello seem like a weird creature.
- Roderigo describes Othello as a “stranger” in line 135, as he is a non-Venitian who is not being accepted into the community, but just being used for his military skill.
A response to Rumors of War by Kehinde Wiley
Rumours of war by Kehinde Wiley is a statue of a black man riding a horse. Statues are symbolic of Society and what is important in them. Kehinde Wiley challenges the representation of black men in art and society by placing them in positions of power. This artwork was partially inspired by the confederate statues which are erected on Monument Avenue. During the US civil war when the confederacy and Northern USA states argued about the abolition of slaves. Confederate statues honour the individuals who helped support the slave trade. In recent years the question of the removal these statues due to their racist history and symbolism has been in the spotlight. In 2020 with the murder of George Floyd many statues have been torn down. Wiley changes the conversation by adding new statues rather than only discussing removing them.
Personally, I feel that statues which represent racist individuals should not be commemorated in public spaces. Many believe that removing statues reduce and try to hide the history of the country or constrain people’s freedom of speech. However removing a statue isn’t going to change a high school curriculum, rather make individuals in the society more comfortable. When these statues stay up they can become symbols of racism. Removing a statue with bad sentiments doesn’t mean that history is being changed however it shows that we longer stand for such things and are moving ahead. The idea of not judging people based on current values is valid, however, we are living in the present, there is no need for these statues anymore, read about them in history books. I like that Kehinde Wiley created new works challenging these ideas, I think new art is crucial for shifting the conversation to what we as a collective do want to commemorate.
Notes on ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ and the globe theatre videos
link to the ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&ab_channel=TED
Common Assessed Task (CAT) #2
This common assessed task wanted us to analyse an advertisement/ PSA by the Singapore kindness association and the way that visual and written text work together to create meaning in this advert. In my next CAT, I will spend more time planning my essay and making the paragraphs have overall themes and analyse the evidence in detail.
