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My corona dairy is not a fun read. These past 50 days have been both lovely and ugly and I’ve had a turbulent relationship with the ongoing, quarantine chapter of my life. Time at home has forced me to confront demons I’ve previously ignored. 

I’m frightened. 

I’m unadjusted. 

Here’s a list of the things that I’ve found myself occupied with:

- Sewing. I made a dress.

- Doing self portraiture in graphite.

- Making and watching TikToks.

- Trauma work.

- Laying in bed for hours.

- Journaling.

- Staying up until I hear birds and sleeping the day away.

- Biting my nails and cuticles obsessively.

- Online therapy.

- Watching my favourite show when dopamine levels are desperately low.

- Learning TikTok dances.

- Isolating myself.

- Eating good food.

- Laughing.

- Feeling all of the emotions and being far too human.

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Earth Day

1. Unesco estimates over 160 million girls worldwide are not educated due to refugee status, war relocation, poverty and gender preference. What would the world look like if all girls were educated? What impact do you think educating girls will have on climate change?

I think that a world that sees more women receiving education would look quite different from the one we’re in now. Educated women can find higher paying work and, as a result, support themselves and their families singlehandedly. Educated women know their rights and can fight injustices where they see them. Educated women do not marry out of necessity, they marry for love. Educated women know that the we are in the middle of a climate crisis and may adjust their lifestyles accordingly. 

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 Lady Gaga is one of many celebrities who have made efforts to assist those fighting the virus. She has decided to team up with a charity called Global Citizen and in the past few weeks has raised $35 million for the World Health Organization. These funds will purchase necessary, protective medical equipment for healthcare staff, who are working tirelessly in hospitals around the world. In addition to those funds raised, Gaga, with Global Citizen and the WHO, has curated a benefit concert with a lineup of music’s best. The show, which is a part of Global Citizen’s stay-at-home concert series and entitled One World: Together at Home, will stream live on Saturday, April 18 and all funds raised will go to the World Health Organization. 

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Week Eleven: CoronaVirus Memes and Comedy

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Week Eight: Book Review #2

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education by Malala Yousafzai


"Let us pick up our books and pens, they are the most powerful weapons.”

Video of Malala

Fame is more often than not considered a prospect only available to the beautiful, wealthy and talented. The media tends to reserve celebrity for those who entertain and govern us. Political fame, the kind reserved for those who publicly challenge or subvert injustices, is often overlooked. 

It’s easy for us to overlook those who do not seek fame but rather achieve it inadvertently. If they are not gorgeous, white and fashionably dressed, media platforms are quick to overlook achievements. Every once and a while, someone does something so incredible that none of those norms matter. Malala is one of those people.

The worldwide uproar that was sparked as a a result of Malala’s story is what triggered the conversation. Malala, being the survivor of this tragedy and a victim of such misogyny, was the perfect person to carry on the conversation and to make sure that other girls do not fall victim to the violence she was forced to endure. Her fierce advocacy fuelled massive social change.

Malala offers an inside look into a culture that devalues females and limits freedoms. She is, as a result, the voice of women in the Middle East. She speaks for those who’ve been oppressed and who wouldn’t have a voice otherwise. 

Women and girls deserve to be educated. Education should be a human right, not a reward for being born male. This is Malala’s belief. This is what she fights for. 

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Week Seven: March 4: DOCUMENTARY

(Choose two films to review from the list below...Most available on Netflix on Demand)

Amy (2015):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yCIwmNuLE

2. What important social issue question does this documentary ask and what type of storytelling does it employ to answer it? 

Made after her death, the film, composed of found footage and interviews, tells the story of Amy’s incredible talent, her rise to fame, struggles with men, addictions and her mental health. The storytelling offers a lot of insight into her character. We learn a lot about who she was, at her core, through the footage from her childhood and testimonials from family as well as the video cam recordings with her friends.

 It’s a film that begs us to ask what more we can do to help those that we see struggling. It also begs us to reevaluate the pressures of fame and to have empathy for those who the media paints as lost causes.

3. What new story is revealed in this film, and what revelations have emerged from it to impact popular discourse?

It’s the unknown story of Amy. We all knew her public persona, her music and stage presence and her very public struggles with addiction, but not many knew the real story. We like to think we know celebrities but we don’t.

Her lifelong struggles with depression and anxiety, though communicated loosely in her lyrics and by herself in some interviews, were a bit ignored and are revelations. Fame as a destroyer and aggravator or mental health is another revelation. The media and the paparazzi have the power to kill a human’s soul.

4. How did this documentary expand the reputation of the subject, and how did it serve to further the spotlight on a key social change issue? 

If the subject is being a famous musician, it was expanded by offering insight into the ways a human is affected by fame. If the subject is mental illness, the film acts as a sort of case study. If the subject is addiction, the film acts as an eye opening look into the way an addict is introduced to their vice and the demise as a result of not getting help.

5. Add interview clips, images, hotlinks and/or quotes from reviews.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/27/asif-kapadia-amy-winehouse-doc

“Faces Places” (2017):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbjnLpxv70

2. What important social issue question does this documentary ask and what type of storytelling does it employ to answer it? 

After decades of making films about faces and places, Agnes Varda teamed up with photographer and muralist JR to make the film Faces Places. The film follows the two artists as they travel through the French countryside, becoming acquainted with each other and with the townspeople. They photograph the faces of the people they meet and plaster them on the structures in the places they live. It’s a heartwarming and tender film. 

Both Varda and JR treat these people and their homes in a sacred way. They hear their stories and improvise portraits, often times with the help of other villagers. The portraits for the murals are staged and taken by JR, with tips and suggestions from Varda, who, with her own personal camera, has been documenting the entire journey with the intent to include bits of the collected imagery in the film. Varda and JR raise questions about the power of art, of the places we call home and of collaboration.

3. What new story is revealed in this film, and what revelations have emerged from it to impact popular discourse? 

Narratively, it’s a road movie. In (what I assume are) staged shots, the tiny Varda sits in the passenger seat of a big truck while JR drives them to new locations in France. They honour the ordinary people of France with massive portrait murals. 

The film and the portraits are celebrations of the overlooked, everyday act of being human and of France. I think the revelation is that all faces and are beautiful.

4. How did this documentary expand the reputation of the subject, and how did it serve to further the spotlight on a key social change issue?

JR and Agnes did not set out to make a film that would further the spotlight on a key social change issue. In fact, Varda despises when audiences try to find messages in her work. They had an idea to honour the people of France with murals and they documented the process. 

It’s heartwarming to see the awe on the subjects’ faces as they see their portrait, on such a massive scale, plastered onto a structure that they cherish. The film is an ode to locals. The argument is that the locals are what makes France what it is and so they deserve to be honoured. 

5. Add interview clips, images, hotlinks and/or quotes from reviews.

About the visuals in the film Varda says:

JR had found one of the big block houses that had fallen from the cliff, and he wanted me to see it. I said, ‘Okay, okay, I have already seen that, I have seen many of them’. Then he gave me the name of the place, the beach, and I’d been there in 1954, taking pictures with a friend of mine, who became the famous photographer Guy Bourdin. So, we took the pictures we had made and went to see the house where he was living with his grandmother. Using the imagination, that photo became a little bed for a child and became a grave for my friend. With imagination, our feelings become something beautiful. We knew that the tide would take it away, so we were working with the desire to build something that we knew wouldn’t last. It was a beautiful grave for my friend Guy.

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Week Six: Feb 26: March for Our Lives: Teen Leaders of Gun Control

Where do these youth leaders go from here?

From here, they can make the decision to become the policy makers of tomorrow. No doubt they’ll make wonderful politicians/ lobbyists and initiate change. The passion and intelligence they protest for gun control with will serve powerful in the room where change happens. 

Is the reign of the NRA reaching its twilight moment?

Perhaps. I think that the “#NoNRAMoney” pledge may take it’s toll on the NRA. Voters old and young are demanding that candidates cut ties to the association. The growing awareness of the NRA’s involvement in elections thanks to social media may also have a hand in the NRA’s downfall. Only time will tell.

Is the tide is turning on gun violence in the US?

Since the start over 2020 there have been 47 mass shootings. Deaths and injuries from gun violence since the start of the new year are in the hundreds. I think that even though a growing number of people are demanding new gun-control legislation, the tide won't turn until legislation is passed.

Have you become more active on gun violence issues since March for Our Lives?

I was raised in a very anti-gun household and so, while the gun violence issues brought about by March for Our Lives are not lost on me, I don’t feel more active than I was before. I do however enjoy the sense of community and solidarity that the movement has formed. 

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Week Five: Feb 19: Project Drawdown Book Review

Paul Hawkden is the environmentalist, author and activist behind the world’s leading resource for climate solutions. In his biography on the Project Drawdown webpage it is written that, “His work includes founding successful, ecologically conscious businesses, writing about the impacts of commerce on living systems, and consulting with heads of state and CEOs on economic development, industrial ecology, climate and environmental policy.” His voice is loud and, unlike some other voices in the mainstream media, the solutions he proposes are practical and comprehensive. He speaks about climate change in a way that inspires hope and encourages change. A lot of the climate rhetoric that I’ve both heard and read inspires fear and paints this picture of climate change as an unstoppable doom that looms over our heads. I speak on the topic as an outsider. I’ve taken no environmental science classes and have not been exposed to enough research to truly grasp the science of climate change. I only know what I’ve heard in the media. Though I’m mostly ignorant to the issue at large, and I’ve found the research on climate change far too academic and challenging to read, I’d previously believed that the eradication of capitalist production of nature was the only solution and that left me feeling petrified. I was left to believe that we did not possess the tools nor the solutions the decrease greenhouse gas levels. After reading about Drawdown, I realized how ignorant I am. Paul Hawkden is the voice of hope and his work with Project Drawdown has shifted the rhetoric to one of fear to one of possibility and understanding.

In Drawdown, possible solutions are offered in the following areas: Energy, food, women and girls, buildings and cities, land use, transport, and materials. Almost every single solution within the list of 80 solutions not only saves the country billions of dollars, but also reduces the total atmospheric CO2. Project Drawdown has gone beyond theoreticals and has begun to implement ideas. There are eleven individuals in the Project Drawdown senior research team. Each of these researchers are taking climate conscious action.

Kevin Bayuk, “...is a partner with LIFT Economy, accelerating social enterprises and facilitating investment into highly beneficial impact organizations. He also frequently facilitates classes and workshops, speaks, and provides one-on-one mentoring as a founding partner of the Urban Permaculture Institute San Francisco. Kevin’s clients include industry leaders and startups in: conservation hydrology landscape stewardship, bioplastics, compost, urban planning, diversified renewable energy, energy efficiency, and early-stage impact investment. Having co-founded projects as diverse as enterprise communications management software and urban farming food security gardens, Kevin is as fluent with information technology as with perennial polyculture agroforestry.”

 Miranda Gorman, “...completed her Ph.D. in 2019 in the Environmental Engineering, Sustainability and Science Group at Carnegie Mellon University, where she developed a framework for assessing the complete life cycle of a resource as well as future projections for material flows. This work resulted in the identification of several key limitations and opportunities to improve the circularity of a material resource in the U.S. Additional research includes ISO-compliant life cycle assessments of water filtration devices, and analysis of the environmental impact of disaster relief efforts.” It’s the work that individuals within the project are doing that moves us towards reaching “draw down.”

Rooftop Solar is number eight on the list of the Top Twenty solutions offered by Project Drawdown. In the book a Solar Settlement in Freiburg, Germany is mentioned. It is “A 59-home community, it is the first in the world to have a positive energy balance, with each home producing $5,600 per year in solar energy profits. The way to positive energy is designing homes that are extraordinarily energy efficient, what designer Rolf Disch calls PlusEnergy.” I found this fascinating. Many have made the switch to solar power in their own homes. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have made the switch and added two solar panels to the roof of their home. They claim that their home is powered solely by the panels.

The number one solution is refrigeration management. This really surprised me. I had never heard this mentioned in regards to climate change before reading Drawdown. I’ve shifted to a plant based diet as a way to be a part of the movement towards Drawdown. I hope other will do the same.

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Week Four: Feb 12: #MeToo #TimesUp

1. Why do you think the #MeToo movement has been so effective? Why now?

I think it’s clear that social media is responsible for the way that the #MeToo movement reached the amount off women that it did. Instagram and Twitter provided platforms for women to stand in solidarity and have their voices heard. I think the timing has everything to do with the political environment we’re currently in: Misogynistic comments from the mouth of the president; Kavanaugh; Weinstein... There was/is major media coverage for all three and many public figures used their platform to support the women harmed.

2. What other impacts have you observed of the #MeToo movement? How has it affected you?

I think that #MeToo has affected the way we communicate. Being a victim has, in the past, been deemed shameful and something to be kept secret. #MeToo has encouraged women to open up and, in opening up, make others feel comfortable opening up as well. 

3. What is the celebrity lens here? What did celebrities risk in joining #MeToo? What have they gained?

I honestly don’t think there was too much risk involved. I suppose that sharing such a private thing with a huge number of strangers was probably daunting. They’ve gained the trust of women, media coverage/ popularity, and support.

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Week Three: Feb 5: Solution Geeks and Visionary Tech

1. How do these stories help people locate not just hope but solutions?

I think we all feel a bit helpless at the moment. We know that there are steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and to be, all around, “kinder” to the planet. Maybe we're lazy or perhaps we just don’t feel the urgency of the issue. For some reason we’re hesitant to take those steps. Hearing the people in those videos advocate for the planet and for solutions is hope-inspiring. They break this scary issue down and make it human in a way. 

2. Which of these individuals had to overcome the most obstacles to realize their project?

Certainly Kelvin Doe. He had neither the resources to learn what he did nor access to the proper equipment build what he was able to build. But he did. 

3. Which of these stories has the most resonance for you in terms of solution-making?

Lauren Singer’s story really moved me. While watching I became infuriated at myself because, there she is, the living proof that living a zero-waste lifestyle is possible. Listening to her story was kind of the kick-in-the-ass I needed to reduce my plastic usage. She made it feels very possible. So, I’m taking steps to be a more conscious waste-producer. I also realise that I sit in a place of privilege and that this is not a realistic possibility for many. 

4. Is there a key environmental problem are you inspired to solve? How would you execute it?

As aforementioned, I’m reducing my consumption of plastics. I have, in the past, been careless and wasteful. I plan to only drink water and to only use my water bottle; carry a reusable shopping bag with me at all times so that (even in the face of surprise purchases) I never need a disposable one; no matter how tempting the garment, only shop vintage and second hand; recycle all recyclable products that I use; and finally (and this is the scariest one to me) buy and consume food that is not packaged in plastics (fresh produce, nuts and grains, fresh ground coffee, no meat). 

5. How would you message a movement for your solution?

Stop making excuses for yourself: Make the change.

6. Locate a similar example in Project Drawdown by Paul Hawken

In the household recycling section of Breakdown, the benefits of reduced waste are detailed: “Collection, transport, and processing are, for the time being, largely powered by fossil fuels. Even still, recycling remains an effective approach to managing waste while addressing emissions. It also reduces resource extraction, minimizes other pollutants, and creates jobs.” 

Another example, this one detailing the benefits of a plant-based diet: “Shifting to a diet rich in plants is a demand-side solution to global warming that runs counter to the meat-centric Western diet on the rise globally. That diet comes with a steep climate price tag: one-fifth of global emissions. If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.”

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WEEK TWO: TEEN ECO-HEROES

1. What solutions are they offering for global warming, plastic pollution or overall climate change issues?

Autumn Peltier has been protesting water contamination as a result of industrial pollution. The simple solution she fights for is the proper disposal of industrial waste. Ayakha Melithafa fights for low-carbon development and the holding of economic powers accountable for inaction. Cruz Erdmann fights for the removal of micro plastics in our oceans. Greta Thunberg fights for lower carbon emissions and climate change legislation. Melati Wijsen fights for the banning of single-use plastics. Mohamad Al Jounde fights for education for refugee children. Naomi Wadler fights for gun reform. Natasha Mwansa fights for youth healthcare and against child marriage. Salvador Gomez-Colon fights for humanitarian initiatives after natural disasters.  

2. How did they organize their work? How have they been recognized?

They gained recognition by being outspoken members of their communities and for speaking/ protesting publicly.

3. How did they get the word out about their projects? What has been their impact so far?

They have managed to have their voices heard by those in positions of power, and sadly that’s the only way to have any impact at all.

4. What obstacles did they overcome?

Their age is likely the largest obstacle. It’s nearly impossible for a child to be heard without the help of an adult who advocates for them. Luckily, all of these children have adult allies who have helped get their voices heard. Some of these children were victims of poverty, war, natural disaster, gun violence, and pollution. They fight against the very obstacles they fell victim to.

5. Imagine what they might be doing five years from now.

In five years we can hope that they continue to take action and to fight for climate/ social justice. 

6. Why do you think young people are rising up and taking to the streets for #ClimateStrike #Fridays4Future and other protests?

They’re fighting for their future. They’re scared and rightfully so.

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First post: Who is my favorite celebrity and how have they changed the world?

For a multitude of reasons, I’m a huge fan of Lady Gaga. She is one of those celebrities that takes advantage of the fact that she has platforms upon which she can address matters of importance. She is known for her philanthropy and social activism, including her work related to mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. With her mother she founded the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on empowering youth, improving mental health and preventing bullying. She preaches positivity and empathy and is a self-proclaimed mother figure (and rightfully so- she calls herself Mother Monster) to millions of young people who look to her for words of encouragement and acceptance. Her voice and presence is one of the most important on the planet, because to many outcast youth it’s one of the positive voices that they have. “Every bit of me is devoted to love and art. And I aspire to try to be a teacher to my young fans who feel just like I felt when I was younger. I just felt like a freak. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm trying to liberate them, I want to free them of their fears and make them feel that they can make their own space in the world.” - Lady Gaga