Alexia's Blogs

[alexiasblog22]

“Khloe Kardashian Response to Unedited Photo”

During the Easter weekend an unfiltered photo of Khloe Kardashian was leaked and caused a mass commotion in the Kardashian household.  For the past couple of months she has been receiving massive backlash over “unrecognizable” body photos she shares on instagram and other social media platforms. Fans have even been considering that Khloe has been photoshopping, and her recent post essentially confirmed their assumptions. Khloe and her team are currently trying to get rid of the photo and fans are quite upset about it. Assumptions were going around on how the photo was leaked, some fans were saying the photo got out over a slip up by an assistant, while others claimed it was the kardashians sister’s grandmother, Mary Jo (MJ) Shannon who posted it to her private account.  In the photo posted during the Easter holidays you can see Khloe with a bare-face wearing a leopard print bikini while standing in front of a pool. In the photo you can clearly see that there is a lack of editing and photoshop. In my opinion I think Khloe looks just as gorgeous as she always does, and I don't understand why she would want to take every last bit of evidence under “legal threats.” KKW Brands Chief marketing officer, Tracy Romulus stated, “The color edited photo was taken of Khloe during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant. Khloe looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be publicly taken down.” Khloe was even accused of sharing “unrealistic” body standards. Fans think Khloe is serious about this photo because her image is essentially her brand. Although, she has been open about her “flaws” like last february where she posted a photo of her stripes AKA her stretch marks. Her fans are upset she is trying to take down a photo of her actual body and are actually motivating her to post more. Some fans have tweeted, “so apparently Khloe Kardashian is working overtime to make sure this pic is wiped off the internet? Girl, you look good? & normal?” and, “It’s so sad that she’s so insecure she looks like a normal healthy human.” Fans have also stated how refreshing it feels to see such a “real” photo of Khloe, and want her to embrace her natural self. Personally I think Khloe should keep the photo on social media and be less insecure about herself. She looks beautiful, healthier, and much happier in the photo than she does in her heavily edited photos.

[alexiasblog22]

“Billie Eilish Lost Cause Music Video Drama”

Billie Eilish released a new music video called ‘lost cause.’ In the video you can see Billie frolicking with a group of girlfriends. Not only did she post this video not long after her relationship ended, but posted a series of behind the scenes pictures of the music video on instagram with the caption “I Love Girls.” In the youtube video you can see her playing twister, dancing, twerking, and a dartboard with a paper of the word ‘MEN’ with a dart right on the inner bullseye. I’m not sure if it was Billie’s attention but she also released her music video on June 2nd, which June is also pride month so it would be a perfect time to come out. Considering all the clues she gave her fans and her statement of loving the company of girls, her fans were convinced that it was a coming out video. Since there was such a big commotion with the situation people claimed that if Billie EIlish was not going to come out as part of the LGBTQ+ community, she was ‘queerbaiting. If your not aware of what queerbating is exactly, it stands for marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not fully commit to coming out to the same-sex or any other LGBTQ representation. A few comments from her fans were, “Bestie idk if you're queerbaiting or not but I’m really hoping you aren’t because it’s really rude, ” and “Billie, I've been a fan of you for 4 years, but this is getting out of hand. First you start queerbaiting, you know you have a large LGBTQ base, and you create the “Lost Cause” music video, exploiting us so that you can make profit from us.” Billie has yet to respond to this commotion but was caught liking a post with the caption, “This fandom is so embarrassing sometimes like why would you go in someone's comments and say something that you literally don't even know is true and something y'all LITERALLY MADE UP, sometimes y'all are so dumb. Some of you just need to learn how to mind your business.” Which gives us a pretty good idea of where she stands. On June 12th she then posted a selfie with the caption “I’m tireeeddddddd.” This caused fans to think this post was directed to the recent drama. Her millions of fans have divided to sides and to this day are still fighting over the queerbaiting accusation. What will Billie’s Eilish next response be?

[alexiasblog22]

Kaneki saying “Haise Haise!” - Dub Vs Sub

Link to “Sub vs Dub Debate.”

[alexiasblog22]

“Sub vs Dub Debate.”

For the past couple of years there has been a sub vs dub debate in the anime community. Subbed anime is the original japanese version, meanwhile dubbed is the english translated version, and can sometimes sometimes lead to script changes because of the japanese culture. The number of syllables and words in the phrase or dialogue often change when being translated. The debate first started when the American anime fan community started comparing sub and dub, then choosing which one is superior. It then took a turn for the worse and now if you watch dub you are quote “not a true anime fan.” The question you're probably wondering is why do they choose to compare the two. Well, sub fans say dub is nowhere near as good as the original Japanese voice acting. They have a “better” tone and have more emotion when talking. Since anime is originally Japanese it has accurate translation, including the original language that plays a role in the plot, while being able to listen to the original voice actors. Considering how Japan has many voice actors where they take a full time honors degree that takes four-five years to obtain. The Tokyo school of anime can be an example of where to get this degree. Unlike dub voice actors, sub voice actors can make millions of dollars, though there isn't much of a variety of  dubbed voice actors. There's also the fact of how expensive it is to translate and find new voice actors for an anime. However the biggest complaint of dub anime was that the past dub lip syncing wasn’t the greatest, but today’s modern lip syncing has gotten much better and has less complaints. Japanese people tend to prefer sub because it matches with the Japanese animated style better, and keeps Japanese jokes, food, culture, and so on, unlike when it's translated. On the other hand, dub fans prefer english voice acting so they have more time to look at the animation instead of focusing more on reading the dialogue. There's also the fact that you can multitask while watching dub, whereas if you don’t understand Japanese it’s going to be hard keeping up with the subtitles. In my opinion I also prefer dub for the reason that it is my spoken language and I also enjoyed watching animes where my favourite dub voice actors are involved. If you watch the short video of the sub vs dub, you can clearly see both sides of the voice acting are completely different. If you noticed, the sub version is more serious while the dub is more angry. There are completely two different emotions, comparing the two just doesn't make sense to me. I understand why people are having there own opinion/preference on this debate but I personally think they're just being close minded. I think to resolve this dabet the anime fans community should stop comparing two different languages and appreciate both sides.  

[alexiasblog22]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford pledges paid sick leave amid plummeting popularity

After refusing for months to institute paid sick-leave, Ontario Premier Doug Ford reversed course and said his government was working on a solution. He did ...

Link for “Does Doug Ford Truly Care About The Safety of Ontario Citizens Or Is It A Political Move.”

[alexiasblog22]

“Does Doug Ford Truly Care About The Safety of Ontario Citizens Or Is It A Political Move.”

During the end of April I had a presentation in class, and in that presentation I decided to talk about a Global News conference about Doug Ford's actions. In the short video they discussed Ford's apology. He saids in the clip “I know we got it wrong, I know we made a mistake, and for that I'm sorry and sincerely apologize.” He also promises a provincial sick pay program but there is no detail on what it will be or when it will happen. As the covid cases rise, Ontario citizens have been criticizing Ford for making haste to act and then soon later going back on his word. His strategies are causing a lot of commotion. First it was the reverse decision on the playgrounds, and then soon after it was the police power. Doug Ford wanted the police to begin questioning people on why they are outside, but was immediately denied by the chief of police. He is degrading some of his experts' advice, which is now causing people to wonder “weather or not and how much politics are playing a part in some of these decisions.” Do you believe Doug Ford’s decision to reverse some of his party’s new restrictions (like playground closures, unwarranted police stops) and consideration for paid sick days are for the benefit of the public health and safety, or is it a political move to get the public's support before the upcoming election? Ontario citizens were shocked to hear Doug Ford's apology, especially when he's the type of person to stick by his word when he truly means it, however, I'm sure Primer Ford knows that this is a political calculation for him as well, his approval ratings have dropped in recent polls about 20 percent or so. I wonder if Doug Ford's next strategy is for the benefit of us or for him. Well, I can tell you. On June 9th from an article published by CBC News, “Ford government set to invoke notwithstanding clause after court rejects election finance changes.” Clause was originally intended to be used for “democratic safety value.” It gives provincial legislatures or parliament the power to “override certain portions of the chapter for a five-year term.” There has never been an Ontario Premier to use this until now. He attends to use the power to have a limited third-party spending outside an election year. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCIA) denied his request because of its abuse of power. It is pretty clear Doug Ford has his priorities wrong and is more concerned about his popularity than Ontario citizens.

[alexiasblog22]

“Music Questions People Almost Never Ask Podcast Opinion.”

After listening to the podcast I first realized that the interview was brief and informative. The podcast went on to talk about many interesting questions fans wanted answered, and there answers were something I would have never expected. In the beginning of the episode the host talks about how Billboard is one of the big bibles of the entire music industry, but why is it called Billboard? If you were not aware, Billabored is a music magazine and organization. Billboard was established in 1894, its original name was Billboard Advertising and its first job was covering advertisements and the posting of bills. It then moved on to county fairs, circuses, and kind of advertising those things did and the gossip those industries had. On January 4 1996 they posted there first ever music chart, followed by more charts which ranked the best selling records in America. Billboard is known to be one of the most important sources in the music industry and the origin behind it is quite interesting. The episode also answered the question, “If we have an mp3 is there such a thing as an mp1 and or mp2.” To put it simply, yes, there is such a thing. An mp1 became the audio standard for vhs tapes and mp2 was much better and became the standard use for dvds, set top tv boxes, broadcasting stations and certain camcorders. Mp2 became the layer of mp3, and became the third algorithm and the favourite standard for transmitting music over the internet. In today's modern society, mp1 is outdated, mp2 is now used for industrial applications, and mp3 is everywhere. Further into the episode they talked about the question “what is the difference between a turntable, record player, phonograph, and a gramophone?” The answer is, that there actually isn't a difference between them. They all play flat rolling disks using a tone armist and a stylist, at least they are now. I found those three topics really interesting, however, I did have an unanswered question for one of their other topics. The reason for people disliking nickelback because he isn't genuine enough, wasn't a good enough reason in my opinion. I felt like they could have talked about the question more and have better answers. To conclude this blog, one question I would have liked to be answered in the episode would be, who chooses which songs win the grammy awards, is it truly the fans or is it ridge?

[alexiasblog22]

“The Ultimate;/Most Classic Cult Movie.”

Out of the three films I’ve watched in class, the ultimate/most classic cult movie, in my opinion, would be the Matrix. The film takes place in a world where humans live in a matrix, which is like a simulation or a computer-generated dream, where humans live their life in a simulation of an average human life (like cities). But, in reality there bodies are in some sort of ship/other world, where those of humans who are aware of the simulation live in fear of the aliens/robot creatures who take control of the ship, and hide in order to keep safe. One of the humans who are aware of this computer-generated dream, Morpheus, is the leader of a group of people who are against this way of living. They want to live a proper life without living in fear, and for that to happen they would have to find a way to get rid of the aliens. The leader Morpheus, heard of a man who was born into the Matrix with the power to change anything in it. Morpheus made it his life goal to find this man (Neo) and teach him about this simulation in hopes of Neo having the power to change this way of living. Which he succeeded in. I considered this film a “cult classic” because it is very entertaining and nothing like any other films I have watched in the past. I would even go so far as to say the film is on the same level as “Back to the Future” which is also another “cult classic” film in my opinion. To me the appeal of “cult” films are, creatiness, appealing, passionate, and of course good enough to watch multiple times. To put it simply, a “cult classic'' is someone who has a devoted and active communal following. People who have a “cult classic” tend to enjoy films that are incomparable and will forever be one of the best. Some people can even say films like that are part of our culture. The whole point of a “cult classic” film is to be watched repeatedly and of course enjoyed.

[alexiasblog22]

“My All-Time Favourite TV Show.

My all-time favourite TV show would have to be “The Vampire Diaries.”  The show is based on Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl who is grieving from the loss of her parents who died from an accident a year before the show took place. From sacrum stances Elena meets Stefan Salvator, a person playing the role of a teenager, however, no one knows yet. He is mysterious and also attends the same school as Elena. After meeting Stefan's brother, Damon Salvator, Elena eventually ends up discovering that the Salvator’s brothers are actually vampires. Immortal people who feed on human blood to survive and can only die from a wood stake to the heart or burning to death. Drowning, bullets, explosions, or anything else won't have an effect on them. As a result of figuring out there secret, Elena as well as her friends Bonnie Bennit and Caroline Forbs' life will forever be changed. Not only do vampires exist but, a lot more supernatural people exist as well. Such as werewolves, witches, dopplegeners, travellers, ghosts, hybrids, sirens, and the originals. Werewolves are people who have the ability to turn into wolves. Witches have powers and say spells to use them. Doppelgangers are people who become reincarnated, yet look exactly how they did the first time they lived. Travellers are an ancient community of gifted witches. Ghosts are people of the dead that still lurk around the world if they have unfinished business from when they were alive. Hybrids are people with multiple supernatural powers like being a vampire, werewolf, and a witch. Sirens were originally psychic, and were given immortality that depended on the feeding on humans to remain young and beautiful. As well as the original family of vampires. The very first vampires to ever exist. Not only are they immortal but it is impossible for them to die without a certain wood from a special tree. The Original family became so popular from there appearance on the show, that the creator decided to give them their own show called “The Originals,” which is all about the lives of the family and their allies. The show is very interesting, the family has many secrets and their insane cliff hangers in the show makes it all the more enjoyable. I also think the show has one of the best animations I've ever seen, and I've seen many supernatural shows. What makes it better is a few of the characters from The Vampire Diaries also make a short appearance in the show. Currently there is a show airing called “Legacies,” which are children from the characters of “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals.” Fans even have suspicion of the cast from both shows making an appearance in Legacies which I am also hoping is true. I think “The Vampire Diaries” and the continuations of the shows will always stand the test of time considering there talented actors and amazing storyline. For the majority of watching the shows, I was on the edge of my seat and probably went through every emotion. Happiness, sadness, anger, you name it, I went through it. The shows will always have a place in my heart and personally I think no show can compare to it.

[alexiasblog22]

“My Opinion On Blood Diamond.”

The film Blood Diamond is about the civil war through the 1990’s in Africa. The film first begins with a black Mende fisherman, Djimon Hounsou, and his wife and two children. There village gets raided and everyone is running for their lives. Djimon gets separated from his family and is kidnapped by the same group of people who raided his home. He was forced into work to look for diamonds illegally in a lake. He then ends up finding a big diamond and attempts to keep it for himself. He asks a man to let him urinate but, as he gets into the trees in the forest, the leader of the group catches on to what he's doing and has him at gunpoint damding him to handover the diamond. However, before the leader had the chance to get the diamond from the fisherman there camp got raided and everyone began opening fire. Just before Dijmon got taken by the soldiers he buried the diamond so he could go back for it. He was put in a prison along with the leader and both fought over the diamond. As they were yelling at each other, a white South African mercenary who was also arrested, overheard there confirstation and decided to use the fisherman to get that diamond. He bailed out Dejimon and promised him he would help find his family in return for the diamond. Later on they met a American woman journalist, and the three of them worked together to achieve there goals. By the end of the film, Dejimon found his family and got the diamond, but because of circumstances the white South African mercenary passed away, and in his final moments he told Dejimon to keep the diamond. The woman journalist used him to catch a man buying the diamond, and used photos of them for her next article to let the world know what has been happening just so people can own diamonds. Before watching this film I would have never thought how difficult and dangerous it was for people to find diamonds. To think that people would go so far as to murder each other over a diamond trade is really sad. I thought it was a great idea to let the journalist tell America and many people all around the world what was happening in Africa, and due to the commotion of the article, in January 2003, forty nations signed “The Kimberley Process'' as an effort to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. Which is a great social justice issue solution. Although “illegal diamonds are still finding their way to the market. It is up to the consumer to insist that a diamond is conflict-free.”

[alexiasblog22]

“Ads Experienced in My Neighbourhood Over the Past Week.”

During my daily life, I experience many ads each day. Whether from electronics or from outside advertisements. A few common digital ads I experience are from, youtube, spotify, instagram, snapchat, television, and other popular apps. Some ads I experience around my neighborhood are makeup posters, toothpaste, magazines, radio, ad signs/posters, bus stops, brands, and eco friendly ads. Although those are only a small portion of ads I experience in my daily life, sometimes I find them overwhelming. I do find it nice to see ads now and then, since it is a great way to find new things. However, almost every app, website, and other things I do in my daily life is affected by ads. Now if people don't want to see ads they have to pay to stop seeing them. I can't even listen to music without listening to an ad after every six songs. Even digital marketing experts estimated that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day. The craziest part is I also think I see the same amount of ads each day as the digital marketers estimated. It is not like I dislike ads, but constantly having them interfere with my life can get annoying at times, and sometimes even make me upset when there's multiple ads playing one after the other. An example of this situation is when I'm trying to find information for a project and the websites start showing multiple ads and I have to delete them all. Or when I'm playing a game, and I lose , I often have to watch one to three ads just to play another round. I understand companies use ads to make profit, but I wish there was another way for both business and consumer to enjoy it. There's also the fact that ads can sometimes have a negative effect on the consumer. For example, children and teenagers are constantly being affected by ads from cigarettes, vape, alcohol use, poor nutrition and eating disorders. Children and teens can feel bad about themselves when seeing poor nutrition and eating disorders ads, and can also consider trying cigarettes, vaping, and or alcohol from the ads making them look like “fun.” Which is a whole other circumstance itself. So to some it all up, I would say yes, I do find ads overwhelming.

[alexiasblog22]

“Types of Media I Consume Most and Least.”

Over the past year the pandemic better known as COVID-19 has impacted every individual either physically, economically, socially or a combination of the three. Some of the most noticeable effects are on the way we interact with people and everyday items when we shop, go to work or school, pretty much everything we do is now influenced by Covid restrictions and precautions. As a result of these rules and restrictions, now more than ever we are consumed by the media as a replacement for social interaction and for new ways to pass the time during these stay-at-home orders. Although a clear definition is difficult to define, for this paper it can be understood as the sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. If I were to break down and understand where the majority of my media consumption falls into, those could be broken down into two categories, the majority and minority of time spent on media outlets. Ranking media outlets from those I use most (majority) to the least (minority) would be social media apps, advertisements, internet-based websites, television, radio, cinema, magazines, and newspapers.

Given that most of my time is now spent indoors with a reduced time around others I have identified a few reasons as to why most of my time is being consumed by these types of media outlets. Firstly, when I spend my time using interest-based websites like Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube these news feeds are filled with a lot of advertisements taken from data for my internet searches. So, because these ads are centred on things that I search up I am more likely to click on them and spend some time looking at them. For example, If I search up new clothes off a website later on that day I will see clothing ads on instagram making me click on it to see if anything is interesting. Also, when I feel like watching a TV show or a movie online there are ads in-between, when I am in a car there are ads for lawyers, store sales, even concert promotions. Secondly, I use a variety of electronics that give me more access to different forms of media such as a google home, laptop, or my phone. My google home lets me listen to the radio without having to leave my house or get into a car, my laptop gives me access to Netflix or YouTube, and my phone is mainly used to connect with friends via my phone or social apps. Each of these are why social media apps, advertisements, internet-based websites are my top three most consuming sources of media usage. Thirdly, the media outlets that fall into my minority group of media consumption are newspapers and/or magazines such as the mail we received in our mailbox or bought from the store. For the most part I rarely use these if I do, they are given a quick glance or read only for the one part of them that I find interesting. For instance, if a magazine has a story about my favourite celebrity I might read it but if it's a recipe I might only scan the ingredient list and not read the rest. Reason for this is because I find it a lot easier to just quickly google search what I need than to have to get the mail or buy and then read a magazine. So it is no surprise that due to the pandemic lockdown many of us have more time in our hands and because of this we are constantly on social media causing our media consumption rate to escalate. Whether it be from the examples or any other source of media it is no surprise that with the present rules and restrictions in place we can assume that the rate of media consumption will continue to rise.