Julianne Moore has recently won a number of awards (including an Academy Award, BAFTA award, and Golden Globe award) for her performance in the drama 'Still Alice'. Moore's diverse filmography, ranging from Boogie Nights and Children of Men, to Game Change and The Hunger Games, has earned her a reputation as one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation. By this point in her career she has starred in 61 films, yet 'Still Alice' is a standout—this is easily one of her strongest performances to date, which really says something.
The film itself is based on Lisa Genova's self published novel with the same name, and co-stars Kate Bosworth, Alec Baldwin, as well as Kristen Stewart. 'Still Alice' tells the story of 50-year-old Alice Howland, Julianne Moore's character, who is a distinguished linguistics professor at Columbia University that gets diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. It follows her from discovering early signs of the disease to her visible cognitive decline in later stages, and everything in between.
Alice is a multi-dimensional character that, as she declares in a powerful speech, is "not suffering", but is "struggling" with the insurmountable challenges that Alzheimer's creates for her in her daily life. She does not come across as a victim, but as a strong woman who perseveres to hold on to her identity, familial relationships, professional integrity, and life, even when she is brought to her low points. Julianne Moore has stated that she did a tremendous amount of research for this role, and her performance seen in the movie is based on behavior she had been described or personally saw in people with Alzheimer's. Her dedication to the role certainly shows in her emotionally gripping performance, even despite only having a mere 23 days of shooting for the entire film.
Here's a brief interview featuring Moore describing her experience bringing this character to life.
Another strong point of the film was the relationship between Alice and her youngest daughter Lydia, played by a very perceptive Kristen Stewart. Though the two have their differences (particularly on Lydia's career choice and future plans), Lydia is the most supportive member of their family, and even ends up moving from Los Angeles to New York to take care of Alice in her later stages of the disease. Their disagreements, along with the touching moments of clarity (particularly Alice's 'what is it like' monologue) are what really give insight into how this disease affects a person and their loved ones. In the end, though, it is love that shines through.
With her stunning performance, Julianne Moore has already spread more awareness about the many facets of this disease that affect so many people worldwide. Luckily, this film has also opened up dialogue about Alzheimer's disease and what can be done to promote research and help those affected with it.
To learn more about the film and Alzheimer's, please visit this link about them both: https://mybrain.alz.org/still-alice.asp
About: Doe is a female-fronted, punk band from London. They are sure to bring you a lot of energy, new sounds, and fun. They like feminism, horror films and brown beer.
"We knew the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love, and even death, and that our job was merely to create the noise that seemed to fascinate them."
What image comes to mind when you think of someone who has a mental illness?
Yr Not Sad, You Just Want Attention by artist PJ Barker invites further questioning into the misunderstood teenage neurosis. Often, we assume that because a person looks a particular way, they must feel a specific way as well. Or, because of a person’s age, race, or gender, they are somehow incapable of feeling the true depth of certain emotions; thus resulting in harmful stereotypes such as the “overly emotional” teenage girl. Rather than treating mental disorders for what they are—normal occurrences as prevalent as the common cold—those afflicted are dismissed, shunned, and invalidated.
Jackie is a fitness specialist and pizza enthusiast. She is currently a Masters student in Health Science and a collegiate and youth soccer coach. Someday, she will have her life somewhat figured out. Until then, she will continue to challenge herself to work, love, and have a healthy life. Follow Jackie for weekly challenges that get you moving, eating, and out of your comfort zone!
'Wild' is a film based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed, portrayed by ReeseWitherspoon, and focuses on her journey to independently hike over a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail at the age of 26. Strayed decided to take on this journey in 1995 after she hit a personal low point brought on by her own destructive behavior and the death of her mother. She started out on the trail in the Mojave desert with no previous experience, too large of a backpack, too small of a pair of shoes, and no idea of what she was getting herself into, but she felt compelled to do it in hopes of self discovery and closure from the hauntings of her past.
Reese Witherspoon was struck by Strayed’s powerful story after reading her memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, and decided to adapt it into a movie through her production company ‘Pacific Standard’. She has since claimed it was “the hardest movie” she’s ever made—but not without recognition. ‘Wild’ has been nominated for multiple prestigious awards, 9 of them for Witherspoon’s performance, as well as Academy Award nominations for Witherspoon in the Best Actress category and Laura Dern in the Best Supporting Actress category. A fun fact I came across is that Cheryl Strayed makes a cameo appearance in ‘Wild’ as the woman who drops off Witherspoon’s character at a hotel in the beginning, and Strayed’s daughter in real life plays Cheryl at a younger age in the film.
Aside from strong, emotionally moving performances, another aspect that stood out in the film is how it is structured. The story of Strayed is told by primarily focusing on her journey hiking the PCT, yet it also features non-linear flash backs to her past. This approach allows the viewer to look into her troubled past and understand the complex relationships she has had (especially with her mother and ex-husband), her addictions, her loss, and ultimately what brought her to this venture on the PCT.
'Wild' spends a good portion of the film portraying Strayed's backpacking trip as she pushes herself to endure the physical challenges of such an endeavor, and also features the people and animals she meets on the way. Of the several people she meets, one reporter (who is convinced she is a female hobo) tries to exploit her for an article he is writing, but most of them offer her a helpful hand in some way or another. Despite all of the possible personal, physical, and environmental dangers that could have happened to her along her journey, it was her encounter with two disquieting hunters (one more than the other) that Witherspoon seemed to express fear. This struck me as a powerful statement.
The film itself has gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback, and Witherspoon has received many emails and messages from fans of the movie expressing their appreciation of Strayed’s story being shared on a platform that has allowed so many more people to relate to her personal self discovery and healing. I hope to see more stories about strong women surface in the film industry that can help inspire more people to actively pursue what they want despite any odds against them, like Cheryl Strayed, and be self starters like Reese Witherspoon. I’m intrigued to see what Witherspoon and her production company will be working on next.
whether the comment is aggressive or not, women have the right to exist in public spaces without our looks being evaluated by strange men. compliment or not, i didn’t ask you. i’m just walking. leave me alone.
I grew up in a small town, half the size of the University I now attend. On top of that, my house was on the main road, which I had to cross if I ever wanted to hang out with someone my age. So, from a very young age, I spent a lot of time outside. I drove my mother crazy by trying to eat every single thing in the yard. Being a supportive mother, she would use her field guides to identify each plant and intercept before it got down my gullet, if need be. This, combined with a garden of intentionally edible plants and a healthy family distrust of industries, led to my interest in medicinal plants. Fast forward a few years, and I’m about to graduate college with a bachelor’s degree in ecology, so it’s safe to say I’m very much embedded in the world of science.
And I find myself embarrassed to tell most of my classmates about my interest in natural medicine. And this does not come from a diminished belief in their efficacy, hell, a lot of common medicines came from plants (ever heard of aspirin, or valium? So don’t tell me that they’re ineffective). No, this desire to stay quiet comes from a frustration with having people at best assume I’m joking, and at worst take me less seriously as an intelligent scientist, merely because I am aligning myself with something that has non-Western scientific based evidence. There is this overriding opinion in the scientific community that the only way to prove something true is through Western scientific practice, and no other forms of knowledge count for anything. I find this point of view to be horribly stifling to what I see as the purpose of science – to understand the world around us. Now, I’m not trying to say that all traditional knowledge is inherently true (you probably shouldn’t start using crocodile dung as a contraceptive) but traditional knowledge systems have a whole lot of generations of observations on science, and they can definitely yield some really fascinating, and incredibly useful information. This amazing wealth of knowledge should not be ignored, shunned, or mocked, but rather explored and celebrated. And I should not be made to feel that my interests in studying nutrient uptake in trees and medicinal properties of herbs are at odds with each other.
Alexis Lanza is trying to learn how to love herself like a plant. She is about to graduate Ithaca College with a degree in Film, Photography, and Visual Arts and has no idea where she will end up next. She has a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, sleek brown dogs, and geometric line tattoos. Alexis has recently been trekking through years of body shaming, belittlement, and ridicule for her size and is hoping to further question these issues through personal writing, drawing, and reflecting. She is looking forward to what other contributors share and is looking forward to having Strung Outt as a safe place.
Follow her on instagram @wheat_paste, and see all her posts here.
About: Bringing it back to the 1970s. Joni Mitchell is a goddess of the 70s in my opinion. Court and Spark is a beautiful album that runs together, song after song, in such a mesmerizing way. If you don’t know her, get to know her.
We found that, upon exposure to sexist humor, men higher in sexism discriminated against women by allocating larger funding cuts to a women’s organization than they did to other organizations.
We also found that, in the presence of sexist humor, participants believed the other participants would approve of the funding cuts to women’s organizations. We believe this shows that humorous disparagement creates the perception of a shared standard of tolerance of discrimination that may guide behavior when people believe others feel the same way.
The research indicates that people should be aware of the prevalence of disparaging humor in popular culture, and that the guise of benign amusement or “it’s just a joke” gives it the potential to be a powerful and widespread force that can legitimize prejudice in our society
Thomas E. Ford, professor of psychology at Western Carolina University (via albinwonderland)
Why I Take Butt Selfies: A Dedication to my Derrière
Hello, Strung Outt Z!ne! Let me beginby locating myself. My name is Carson Jordan. I’m a white, bi, feminist, liberal arts college student/writer/daughter/sister/friend/partner with a sassy, confrontational attitude and a plump butt. In the past six months, I have began a tasty, booty-ful journey with my body. After working a Thai restaurant and gaining a little more weight than I would have liked (although it is worth it for all that Pad See Ew) something really strange happened. Instead of feeling bad about my body, I started to actively feel good. Everyday I would appreciate how fat I’d gotten, because a) that means my body is working correctly, b) I never felt unhealthy, and c) I loved how I looked. I had always been intrigued and inspired by the #honormycurves and #effyourbodystandards movements on Instagram, and had decided to participate in a public display of body positivity and create my own movement for myself: The Butt Selfie. A butt selfie is a (semi)tasteful picture of ones booty/body that encompasses a notion of confidence and a little “I don’t give a fuck” attitude.
I hadn't thought about my pictures as activism, until women around me started telling me how much I inspired their journeys—whether through butt selfies, or loving their body. I think what’s important, at the end of the day. At the end of the day, I love my body because it functions. I love my body because it loves me back. I love my body because it’s brave. Sometimes, people are frustrated with me. “My boyfriend would never let me do that!” or “What if a future employer sees that?” I am living in the now. My partner doesn’t own my body. Sometimes, taking a good ol’ fashion butt selfie can turn a bad day around. I can want positive reinforcement for my body anytime.
I think a lot about my history as a woman when people tell me I inspire them. I wasn’t always confident, and I didn’t always want to shine brightly with my booty on the internet. Throughout my “coming of age” at sixteen, I was horribly harassed by a girl who hated me for, as my friends and family said, being pretty, I was physically abused by a boyfriend who called me a whore, I was anti-social, depressed, and hiding behind my own brightness. This is my coming of age, as a 21 year old. As an adult. You can reinvent yourself at any age. Those early years of development don't define anyone.
Somedays I wake up and don’t like my body. Somedays I wake up and feel like #bodypositivity on Instagram is EXTREMELY thin, EXTREMELY flat bellied, and EXTREMELY normative. Sometimes I feel like no one out there looks like me, and therefore my survival as a bigger woman will be harder. Sometimes, I think about how I should consider women bigger than me, who might feel marginalized by my #bodypositivity. Somedays I wake up and feel like hot shit. I wake up feeling like #IWokeUpLikeThis or #YouWishIWasYourPoundCake. Somedays I wake up and think that I should be working out everyday and only eating carrots. Somedays I’m perfectly content eating Pad Thai in my underwear at noon on a Friday. I give my body credit for letting me love it, through all of these up and downs.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, I would like to put out a call to all of you. Love your body publicly. Love it privately. Get a tattoo. Wear a cute outfit. Put glitter on or gem your face. You’re hot shit. You are beautiful. Your booty is fab.
titsay
pixelskylines
andulkaphoto
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
kaledo-art
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
