When I was in third grade, I thought my sisters Tumblr was the coolest thing ever.
Even today, I still kinda think my sisters Tumblr is the coolest thing ever.
   People make fun of Tumblr, as if it’s a place only for either the type to slit their wrist and listen to MCR or the picture perfect Urban Outfitters aesthetic.  But its really not just that. I personally go on Tumblr when I need a good laugh or if I’m in need of inspiration.  Generally, I’ve always really loved it and I believe it’s a whole lot less toxic and unhealthy than a lot of other social media.
But the shit I’m about to tell you about right now…it’s a little wack.
I got an email from Tumblr a few days ago with the subject:
"Update Russian-linked activity on Tumblr"
Update? Um… I had no knowledge of this in the first place. This is an alert!
The email goes on:

"As part of our commitment to transparency, we want you to know that we uncovered and terminated 84 accounts linked to Internet Research Agency or IRA (a group closely tied to the the Russian government) posing as members of the Tumblr community.
The IRA engages in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. When we uncovered these accounts, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts.
While investigating their activity on Tumblr, we discovered that you either followed one of these accounts linked to the IRA, or liked or reblogged one of their posts:"

Electronic propaganda? AM I A GATEWAY TO HACKING OUR GOVERNMENT.  Did that 5SOS meme I reblogged unlock some secrets?  I am contributing to…to…TERRORISM??????????
After they sent this paragraph they included names of some of the accounts and let me tell you that they are funny as hell.  I’m not going to write them though because honestly, I’m terrified.
The nice people at Tumblr reassured me that I didn’t accidentally contribute to any federal crimes and stated,
"You aren’t in trouble, and don’t need to take any action if you don’t want to. We deleted the accounts but decided to leave up any reblog chains so that you can curate your own Tumblr to reflect your own personal views and perspectives.
Democracy requires transparency and an informed electorate and we take our disclosure responsibility very seriously. We’ll be aggressively watching for disinformation campaigns in the future, take the appropriate action, and make sure you know about it."

What I love about Tumblr is that I don’t go on it for social purposes and it’s not about who I follow…its purely about their content. These spies however, (or whatever you want to call them) are taking advantage of that. They take advantage that no one’s really looking at who they are in the first place, and in all seriousness, that makes me sad.
 

   The last time I was excited to watch the news was 4 years ago, when I was in the 7th grade.  Almost everyday that October, a new Banksy mural or public art piece was found.  Each piece had New Yorkers flooding in excitement just to get a glance.  I have been infatuated with him ever since.
If you don’t know who Banksy is, you’re not alone.  The political street artist has managed to keep his identity a secret from the public and even the police.  All we really know is that he is around 44, from England and is extremely charitable.
We can also infer that he has a lot of money.  It takes money to ensure people stay quiet, and there is no way he could accomplish anything in secret alone.  He also has had people openly working with him, like at his 2015 temporary art installation (featuring work from other artists as well): a “bemusemnt” park called Dismaland in England.  It was filled with unhappy and monotone employees and pieces that represented a gruesome and sinister twist on Disney stories or characters. (I highly suggest looking up pictures. Fun Fact: My grandfather went and sent me Dismaland shirts in which I am keeping in pristine condition). But I am not here to educate you on the history of Banksy, I’m here to talk about how he is back in New York.
   On Thursday, March 16th, Banksy painted a mural of Turkish artist Zehra Dogan.  Zehra has been in prison for one of her watercolor paintings that depicts the destruction being done to a Kurdish town in Turkey. Three days ago on Instagram , Banksy posted her picture and captioned “One year ago Zehra Dogan was jailed for painting this watercolor of a photograph she saw in the newspaper. Protest against this injustice by regramming her painting and tagging Turkey’s President Erdogan @rterdogan #FREEzehradogan”.
The mural is a collection of slash marks, representing the days Zehra has spent in prison so far, as well as appearing as jail bars. In one set of 5, we see a portrait of Zehra looking out from behind them. If you look closely, the bar she is holding is actually a pencil.
The mural, which is a collaboration between Banksy and NYC street artist Borf, is brilliant to say the least.
Zehra apparently has no knowledge of the mural, but it’s a wonderful thing that everyone else does

You can find this mural (hopefully) still on Houston & Bowery.
Take a photo, share it.
Find a photo, share it.
Everyone should know of this injustice.

“This is a movie about a family, compassion, transmission of knowledge, of being better people because someone’s otherness changes you”.
    This is a quote from brilliant director Luca Guadagnino, in which sums up Call Me By Your Name in the best way possible.  And in terms of the 90th academy awards, this is my pick for best movie.
     Everything about this film completely inspired me.  Between the magnificent cinematography, the indolent yet eternally nostalgic atmosphere created, the perfectly captured giddiness and intensity of a first love, the fluidity between all of the characters and the honest performances of the actors...it is entirely brilliant.
My favorite characteristic however, had to be the empathy the movie yields out of the audience.
     The film takes place in 1983 “Somewhere in Northern Italy”, (filmed actually in Cremona, Italy) at a boy, Elio, and his family’s paradise-like villa.  We are immediately introduced to the American graduate student, Oliver, coming to study under Elio’s father, an archeologist.  As the story goes on, we see Elio and Oliver’s relationship go from one of butting heads and mutual intimidation to one of love, passion and risk.
     Timothee Chalamet (a graduate from my high school actually!), as Elio, is spot on.  He is perfectly naïve and confused, yet the whole time you somehow believe he is sure of what he wants.  Chalamet was a teenager when he filmed this, and I genuinely wish to see more of that in the movie industry.  There is nothing that compares to a teenager portraying a teenager onscreen.  In an interview with Newsweek.com, Chalamet explains “within the context of the story this character plays all his cards and reveals his hand to the person of interest” and later adds, “There’s nothing wrong with opening up and playing your cards.  In fact, sometimes it can be an attractive and beautiful thing”.
     Armie Hammer, who plays Oliver, is the perfect distinctive mix of charming, enticing and even sometimes bumptious man, that is described in the 2007 novel. (Which I am currently reading). 
     However the brightest star of this movie is the father, actor Michael Stuhlbarg.  He is probably one of the best actors I’ve seen in which I actually had to look up their name.  I can’t say much without spoiling anything, but his evolution in character is remarkable and one to covet.
One important thing about this movie is that it is the first movie  I’ve seen that displays a homosexual relationship but that is not about the struggles of homosexuality in society.  Of course it hints on it, between the let going of hands in public and the…well I’m not going to say it (spoiler).  However, you don’t think in terms of gender when you watch this, you feel like you are just watching an extrodinary love story (as it should be).  In an interview with Armie Hammer for MTV News, he explained
“I think there’s a great element to this movie, where no one pays for being gay. There’s no punishment. Nobody gets sick, nobody has a wife they have to tell, there’s no family drama. It’s nothing like that, it’s just two people who expose themselves and make themselves vulnerable to someone else and that person receives and does the same…and it’s just a beautiful thing to watch happen”.

Please watch this movie if you haven’t, and let me know what you think.
Fingers crossed for tonight.

Always, 
Caroline Meade
 

 
 
 SOURCES:
Newsweek.com
Imdb.com
YouTube.com
Scroll.in
Thegaurdian.com