Wednesday 25 February 2015

The USA Gun Culture



      

This document is the poster of a campaign, the Brady Campaign, against gun violence, and also gun carrying in the USA. The Brady Campaign started for about 40 years ago, and was named after James "Jim" Brady who had a major role in the developmemt of the campaign. Its aim is to prevent gun violence and has, up to now, achieved in passing the Brady law that instituted federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States. 

This poster shows a modern gun in which we see the US waving flag, and above it a short text in which we see the number of people murdered by guns in one year, showing a huge difference between the numbers in the US, 9'000 people killed, and the other mentioned countries, thet doesn't surpass the 200. 
I believe that this poster wants to show the concequences of having the completly free right to hold or buy a gun in the US, which are the death of thousands of people each year, and even if it's a huge country these numbers are too big. Life is something dear to each individual and something that we should try to protect and if we leave guns within easy reach it becomes more of a danger than a protection. 
The phrase "GOD BLESS AMERICA" is quite ironical, because it is critizising the stubborness of Americans that hold onto their gun culture having blind eyes to the damage it causes, it seems like it's saying "there are too much people dying by guns in the US but even so we are the best country in the world."


In comparison to the same poster of  2004, we can see 2 main differences, the gun has changed and the number of deaths has lowered. We can consider this as a positive thing and we can think that this campaign is progessing in its aim to reduce deaths by guns by having more sensible gun laws so as to save lives.


In this graph we can see that the USA is not on the Top 10 countries with the highest rate of gun murders, but it is too close as the 26th. We could consider this as a positive thing, it is not the 1st one. But it is only surpased by undeveloped countries with lots of violence and guerillas, and as the leading world power, this is quit schoking. On the graph of the right side we can see that inside the rating of the developed countries The USA is far above the others. We can recognize that the USA is seen as a kind of model crountry for those whose values are freedom and equality, and also security, which in this case the USA does not assure. This difference between the USA and the other developed countries rise concerns about this US Gun Culture.



This cartoon is a caricature that critizise the congress atitude towards the gun culture issue. In this cartoon we see that there has been a bloodshed in the capitol, probably due to gun shooting. At the entrace there is a man representing the congress being bought off by the gun lobby. The cartoonist critizises the congres's attitude towars the issues and victims that the free use of guns that happen because of the too easy access to guns. It is more interested by money than by the people's safety, and completely ignore the blood river that comes from the capitol.



In this cartoon we can see a critic to how the second amendment of the United States constitution is being overused in the USA. We can see a clear difference between what meant the founding fathers in giving the right to own a gun and the result of it. In this cartoon we see a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association), equiped with three rifles, holding various guns, and standing on boxes of bullets. The cartoon critizises that USA citizens abuse the rights that gives them the second amendment and end up been dangerous more than having a way to prtotect themselves. In comparison with the statue of the man with a rifle the NRA man scares more than making us feel secure, which is the image that gives us the statue.

Sunday 1 February 2015

Korean Wave - K-Pop (& K-Dramas)






K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop, 케이팝 (kei-pap)) is a musical genre originated in South Korea, it refers to all genres of "popular music" but it is more often used to refer to a modern form of pop music such as dance-poppop ballad, electronic, rock, metal, hip-hop music and R&B. The French audiovisual organization Institut national de l'audiovisuel defines K-pop as a fusion of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits combining with the musical elements of electrodiscorockR&B, and hip-hop
It is part of the Korean Wave (a neologism refering to the increase in popularity in South Korean culture since the 1990s, also known as Hallyu), which started with the spreading of K-dramas all around Asia and becoming a global phenomenon due to the spreading of K-pop music videos on YouTube. Also part of this Korean Wave are the language, technology (smartphones and automobiles) animated comics and films, and the cuisine. 



We could say K-pop officialy started with a band called Seo Taiji & Boys, created in 1992All along the 19th century Western culture arrived at Korea through the perfomances of artists like Louis Armstrong and Marilyn Monroe for the U.S. soldiers in Korea, after the Korean War. Little by little, the wersten culture influenced Korean culture and different music bands started to emerge. Seo Taiji & Boys brought a turning point in the hirtory of K-pop because they dealt with the problems of Koren society. They paved the way for the "success format" of K-pop songs by creating a change in the music industry of South Korea. As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become a common practice in the K-pop industry. Thanks to Youtube and other social networking services, K pop has created a enormus mass of fans, for instance in 2013 there were 987 fan clubs with 9.3 million members. According to a 2011 survey conducted by the Korean Culture and Information Service, the total number of active members in Hallyu (Korean Wave) fan clubs around the world is estimated to have surpassed 3 million for the first time. Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music market has experienced double digit growth rates and it is mostly present in Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, Northeast India, Eastern Europe, ... For example in 2011 France had over 100,000 number of hallyu fans.

Personally, I'm a fan of K-pop since 2011, and it really liked it when I discovered it. Since the I've been listening to different K-pop songs, and I could say one of my favorite bands is SHINee, among others like EXO, SNSD, Super Junior, ...




In addition to this, as I'm talking about the Korean Wave, I would like to say one or two things about the K-dramas, that in some way was the trigger of it all.

K-dramas refers to televised dramas in the Korean language, made in South Korea, mostly in a miniseries format, with distinctive features that set it apart from regular Western television series or soap operas. Korean dramas can be set in contemporary times or in historical settings. There are different genres that apply to these two types, from romantic comedies and action series to fusion science fiction dramas. South Korea started braodcatisng tv series in the 1960s but the actual dramas started in the 1990s. Korean dramas are popular worldwide, partially due to the spread of the Korean wave, with streaming services that offer multiple language subtitles. Some of the most famous dramas have been broadcast via traditional television channels; for example, Dae Jang Geum (2003) was sold to 91 countries.

Music plays an important role in Korean dramas. Original soundtracks, abbreviated OST, are explicitly made for each series, and in contrast to American series, fans have a need to buy the soundtrack album of dramas. This trend started in the 1990s, when producers swapped purely instrumental soundtracks for songs performed by popular K-pop singers. Tom Larsen, director of YA Entertainment, a distributor of Korean TV series, thinks that Korean soundtracks are polished enough musically to be considered standalone hits.


These are some of the dramas I have seen and liked:


                                           Gu Family Book                                                     Faith                                                                                                                                                                                           My Girlfriend is a Gumiho
             


Some well known actors:


Lee Joon-gi                        Park Shin-hye                               Lee Minho 
Lee Jun Ki 2009 JapanFM Press Conference.jpg             

 Lee Seung-gi                  Kim Soo-hyun