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Issue 1
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Contents
Welcome to The Insiter Monthly! With three magazines published and distributed during the scholastic year, us at Insite want to do more and work more. So here you go! Insite is now publishing an online monthly magazine for all of you.
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If you want to visit Bucharest, you’re a fan (or not) of political satire, or you are one who gets stuck in traffic...a lot, then this magazine is for you! Without further ado – turn to the next page and start reading! Nicole Borg Publications Officer
Contents
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3 The City of Beautiful Chaos 6 Satire: Not Just A Reaction to Political Apathy, But A Solution 8 Stop Wasting Time 8 Executive Committee
Writers and Photographers
Matthew Charles Zammit Claudio Agius Kristina Saliba Rebecca Elizabeth Kemp
Johann Agius Matthew Charles Zammit Giulia Nicosia
Administrative Team
Federico Barbaro-Sant Siobhan Vassallo Nicole Borg Elisa Calleja Cyrielle Delmas
Deborah Faye Mercieca Jessica Arena Johann Agius Matthew Debattista Dionne Taryn Gatt Melissa McElhatton Sara Ezabe 2
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Media Team
Cover Photo © Michelle Trapani 2014
Magazine Design Elisa Calleja
Travel
THE CITY OF BEAUTIFUL CHAOS Johann Agius We all have our own perceptions of countries we have not yet visited. Most often they would be quite stereotypical, basing our judgment on a mixture of pop culture, internet or other media means, and of course from hearing our friends’ past experiences. Prior to my trip to Bucharest in October, a number of mindless comments were uttered by people with whom I shared my wanderlust excitement, as my ears were graced with expressions such as “Why would you go there if not for the clubbing?” or “Just make sure
they don’t steal anything from you”. In my opinion, in such situations, a better choice of words would be “Oh that sounds cool, tell me more about it when you come back”, implying that I do not know enough about that country and would not like to rely just on Trip Advisor ratings. With a population of almost 2 million, the Romanian capital city is extremely unique in many ways but simultaneously I did not find it difficult at all to get used to the Bucharest lifestyle and atmosphere. I ultimately realized
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Travel
Oh that sounds cool, tell me more about it when you come back
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that the very good traditional cuisine, extraordinary architecture at every corner and very helpful locals are all one needs for a memorable experience abroad, and that is exactly what I got from spending a few days in Bucharest. Being a student with a relatively low budget for flights, lodging, shopping and eating out can make it generally challenging to fork out money for a holiday, but this is not really the case with Bucharest. Using Romanian lei can be slightly abnormal in the beginning, especially in that the conversion of €1 euro is equivalent to over 4 Romanian lei, but prices in the city are truly inexpensive. A perfect example would be Caru Cu’ Bere, a huge pub in central Bucharest with a rustic interior similar to a medieval church, which offers delicious student meals for ridiculously low prices.
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Determined to fill our stomachs as much as possible during our stay, me and my friends tried any traditional foodstuffs we could get our hands on. I would definitely suggest trying dishes such as Romanian stews, their most popular side plate polenta and the desert extravaganza known as papanasi. Placinta, which is thin pastry in square form, also deserve a mention since it is arguably Romania’s superior answer to the pies we all know and love. If there is one must-see landmark in Bucharest it has to be the Palace of the Parliament, with over 1000 rooms each richly beautiful in design and decoration, including countless crystal chandeliers. The tour available to visitors is substantially informative and impressive, with a perfectly astonishing conclusion whereby the guide states that the tour has only covered 3% of the surface area of the Palace, which is in fact both the largest and most expensive administrative building in the world. Regrettably, due to the bad weather conditions during the few days our group was
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Travel
...beautiful city of colourful chaos and exquisite food...
in Romania, we did not manage to visit the Bran Castle in Transylvania, also known as the location linked to the legend of Dracula. The organized hustle and bustle of this Eastern European city is in itself quite remarkable. Yellow taxis flood the streets together with countless buses and trams, and there is additionally the option to travel via underground, which I have to say is even more efficient and simple to use in comparison to the system of minding the gap in London.
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Not visiting this beautiful city of colourful chaos and exquisite food, merely on the basis of the negative connotations which tend to pollute the land of the Romanesque, actually sounds quite devastating.
I do realize I am being hugely positive and highpraising about anything related to Bucharest, but this is mostly because we were not exposed to the sad state of poverty and economic deficiency in others parts of the country, although we did occasionally encounter a wake-up call in the form of a homeless person whilst passing by the never ending amount of Starbucks coffee shops. If you are now convinced, or in the least slightly interested, in including Bucharest to your travel wish list, equip yourself with a good camera and let that be your top priority as opposed to making sure you are not pickpocketed.
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Satire
SATIRE: Not Just A Reaction to Political Apathy, But A Solution Matthew Charles Zammit If you’re an American Horror Story fan, your daily ritual every Thursday morning is to find a sweet corner somewhere on Campus or outside, with good enough wi-fi and with the least human interaction necessary, to watch the newest episode. Doctor Who fans, on the other hand, have the luxury that they can view their episode as early as Sunday morning in the comfort of their home. And if you don’t get your weekly dose of TV heroin, chances are you’ll feel empty and devoid of any purpose, like a king without a castle, a bicycle without a chain, or a Top Gear episode without Jeremy Clarkson (sniff). Well, my guilty pleasure is also on a Monday morning, where I get to make myself comfortable, possibly sipping on a hot cup of coffee on the sofa. My preferred choice of drug, however, is not fictional in any sense of the word. Heck, it’s not a TV series per se, but rather a current-affairs-meets-comedy program, run by a British person living in the US and talking about mostly US current affairs. Oh, and he’s also a Liverpool supporter, poor sod.
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Yes, this is my guilty pleasure ladies and gents: I follow John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight more religiously than most churchgoers follow mass. I always get to watch every new episode at least twice so I get to digest successfully everything being discussed, and form my own opinions about the subject (even though I may not completely agree with all the points being brought forward in the show, such a situation is unashamedly an exception to the rule). Oliver is by far not the most prominent TV personality to create such a successful formula of matching politics with comedy: Oliver’s mentor, Jon Stewart, together with other celebrities like Colbert or Larry Wilmore, had been involved in creating relatively-similar content for years, even decades. Somewhat expectedly, they’ve come under serious scrutiny and criticism all throughout their tenure. Yet, anyone dismissing such programs as simply “products of comedy” without any purpose to them is unfortunately missing the whole point of satire.
Satire In Malta, we can unabashedly say that such a concept of political satire has yet to hit the mainstream media in a successful manner, which is a shame. Although multiple attempts have been made to provide such a satirical outlook to politics, such as this gem which I really adored to bits, and this cringeworthy Oliver wannabe that made me puke in my mouth, nothing really has seemed to stick long enough to make a hit. However, a more probable explanation might be connected to an inherent characteristic of proper satire: Its ability to provoke. The power of satire is two-fold, with the first tour de force being its ability to present an alternate version of the truth that is less colour-coded ideologically than others intend to. There are always multiple versions of the truth, as my Press Law lecturer made sure we’d understand in our very first lecture on the subject, and proper satire may use absurd or imaginative ways to bring about a message or situation awareness. John Oliver uses this for televisive effect in most of his shows (his “Church of Perpetual Exemption” segment being a case in point), while Italia Uno’s Le Iene has been a mainstay of primetime TV for years now, without ever losing its ferocious satirical bite. Such a method can also be used in other media, such as Charlie Hebdo’s now-notorious caricature which made waves weeks ago. However the essential and most intriguing part of satirical comedy is its pull factor: Multiple studies and articles have been made in this regard, arguing that even if the polls show ever-constant decrease in youth political participation, such satire, if used properly, can actually generate a healthier, more informed and a more pluralistic discussion on a wide-range of topics, by engaging the respective audience in a way not possible without the existence of such satire.
Think about it: No amount of satire, no matter how well-executed or well-intentioned, ever received a unanimous applause from all members of its audience, and the reason is that satire always aims to provoke a certain individual or segment as part of its criticism. You cannot expect to take the piss out of a certain political party, especially in Malta, without expecting a herd of acolytes rushing to the defence of said party or individuals as a counter-measure. Start with petty University politics and go up the ladder to the highest echelons of power, the usual reaction to any sort of satire is either bombastic criticism and/or an inability to refrain from issuing another response and dig their own grave. Or, as an acquaintance once put it: “Satire writing itself.” Maybe it’s high time to change our mentality to such satire. Or maybe I’m being too optimistic over here...
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Traffic
Stop wasting time Giulia Nicosia The element in everyday life capable of breaking any type of barrier – time, distance, culture, society, and language – should be the element of hope for a more united world. Unless you enjoy struggling against time every morning, you probably agree that traffic is not a beneficial global luxury. It is one of the largest issues around the globe extending from the Big Apple, across all industrialized countries, including our tiny rock. Thanks to many years of common experience, we all know that traffic has a large negative impact on our everyday life, however, what concerns me most is the lack of efficient solutions. Traffic impacts us in many ways. Apart from increasing our stress levels, and testing our patience, it brings about health related 8
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issues as well. The most threatening ones are those we are likely not aware of; the invisible effects which slowly but surely impact our health and the well-being of our planet. Air pollution is, in fact, one of the biggest consequences of traffic. It has been recorded by the World Health Organization that in 2012, 7 million people died as a result of air pollution exposure. It is such a pity that we keep on ignoring the growth of what is our ruin unfolding around us.Instead of complaining about unorganised road systems, everyone should start committing themselves to find alternative ways of transportation. Avoiding traffic reduces mortality rates, levels of stress and improves our well-being throughout a regular
Traffic
The answer is: Laziness
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day. So why is traffic increasing continuously? The answer is: laziness. For instance; travelling by bike reduces traffic, decreases air pollution, increases our circulation, and helps us to involuntary achieve the fit body we always dreamed of. Isn’t that what we always wanted? Eat, and burn it without being aware of its occurrence. Unfortunately the Maltese population is known to be one of the laziest and I think the main reason behind it is that instead of waking up an hour earlier to use an alternative means of transport, we wake up last minute, reach for our car keys and head to the door. While public transport in Malta constantly reminds us that waiting for endless hours is a must, patience comes to our rescue. It is a key element which helps us to suppress the constant upcoming thoughts: ‘if I start running to another bus stop, I may be on time’ or ‘maybe I can catch the next bus, stop closer, catch another one and then walk’. When finally the ‘right’ decision is made, the bus promptly passes right beside you five minutes later. If public transport would function in an organized manner, less people would
need to use their car and more people would ‘take a leap of faith’ and trust the public transport with their time. However, considering the inefficiency of our public transportation system, this is far from being a reality. Despite the fact that the system has changed various times, he efficiency is still a big issue. Time itineraries are barely respected and people are forced to choose between two options: arriving at their destination either too late or too early. Since important appointments or lectures can’t rely on a 50% probability of the bus being on time, the use of cars is much more frequent. With our hopes in an effective public transport system dying, we need to find alternative solutions. Alternating cars according to their number plates - odd or even - seems a plausible solution already adopted in other countries such as Italy. Another solution would be reducing the number of cars per family. If the number of vehicles keeps on increasing every year, the situation will become unbearable with pollution and health issues rising proportionally. Solutions need to be undertaken unless we want to waste our time or end up having lectures and meetings in the middle of the road via smartphones.
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