March 2020 Issue
International School of Florence
Volume 8, Issue 4
A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
Dear readers, As you all know, we are living in difficult times. The Coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the normalcy of our daily lives, shutting down almost every aspect of Italian society, school included. Because of this, the Tuskan Times staff has been unable to work with the efficiency and timeliness we strive for with each and every one of our issues, which has drastically slowed down our publishing process. Nevertheless, we have decided to go ahead and publish an issue in this quarantined month of March, albeit with articles that were destined for publishing several weeks ago. We sincerely hope you enjoy, and that the pieces featured in this edition of the Tuskan Times help you reflect as well as take your mind off of our current situation. Sincerely, The Editors of the Tuskan Times
What’s in this issue? PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES, 1 WHAT HAPPENED TO MUSIC? , 3 ISF CAFE FROM TERRIBLE, TO GREAT TO “OKAY”, 4 THE HEROES OF TODAY, 5 HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY, 6 A RECAP OF THE 2020 SAN REMO MUSIC FESTIVAL , 7 IN MEMORY OF KIRK DOUGLAS, 8 PARASITE: FINCTION OR FACT, 10 IS MOSES BACK?, 12
STAFF Editor-in-Chief Niccolò Platt Co-Editor Giulia Oosterwijk Omid Sheikh Peter Wood Layout Editor Greta Fischer
Artists Greta Fischer Dajanique Bonner Advisor John Pitonzo Front cover by Greta Fischer Back cover by Dajenique Bonner
PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES By Coco Li
My country is sick. China is fighting the new virus that is on everyone's lips: COVID-19. It is the first time that I feel like my family and country are in danger, and I am scared. My father is in China and in a dangerous situation, because our city, Wengzhou, is the second most infected city in China. I am very worried about him. I am very worried about China. I am worrying about everything.
If the local government had given more importance to it, and regularly reported the real situation concerning the virus, then people might have been more vigilant, and COVID-19 wouldn't have spread as quickly or as much We have all read the statistics and the news concerning the coronavirus, however, we often
How did this all start? The government officially states that the coronavirus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan, where people illegally sell wild animals and there is a huge lack of hygiene. When it was discovered in December, the government did not pay much attention to it, and did not take action initially; as a result, it rapidly spread.
forget to put ourselves in the shoes of the people most affected. The fear of coronavirus has fueled racism towards the Chinese in the world and on the internet. Countless Chinese have been discriminated against. I was one of them. On the 29th of January, I was with a friend in Prato. We were walking around enjoying each other's company until we saw a couple of guys about my age. What happened next is something I will never forget: two tall, angry Italians saw us coming and shouted, “‘Sti cinesi con il virus andatevene via!” which translates to “Chinese with the virus go away!” At which point we walked away.
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But the two Italians followed us, and as they passed us, they covered their nose and mouth with their jacket and said: “You stupid Chinese are disgusting, you eat dogs and now you are dying for it. China is going to die. You deserve it.”
At least this way, those who are suffering will not struggle in loneliness, and get as much support as possible
I tried responding, but with an extremely shaky voice - I was very scared and upset.
From this disaster, I suppose we all have understood that humans are so vulnerable and so easily defeated in the face of Nature. We should think about this and learn from it. We have to change. We should care more about hygiene and respect nature, the environment, and the Earth more. At this time, we need more kindness, care, and understanding between people. We need to understand the people who are fighting for us. Although they are sometimes impatient, rude in words and deeds, the pressure on them is several times higher than it is on us at home. This disease has really reflected the kindness and unexpected strength of the Chinese people. In the face of this relentless virus, we will overcome it together with each other’s support.
There are too many similar stories occurring now. Alone we cannot do anything about it. We can only share our experiences and not be afraid to speak up for each other. All my Chinese friends who attend Italian public schools have all gone through similar or worse experiences.
As Unicef said: Stop the fear-mongering. Stop the stigmatization. Stop the repudiation Stop the prejudices Stop the bullying Stop the hatred Stop the slurs Stay human
I can’t talk about it in front of people, because I am not a “strong” person. I cry when I talk about it, when I read those little help posts, and when I look at the videos of doctors sending the
This is not a suffering we can end now, but a suffering we can experience, and face, together.
Showing the goodness of human nature, suppressing the evil that is ever lurking beneath the surface, not believing in rumors, and supporting each other -- this is the direction we should all work towards. Be grateful for the people who fight for us and be grateful that we have each other.
Because we are global citizens. 中国加油 温州加油 武汉加油 ⼤家 加油！
last letter to their families. I hope that the pain can be seen, the call resounded, and that more people understand what is happening.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO MUSIC? By Camelia Pallanti
We’re living in an age of technological developments, in which a programme on your phone can predict your music taste through an algorithm. The music we listen to is a result of exposure to this algorithm. This has significantly impacted music itself and the way we listen to it, causing it to become more standardized and less diverse. To gain a deeper understanding of the trends in modern music, I interviewed several ISF students to find out what their musical taste is. Barbara Mastrangelo, a freshman, said that one of her most listened to artists this year was Ultimo. Ultimo is an Italian pop singer/songwriter who won the Sanremo music contest in 2018. She said she likes listening to him because: "His songs say what's on my mind and are nice to listen to." Another group Barbara likes to listen to are The Vamps. She started listening to them in 4th grade, and still turns to them every once in a while for the nostalgia, although "funnily enough they relate to what [her] life is like currently.” A sophomore who wished to remain anonymous said: "I can say for sure that modern hip hop is one of the best representations of hip hop, if not, the greatest one. You can catch almost everyone in our generation listening to artists like Roddy Rich, Drake, Migos, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, and all the other Lils in the world. If you go on the music trending page, 90% of it is bound to be hip-hop or pop." I then asked him if he could tell me the names of a couple of his most listened to artists.
He said, "Roddy Rich and J. Cole for sure right now if we're talking modern hip hop artists. Their music is great, lyrics and flow of the beat is very nice and overall I just like their style of rap. It's what inspired me to start making my own lyrics. Another sophomore who wishes to remain anonymous said that their music taste "spans from the Baroque period all the way up to the early 2000s pop and rap". Some of their favorite songs were "Night Fever by Bee Gees,” “I Don't Need No Doctor, by Ray Charles,” and “Get Jiggy With It” by Will Smith. They said that their music taste developed through the years, by being surrounded by music by Elton John and Billy Joel, some of her parents' favorite artists. Alex Skeini, a senior, said that his most listened to artist would be Anderson Paak "because his music is filled with joy and humor, which elevates my day." Alex also said that he often enjoys listening to Eminem, because his songs bring back childhood memories and nostalgia because he used to listen to a lot of rap growing up. While it is admirable to see the breadth of music taste among our student body, however, it seems music is slowly losing its value. We should stop treating music like a consumer good and transform it into an activity to which we dedicate time and attention to. Only then will we really be able to enjoy it and find our own rhythm as individuals.
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FROM TERRIBLE, TO GREAT, TO “OKAY” By Nereo Loreto
In September of 2018, the school unveiled its new cafeteria. The company, Joy Food, had taken over the dining system and revolutionized the way students experience lunch. It was fantastic. Before the arrival of Joy Food, the food at the cafeteria was pretty awful: every piece of pasta was cooked in a different way; some pieces were rock hard and others tasted - and felt like - plastic. The meat was so hard that your knife would break in half! With the arrival of the new ISF Café,
everything changed. All of a sudden the food was delicious. There was far more variety and the quality improved tenfold. More people ate at the cafeteria lunch instead of bringing their own food from home, and the line at the café was increasing the new Café, there were some changes: each student received a card to pay for the food. This differs from how the system was before, because students would no longer have to sign-up for the lunch plan and pay 6€ a day as a fixed price.
The cards can be filled with money from the Joy Food app and then used to buy whatever one wants, only on the days you want something. Before the new café, the school did not serve anything to eat at the morning break; there were two vending machines on the terrace from which you could get a small snack. The problem with this was that you had to be carrying coins. With the ISF Cafè, we could get healthier, better snacks and pay with our cards or phones. It was a great improvement. This year, however, the cafè isn’t as good as it used to be. Prices have gone up and quality has gone down. The 2.50€ sandwiches are now 4€, and a few french fries with your meat will cost you an extra 2€. There are also some dishes that nobody buys. There is meat or fish that will stick to the plate and result in us eating paper, and there are fewer types of sandwiches. Each day of the week has more or less a fixed menu. This is disappointing, because last year more dishes were served and you got to taste a new dish every day. However, we can say that the pros outnumber the cons in this year’s ISF Café. Despite the rise in prices and the slight decrease in quality, it is much better than the previous meal program, and it saves parents the trouble of making their children meals every morning. Nevertheless, It would be great to see the ISF Café go back to last year’s standards, so we can get on line after a long day of classes and know that we will be getting something tasty, healthy, and new.
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THE HEROES OF TODAY By Stella Franceschi
Who is someone you look up to? Who is your hero? These are two very common questions that as a kid, and especially growing up, and even later on at job interviews, you frequently get asked. Idolization has become a fundamental part of today’s culture and the society in which we live. Of course, it has always been prevalent, but it seems like, nowadays, there is an ongoing search for a hero, and if you don't have one, you are missing something or a part of yourself. So what allows someone to be endowed with that title, not only for a specific person, but for the general public? Are they sports champions that may have carried a team to an award-winning season, or maybe they're an Olympian who took home the gold? Is your hero a celebrity who takes home the awards from starring roles in movies or television, or plays music for thousands of screaming fans in sold-out stadiums? Or maybe your hero is the CEO of a large corporation who keeps the profit margins high for investors, a political figure who has successfully served the people for several terms, or a religious leader who has led many people on their spiritual journeys. While all these professions certainly do include many people who inspire and lift our expectations of ourselves and others to a higher plane, giving them the title "Hero" doesn't always apply, because those special people aren't just icons or mentors, but more than that.
A modern-day hero is someone who fights for a good cause and positively makes a difference in the world, making them an inspiration Recently, a hero for many, Kobe Bryant, died. What made him a hero, a legend? Was it exclusively his talent in the very much adored sport he played, was it his kindness, or was it his dedication to being a father? He was a leader in the cohort of NBA stars who put their families front and centre. Kobe’s fans started to see Kobe not just as an incredible player, but as a husband, a father. It was the joy he brought to all of his fans, the human part of him that made him a hero for many. A hero is someone who has made, and is making, a difference in their communities or in the world. A hero is any man or woman who refuses to live in an utterly passive manner. A hero has something in them we think is not in use, but would want to have. A hero is a person we place an elevated position in society or in our minds. A hero is a person that the little boy or girl that lives next door to you tells his mom about, saying: “ I want to be like that one day.”
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HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY By Jay Hughes-Ransely
Billionaires’ buildings just block away from housing projects; one of the world's leading economies; and one of the largest internal economic discrepancies ─ Los Angeles, California. Many people anticipate the annual celebration of the Oscars, looking forward to seeing their favourite movie stars, and find out which one of them will bring home the much-sought-after awards. The format has remained unchanged this year with one exception: there wasn't a host.
Perhaps they could have called Ricky Gervais, whose inaugural speech at the Golden Globes went viral for his in-your-face honesty which spared no one. He called out a few actors for their out-oftouch and redundant “thank you” speeches. For instance, some called for support against the 2nd amendment while being protected by armed bodyguards. They continue to lecture us on reducing our carbon footprint, whilst travelling around on their private jets. This was the 92nd Oscar award ceremony. It had the lowest ratings in the show’s history!
As more and more people wake up to celebrities' hypocrisy, the Oscars will continue to struggle in attracting more viewers. Did you know that male Oscar winners are estimated to take home about $3.9m, whilst female winners can usually expect a $500,000 bonus? The reality is that in Los Angeles -- only two blocks away from the theatre housing the Oscars -is the largest homeless encampment in the United States. California has just approved free healthcare for illegal immigrants, when the streets are littered with tents, trash, human faeces, and desperate legal residents of the state unable to obtain basic necessities. Silicon Valley is worth billions, and yet it is full of homeless people. The middle class is leaving, and Californian society continues to be divided between the very wealthy and the very poor. They have the 5th largest economy in the world, ahead of Britain, but remain the reigning state for poverty in the US! So enjoy the Oscar show with all their glitz and glamour, but don’t forget the real world right next door. When the winner of this year’s Oscar steps out of the lights and applause and drives up to their mansion surrounded by fences and security cameras in their limo, maybe they could write a portion of their bonus check to help build actual facilities to help their fellow humans living just down the hill from them.
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A RECAP OF THE 2020 SAN REMO MUSIC FESTIVAL By Stella Franceschi For the 70th year in a row, millions of Italians sat down to watch the premiere of the Sanremo Music Festival 2020. For those of you who don't know, this event is the most popular Italian song contest, held annually in the town of Sanremo, Liguria. Many of the best-known names in Italian music took part as competitors, guests or composers. Since 1956 (except for a period between 1998 and 2010), the winner of the competition has obtained the right to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, which draws inspiration from this Italian festival. Sanremo is a key date in Italy's cultural calendar.
There are two categories in the competition: Campioni and Nuove Proposte. This year there were 20 artists competing for the big prize, alongside eight newbies. However, for the first 20 years it was held, each song was sung by two different artists, to emphasize that this was a song competition rather than a prize for the best performer.
The 70th Italian song festival brought us a week full of music live from the Ariston Theatre in Sanremo, with many guests, the newcomer's competition and no less than 24 participants in the Main category, the one serving as the Italian selection for Eurovision SongContest. These contestants were judged each night by a variety of juries: a demographic jury, the Festival's orchestra and backing singers, a jury in the press room and the Italian public via televoting. Once all their results were added, during the final broadcast of the Italian song festival, the artist Diodato emerged victorious, with the song 'Fai Rumore' (You Make Noise). As a result, the Hosted by the popular Italian presenter Amadeus, who was also the artistic director, and during the evenings was joined by Fiorello and nine other co-hosts. The Sanremo 2020 stage at the Ariston Theatre saw many guest performances, including international stars like Dua Lipa, Mika, and Lewis Capaldi, as well as past Sanremo winners, and iconic Italian artists such as Albano & Romina Power, Massimo Ranieri, Ricchi e Poveri and Bobby Solo. While this event has quickly come to an end, most italians are already eagerly awaiting next year's competition. It is one of the most important television events in Italy which many consider a tradition to look at. In fact it had an average of 11.5 million viewers this year. This year it marked the 70th edition but it will continue to be broadcasted for many years to come as it has become a staple in italian culture.
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IN MEMORY OF KIRK DOUGLAS By Nelson Matos The so-called “Golden Age” of Hollywood, that reached its peak in the 1960s, seems distant to the majority of people today. However, some stars from that era have continued to shine bright through the last few years, cementing themselves as true icons. A prime example is the late Kirk Douglas, who passed away on 5 February this year. Kirk Douglas was born on 9 December, 1916 to a family of Jewish immigrant parents and 6 siblings. Douglas would go on to enlist in the United States Navy in 1941, where he ended up being medically discharged by 1944. Prior to this, he married Diana Dill in 1943, who he had 2 kids with, Michael and Joel Douglas, before their divorce in 1951. Douglas later married Anne Buydens in 1954 and had two more children, Peter and Eric, while also staying married until his death. The acting career of Kirk Douglas mainly saw him taking the role of tough or direct characters, most notably in films such as Spartacus or Town Without Pity. However, the influence of taking this role can be seen much earlier in his career, like in the film Champion, where he played Midge Kelly, a backstabbing boxer who double-crosses his associates. Aside from the aforementioned Spartacus, Kirk Douglas also played Vincent Van Gogh in the film Lust for Life, where he captured both the appearance and the inner struggle of the artist. Kirk Douglas’ last film appearance was Empire State Building Murders in 2008, which marked the end of an illustrious career.
Kirk Douglas has received many nominations and awards during his career spanning over half a century. He received three Oscar nominations for best actor in Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Lust for Life. He has won two Golden Globe Awards for Detective Story and Lust for Life, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts from U.S presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. B u s h r e s p e c t i v e l y. K i r k D o u g l a s w a s commemorated as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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The first medical complication for Kirk Douglas was a stroke that he suffered in 1996, after which he needed to see a speech therapist due to an impairment to his ability to talk. During this time, Douglas spent more time focusing on his career as an author, which began in the ’80s with his first autobiography: The Ragman’s Son. Quite possibly inspired by their father, all of Douglas’ children would go on to work in the film industry as either a producer or an actor, with Michael Douglas arguably being the most well known for his work. The story of Kirk Douglas’ life is one that can indisputably be considered successful, where his acting helped make the many characters he has played a touchstone to the many notable films he took part in. Kirk continued to face health issues and passed away on the 5th of February in California, at the age of 103.
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PARASITE: FICTION OR FACT? By Giulia Oosterwijk The one thing that the Oscars did right this year was that “Parasite” won best picture. The critically acclaimed film overtook the Oscars, winning three more awards that evening. I’ve never had a true interest in the Oscars, usually placing the event as an afterthought. In the past, I’ve only noticed slight changes within the ceremony’s history, at many times feeling discouraged at the lack of diversity found within the nominees. This year’s Oscars results were groundbreaking, with it awarding the first foreign language film as best picture and having the first South Korean film be nominated and win best international film. While the culmination of awards and nominations are admirable, I was intrigued by the actual story of
“Parasite.” It was one of the first movies that I saw that was realistically disturbing, that made me reflect on how cinematography can aid a thrilling storyline, and how class tensions aren’t only between the rich and the poor but also within themselves. The movie centers itself around the interaction between the rich Park family and the poorer Kim family, both of which are slightly driven by greed in their motives. .
Director Bong Joon-ho places “Parasite” as a satire of society, a movie that criticizes the hierarchical structure of a capitalist world in a twisted manner. To break down the movie even more, while keeping in mind that this is a satire, one may need to look at the reality of the situation.
According to a recent New York Times article, the elite 10% of South Korean society hold around 66% of the country’s wealth, on the contrary, the poorest individuals hold only 2%. Such disparities are echoed within the movie, with the Kim family living in a semi-basement whilst the Park family never has to worry about their living conditions. This idea of an ‘us and them’ culture can be found through the use of windows. I didn’t come to this conclusion at first while watching the movie, but I quickly realized that the windows were metaphors for the different levels of wealth. The Park family has a wall-length window, almost representing the vast amount of opportunities and luxury they are exposed to while the Kim family has only a smaller window that provides the view of their packed streets. The true difference can be seen when the viewer is introduced to the individuals living underneath the Park home, Moon-gang and Geun-se, who have no view at all.
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Upon finishing the movie, I was not nearly as shocked by the ending as I was by the true hidden depiction of class struggle. It defied the tale of the rich versus the poor. Solely looking at the movie title, “Parasite,” you can already tell what the movie will be about. While the rich Park family feeds off of the desperation of the lower class Kim family, they too are twisted when placed in the environment of being wealthy. It seems almost that while the rich Park family exploits them for their work ethic and trust, the Kim family uses them to satisfy their dreams and hopes for the future. I was confused on who to pinpoint as the true antagonist, which family was worse and which family was better. Both the Park and Kim family are worse than each other, in a certain way, but come from very different backgrounds. After thinking it through, it became evident that the true antagonists were not solely the Park family, and how they dehumanize lower-class families and devalue their lives, but the greater scheme of economic inequality found within the world.
The movie touches upon the role of education, the gullible mentality of the wealthier families shown in the film, and how this hierarchy of economic standing can interfere with someone’s moral values. Although it may be seen as an exaggerated depiction of class struggle, there is an aspect of truth in it. .
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IS MOSES BACK? By Katherine Dick A plague in East Africa has been affecting millions of people since the end of 2019, and it seems like an episode straight out of the Bible. It is the worst infestation in Kenya in 70 years. Locust swarms are going through several African and Asian countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, India, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, just to name a few. What exactly are these swarms, and why should we be worried about them?
Locusts are approximately the length of a human finger and travel in swarms of up to 80 million locusts. A locust can consume its weight in food each day, so in a day, a swarm of one square kilometre can eat as much as 35,000 people would. They can travel 145 kilometres in a day, whilst greedily eating all the crops in their path. To make matters worse, swarms move quickly and change shape which makes them more difficult to control and stop. If left unchecked, they could grow 500 times by June. Even before this infestation, the countries affected have had a difficult time providing food for their population. The locusts place a new large threat to the food security of both subregions. this winter.
According to the United Nations, 23.6 million people in Africa as a whole are already facing food shortages due to the locust infestation Around 8.4 million people in Ethiopia may need food aid because of crop losses from the locust infestation. These numbers are still increasing as the locusts continue to devour crops and lay eggs. Young locusts are currently warming up their wings and in a week or two they will be adults ready to fly, eat, and reproduce. This will increase the number of locusts by a factor of 20. Many people are trying to put an end to this plague, but dealing with such a large number of locusts is very difficult. Pesticides - sprayed via hand-held pumps, truck-mounted sprayers, and planes - are the only effective way to reduce the number of locusts.
Some compare this locust plague to the plague set on the Egyptians from Exodus in the Bible. One might ask if the people are being punished with such a catastrophic event by mother Earth. Others would say the conditions were favourable for breeding, the winds were right, and would simply call it a natural phenomenon.
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