38 The Best Is Yet To Come
Interview: Stefan Schmidt (Van Canto) Tuomas Sepp채l채 (Amberian Dawn) HerStory - Michela Sereni The Best Of Us - Andreea Albulescu
Year 5 - 2016
Teen Art Out nr 38
ISSN 2284 – 6549 ISSN–L = 2284 – 6549
Our editorial team Editor-in-Chief: Simona Mihalca Editors: Andreea Albulescu Ruxandra Sevastin Rareș Zaharia - Lefter Carlos Funes Delia Cocoș Alexandra Șerbănescu Ronnie Smith Michela Sereni Elix Rae Cover Graphics: Stefan Heilemann Cover design: Simona Mihalca Design: Simona Mihalca Alexandra Dinu We reserve the right to select the submissions received before publishing. Contact: www. teen.artout.ro teen@artout.ro
The Best Is Yet To Come This 38th issue of Teen Art Out marks our 4 year anniversary. It’s a time when we take a look back and remember all we’ve learned, all we have done and all we have achieved. It is on that that we intend to build, to create more issue, to go further, to be bigger and better. We found the perfect song to say just that. The Best Is Yet To Come has to become a motto. No matter who you are or where you are in life, you must strive for greatness, wanting to be better than your former self. The past can be a dark road to walk. Or even yet, it can be so happy it will hurt. Farewells and anniversaries can be more than bittersweet. Finishing with an era of your life is happy and sad, is uncertain and it has to push you, to make you be better. I know we want to do better, we want to hear more from you, to have more of you hear us. We wish to inspire people and to learn from those who have something to teach us. The world is our oyster and we intend to see it, to experience it, to share it. You will find in this issue articles about who we are and where we’ve been. You will find new columns, new issues being tackled. Needless to say, there will be interviews, just like you like them. Simona Mihalca Editor-in-Chief
Quentin Tarantino’s 8th ilm, he Hate- Review: he Hateful Eight ful Eight, is another incursion in the (Spoiler Free) western drama genre that started with by Alexandra Șerbănescu his 2012 Oscar winning Django Unchained. his time, the cold and desolate landscapes of Wyoming during a terrible blizzard provides us with a blank canvas upon which Tarantino lets his colourful characters loose. We meet with John Ruth (Kurt Russell), a ruthless bounty hunter and his valuable prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) traversing the mountain side of Wyoming to reach the town of Red Rock where he is bound to cash in his reward. A blizzard is close to catching up with them when they meet Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) who also seeks shelter from the cold. On their way, they ind shelter in a cabin that’s already inhabited by a number of curious characters that might not be what they seem.
So what is to be expected from Tarantino’s new drama?
Samuel L. Jackson. You almost cannot go wrong with such a talented actor and SLJ shines in every scene. In one scene you get captivated by his frightening tale of a nefarious encounter with another bounty hunter and in another you roar with laughter at his expert delivery. It almost feels like he outshined the likes of Tim Roth and Michael Madsen and that is not such an easy feat to accomplish. Violence and Blood. Gallons of blood. If you are not familiar with Tarantino’s work or you get squeamish at the sight of blood, beware. he scenes are fast, explicit, gory and unapologetic. he characters punch, kick and shoot without mercy and the splatterfest is all there to see. Hilarious banter. As with the “Royale with cheese” in Pulp Fiction and “Like a virgin” in Reservoir Dogs, expect some dark and hilarious banter between the characters, especially since they seem to come from all walks of life and there are bound to be tensions between them. Which leads to...
Racial tensions. Since the ilm is set sometime ater the Civil War, there are bound to be racial tensions. On the one hand, we have the unionist Major Marquis and, on the other hand, confederate sympathisers Sherif Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) or General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern) who do not shy away from racial slurs. Like Django, it might be upsetting seeing how people used to react and treat others based on the colour of their skin but that was the reality of those days. Strong female lead. Although she is the prisoner, Daisy Domerque shows incredible resilience and force when dealing with her captors. A raw, strong woman that is not willing to back down and repent for her sins.
However, despite all of its strong points, the ilm does not seem to stay memorable. Tarantino shits his perspective to a rather linear mystery (we have only one lashback that gives us some insight) that does not seem to say anything in particular. he costumes, the setting and the cinematography are all beautiful and create an atmosphere that makes you shiver and wanting to reach over to a hot cup of tea but in the end it leaves you with an underwhelming impression. You shouldn’t forget a Tarantino movie.
he Hateful Eight’s inal score: 8/10.
45 Years
Director – Andrew Haigh Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtney
Kate and Geof are a comfortably retired couple sharing their peaceful lives in a very ine house on the Norfolk Broads in England. Kate is an elegant woman who was once a school teacher, possibly of music. She is well liked and respected. She loves classical music, does all the driving, the shopping and the cooking, is devoted to their dog and makes all the arrangements for her family. Geof, once a senior manager in manufacturing and, ater a recent heart bypass operation, seems reluctant to do any of the above and has a hard time shaving, combing his hair or even going out for a walk. He is grumpy, makes little efort with their friends and appears happy to allow Kate to look ater him. hey have no children.
At the beginning of the week in which they are planning to celebrate their marriage of forty ive years, at a party with all their friends, Geof receives a letter from the Swiss authorities. Ater ity years the body of his ex-girlfriend has been recovered from a melting glacier in the Alps; she had fallen to her death during a walking holiday and it becomes clear that the status of ex-girlfriend was only conferred on the girl, ‘Katya’, through her untimely death.
Both Kate and Geof are shocked. Geof because Katya’s body has inally been recovered. Kate because a shaken Geof suddenly refers to his ex as ‘my Katya’ and because she discovers that Geof is actually registered as Katya’s next-of-kin. So we begin to witness the crumbling of Kate’s world as the husband whom she has made the focal point of her life slips quickly from a state of mild reminiscence into a deeper re-engagement with his long-dead irst love. his is the story of Kate’s deep personal tragedy in the face of Geof ’s profound insensitivity. It is a simple and beautiful story of the fragility of fundamental human perceptions and assumptions, adapted from the short story ‘In Another Country’ by David Constantine which I now feel compelled to read. he ilm is unremittingly English, cinema as theatre. As the anniversary party approaches, there can be no screaming in the kitchen, no smashing of crockery, only a quiet and very intense accumulation of pain.
here is a simple beauty in a story perfectly paced and developed by the Director, Andrew Haig, given greater emphasis by the bleakness of the Norfolk Broads in winter. Charlotte Rampling is outstanding as Kate, controlling every sinew of her being to express the trauma sufered by her complex and digniied character. And Tom Courtney is perfect as the arrogant and deliberately shallow Geof, careless in his relationships and somehow clinging for safety to an unsubstantiated past. he maturity and experience of both actors deliver a sense of ‘reality’ that I have not seen for a very long time. How many actual couples’ lives are like this? Ordinary people from every conceivable background apparently happy together over many years yet, at the same time, each harbouring memories of what once was and what might have been. How many people believe that they have settled for something less and feel that they must pretend that everything is OK?
How many partners are happy in a certainty that is only wafer-thin? It is the delicate and sensitive treatment of this theme that makes ’45 Years’ such an excellent movie. Ronnie Smith
Charlotte Rampling has been nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Actress.
GLOBAL WARMING Delia Cocos
Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. his is a type of greenhouse efect.
Global warming is already having considerable and harmful efects on our communities, our health and our climate. he expanded volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases freed by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are believed to be the primary causes of the global warming. Carbon dioxide, which contaminates the ozone layer, comes from various sources, but the most problematic are those coming from the blazing of fossil fuels from power plants. his releases thousands of tones of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Last year and the past decennium were the warmest since temperature records began and the average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 째C over the past 100 years. Other global warming impacts are the melting of the ice caps and the bleaching of Coral Reefs due to warming seas and acidiication. Polar bears are now thought to be extremely threatened by the shortening of their feeding season due to dwindling ice packs, and one third of coral reefs now appear to have been seriously damaged by warming seas. he Earth has warmed 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, since the late 19th century and most of the warming has occurred since 1960.
ate for the clim n o ti lu so green Another create more categories l to a n is io g e g re n a e ch average It displays th bal average: a few ildings. An u b d n a es lo 0 to eg hom can save $70 buried in th tarctic, se n u A o h e th ed tt r nea retroi costs. Retareas, most lder since r in energ y co ea y en a tt o 0 g 5 1 e $1 ever y 5 actually hav one out of f the Arco st s ju rt a g p in e t tt m i ro would preven as 15 1960, while so es ch m u o h m s n a a ic rmed Amer mid-sized tic have wa m the Interto build 13 o d fr s ee n st ti e en th ci y year. degrees. S limate er plants ever Panel on C w l o ta p en stop dem n o er g gov hile a lution is to w so a d ir st ju th e d te h ation have predic atures ical deforest p er p ro T m . te n l io a b at glo forest nt of the that average n 1.4 and 5.8 out 10 perce b ee a w s et b se se au c ea issions , could incr trapping em tea . h 0 ’s 0 1 d 2 rl r o year’s w °C by the yea nds with a o on, there p es es o rr g co g h in 60 0 rm whic emissions of If global wa plants e ip d p n a il ta f ls o a anim worth would be U.S. cars. tinct, there ex e m o lion average ec il b m rming ld u o w d n that n, global wa ods, a o o si l u d cl n n a co s a orm lanet As would be st o high en to our p at to re se th ri l a ld u re wo is a remind ourthe sea level ld be too dry ould always u sh o e w w s a d n re a a gs, like and some en small thin ev at . th rm es fa lv se pollufor farmers to n for the global g y(it causes er en ss le o g enluti usin n causes gre sions. he irst so o is ti u ll em o p ce u en d to re tion, th e a diferwarming is s) cam ma k can help by se a e g w , se ls u a o u h our As individ scale down to n o ence. ti c a g ta k in but we s, n o si is em on private carb r leaders convince ou to y tr ld u erg y co money on en re o m d en to to sp dustries and in d n a s ie g lo techno able enuse of renew increase the erg y, too.
Welcome Back: HERstory in short
History used to be made by tall, white, straight males only. As if being a part of the world and moving in it were their prerogative. With the founding of the Subaltern Studies Group (SSG), post-colonialism and post-imperialism started to gain a new perspective. hese SouthAsian minds exposed their refreshing views and re-deining ideas to history, allowing it to become richer. A historian’s goal is always to get to the truth, but that is objectively impossible; however, a greater number books and more eyes guarantee a better analysis. In fact, while dissecting a piece of past, multiple sources and point of views are not only required or needed, but also essential. Women entered history books only in the Seventies, thanks to the feminist movement and its writers. In 1975, in Italy, “Donna. Woman. Femme” (DWF) was rising and becoming a reality; only a few years later, in 1981, “Memoria” (translated, “Memory”) the Italian magazine for women who devoted their lives to history studies was born. Later on, in 1989, another project that connected gender and scholars started (SIS, “Società delle Storiche). A younger child, “Genesis” (yet another paper) saw the light in 2002. “Il Manifesto di Rivolta Femminile” (’he Manifest of Feminine Revolution’) is a 1970 piece by Carla Lonzi, where the writer did a sum-up of her beliefs (including a proud critique to the institution or marriage and an interest for a subjective and free sex life, released from men’s requests). On the other hand, Luisa Muraro was the one who proposed a new “order”, focusing around the maternal igure, with its cultural, social, linguistic (and so on) complexes. his short chronology makes it clear that as far as the pizza-inventing, Mediterranean Sea-wet shores are concerned, feminism is a pretty new achievement. In this Country, women gained the right to vote ater the Second World War, when the population was inally asked to decide, through a referendum, which kind of government they wanted to rule over them. his happened in June, 1946. North Europe reached these basic privileges earlier on (1918 for England and a few others; Norway had it done by 1913). However, women had had enough time to develop their ideas carefully.
According to Simone de Beauvoir, author of “he Second Sex”, females have always been limited by obligations, which implies they can’t ind their true dimension, making it easier to be marginalized in history records. She also states that females used to live themselves as a sort of Other Self, with contents dictated by the males in charge (Conclusion). With time passing, Women’s Studies were initiated, making it possible for feminists such as Juliet Mitchell to link the movement itself with other studies (in her case, psychoanalysis), or for people of the likes of Franca Pietroni Bortolotti (Here), to expand and share their thoughts with a wider public. It became clear quite fast that sex could not stay outside politics, A main path was walked by J.W.Scott, airming that the diference between men and girls was not natural, but both socio-cultural and political, and seeing gender as a cultural creation, while hinting as well to the well-known and ancient concept of a manly nation. he SSG had already pointed out that the feminine identity sufered of a double form of subaltern-ess, both gender and ethnicity were involved. Queerness and race soon became part of the female-centered thinking, too, marking styles and ideas deeply diferent from one another (a number of “waves” exist, to indicate the evolution of theories). With the dawning of a new era, feminism and the so called herstory have made a huge comeback, inluencing and shaping actresses, singers and other kinds of pop icons, apart from its traditional set of teachers, philosophers, activists and thinkers. What’s too easily forgotten, though, is that women can indeed make their own story, or talk about it: that’s what we’re asking for, a cry that has started in the middle of the XXth century and has yet to be silenced down. A place to talk and the space that has been denied us for so long. We can use our own voices. And we will. Michela Sereni
FJORD
For this month’s Spotlight, we are going to keep our promise and start analyzing a Romanian band. We bring to your attention Fjord, a post-metal band from Bucharest. As stated on their website, formed out of passion for music with a meaning, Fjord is an instrumental band strongly inluenced by shoegaze (Shoegazing -also known as shoegaze- is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and reached peak popularity in the early 1990s. he style is typiied by signiicant use of guitar distortion, feedback, obscured vocals and the blurring of component musical parts into indistinguishable “walls of sound”), post-rock music, oten trying to explore the realm of atmospheric harmonies.
In an interview for our magazine, Fjord stated that, beside the clear genre preference, the band is driven by their passion for music, trying, in essence, to do music that they like. he basic idea was “going into ambient and post-like genres and combining them with the classic metal element that was familiar to all of us.” hey do not only manage that, but they also create a certain “dreamy, hazy atmosphere with which one can always take an inner journey”, oten driving the listeners’ minds to the mesmerizing images of the Scandinavian jords that the band’s name comes from.
Rareș Zaharia – Leter & Carlos Funes
he huge talent, passion and skill can be immediately grasped by music consumers, even more impressive as you ind out that three of the band’s members are students, one is an IT programmer and one is a doctor in geography, lives that don’t make music an easy task for the band, especially in the Romanian underground scene that they so much appreciate: “We think that’s what the underground scene is all about: support. Of course we could complain that there are more things there could be done, but it starts with every one of us so if you don’t like it, change it. All the people involved in this kind of phenomenon are putting their passion in it and we think that’s what matters”. Currently, the band has two releases: Once Forsaken, a demo released in September 2012 and On Icy Shores, a full on album, released in February 2015. In the vision of the band’s leader, “the Once Forsaken demo is of a more classic intro-verse-chorus type of songs, with various elements in there. We were just starting to get our heads around what we were trying to do and On Icy Shores was a natural conclusion
that came aterwards with more e x p e r i me nt i n g ,w s ome t h i n g which we will constantly want to be doing.” Once Forsaken is a classic statement of the band’s style and music genre and orientation. A highlight is the song “Awakening”, which sets a high standard for the heavy and beautiful melodies, slow growls and clean vocals and atmospheric harmonies. And it all evolves since the irst second the song starts to become a journey to every last sense in your body. On Icy Shores, as shown by the members of the band themselves, identiies us with the hopeless soul who gives up living. But escape is within our reach. We just need to realize that it all depends on us, having the strength to give purpose and meaning to one’s path.With this album, Fjord tried to recreate this sinusoidal path of life, through musical context and song title, by chronologically passing through a universe full of possibilities, ambiguity, nostalgia and despair. Only to relink us, in the end, with hope. One of our favorite songs from this release is “Endless”, a track which literally sinks you deep into the endless forms of nature;
the never ending magic of the mountains, the beautiful solitude of the forest and the harshness of a blizzard. Taking a look at the band’s future work, they are already working on a new album, whose name they haven’t set yet. However, they have already made a live session with two of the songs coming on it, Stars in an Ocean of Darkness and Phoenix, out of which the former already “caught our ear”. If we were to add soundtrack to some episodes of our life, this song would it perfectly with the simple but exquisite chords it kicks of with. It manages to lead you through an unreal path of sounds and emotions and sets the bar of expectance high for the next album. All said and listened to, we will certainly be keeping both eyes on Fjord in the upcoming years, and we advise you guys do so as well, as the current work is more than promising, and we think the next releases will be nowhere near disappointing, as these guys are evolving with every passing day, and every pinched string and banged drum.
NEXTI : KARMA SSUE
MA R A K
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