Nr 18 by Simona Mihalca

Interview

Teen Art Out nr 18 ISSN 2284 – 6549 ISSN–L = 2284 – 6549

Our editorial team Editor-in-Chief: Editors:

Simona Mihalca Andreea Bădeu Julia N. Hamermesz Michela Sereni Andreea Albulescu Anne Popp Kasey Rae Ashley Catt Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone Daria Radu Mihnea Săvulescu Bárbara Ornella Ruxandra Macarescu Claudia P. Ramona Ana-Maria Rahimian

Photo credits:

Cristina Niculae Andrei Apostol Andrei Dragomirescu

Cover design:

Ruxandra Marin

Cover graphics:

Sandra Ludewig

Design:

Ioana- Mădălina Sterpu

We reserve the right to select the submissions received before publishing. Contact:

www.artout.ro teen@artout.ro

Interview

SUMARY LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Royals, Simona Mihalca

INTERVIEW Charlotte Wessels, Simona Mihalca & Michela Sereni Adina Renţea, Simona Mihalca, Andreea Ferigeanu

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ROYALS Dope Show, Julia N. Hamermesz Aubrey Joy Songcog Imagining royalty, Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone Being a Lady, Andra Albulescu Andreea Bădeu ....and we WILL be royals..., Daria Radu Royalty, Lively Death, Mihnea Săvulescu The job of being royalty, Bárbara Ornella Villains have more fun(ds). A brief manual of Disney’s brutes’ main characteristics, Michela Sereni The Royal Portrait of a Lady, Ruxandra Macarescu

18 20 22 24 27 29 33 36

SOCIAL WATCH The human complexity and “I don’t care”, Claudia P.

PETITE HISTOIRE The common misconceptions of the european witch-hunt, Ashley Catt

GLOBETROTTER Adventures in Finland, Anne Popp

IDEAS ON CELLULOID Glamorous cinematography, Kasey Rae

TEEN EVENTS Richard II, Rahimian Ramona

BOOK REVIEW Editura Litera

Letter from the editor

ROYALS

Photo: Andrei Dragomirescu

Letter from the editor

hy royals? Is it about the song? Yes and no. What about actual royalty, the monarchies with pretty crowns and long history behind? Yes, that is surely it. Though not many know, Romania used to be a Kingdom. But that doesn’t really appear in the collective knowledge of history. It was buried somewhere deep. I like what was here but I would not be one to say hastily I necessarily want it back. But I take a look at wellestablished monarchies like the ones in The United Kingdom (Long live the queen), Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Denmark and so on. What makes me follow their lives, what makes me root for them and think they are good? For one it’s the history element. You cannot have UK without it being a kingdom… and it has been there for hundreds and hundreds of year. That makes you believe in it. But would we accept anyone to be part of the royalty? We

don’t think anymore that kings and queens are the descendants of Gods, but they are still placed somewhere above common people. Maybe it’s their grooming, their knowledge and etiquette, the way they are raised to serve the people. There has to be something. Now, returning to the song. Royalty means a luxurious life style. That is why we have so many monuments and palaces to visit and they just have a big, big home. They have balls and jewelry, they have traditions and amazing gowns, they have it all. And that gives them their spark. You immediately believe them to live in a world of champagne and caviar. But do they really? Go through the articles and get an idea on how we plan to answer all these questions and so many others. Read about their image, their history, their style. Read about their portrayals because, after all, what is royalty without a Disney Princess and Evil Queen?

Simona Mihalca, Editor-in-Chief 5

Letter from the editor

Photo: Cristina Nicolae

Petite Histoire

inter view 7

Interview

Interview:

Charlotte Wessels 8

Interview • First things first: What can you tell us about yourself as the lead singer of Delain and yourself as a person besides it? What effect did being in the metal scene have on the “old” Charlotte? Did being in a band (and having to perform on stage) change some sides of your character? At weaker moments it has made me feel better, less, bigger, or smaller again, but except for the fact that I’ve become ten years older and wiser since we’ve started out, it has not changed my character. I don’t think anything easily could. • To what extent do you think that Delain’s image is a reflection of your own? And of your fans? Our image and stage persona are definitely a reflection of ourselves, but only certain parts of ourselves; the parts that we think belong on a stage versus the parts that we rather keep private. In a way I do think that within the age of social media everybody is more or less engaged in creating an image for themselves: your good pictures you share, the bad ones you don’t; or you do, selectively, to make people laugh ;) When was the moment you decided to give up “normal life” and make music your occupation

and life? What gave you that confidence? Things with Delain developed quite naturally and gradually from a one-time studio project into the touring and recording band that we are now, there was no real deciding moment, but rather a series of events that led us to the place where we are now. Also, I never gave up ‘normal life’, music is a part of my life, that has just become bigger and bigger over the years. • Playing at festivals and recording the albums, you got the chance to meet a lot of other artists. Were you a fangirl yourself? Do you have any interesting stories about that? Is it as scary as it seems to be working next to some of your idols? I remember the festival where Lemmy was watching our gig from the side of the stage, the ENTIRE gig, and singing Last Drop Falls with Sonata Arctica, a song that I had been singing along to for years, off stage :) It is definitely exciting. • You are now set to release your newest album, “The Human Contradiction”. Congratulations for it, as reviews tell us that it’s the best one yet. Personally, I am really impressed with the cover and the 9

Interview bits we’ve heard from it so far are without match. From what we hear and read, the album follows the same maybe rebellious and socially aware voice that becomes a signal boost. Is that deliberate? Well, in a way the songs on our upcoming record do continue on the topic of “otherness” which was initially introduced on our previous album We Are The Others. The title

The Human Contradiction is taken from Octavia E. Butlers trilogy Lilith’s Brood. A post-apocalypse story, in which the fact that humanity did not last is explained by our two most contradictory qualities; the fact that we are as a species both intelligent and hierarchic. This human contradiction causes an ‘us versus the others’ mentality; an attitude which makes humans randomly select qualities in

Interview others and use those qualities to justify ranking them higher or lower on this socially constructed ladder; it allows for the creation of dualisms; of man and woman, black and white, human and nonhuman, nature and culture…So it is exactly the structure that allows for systems of oppression such as racism (hetero)sexism, speciesism, etc. to exist; an attitude, which in the book – as well as one could

argue, in reality – proves to be most self-destructive. In that way, The Human Contradiction presents a broadening and deepening of the lyrical concept of our previous record We Are The Others: ‘otherness’ and how people relate to this, is a topic that I have been obsessing over both artistically and academically for the last couple

Interview of years and it has become a reoccurring theme in Delain’s lyrics. Whether it is otherness within our species, so towards people who are perceived as ‘different’ by other people (which was ‘We Are The Others’ main focus) or in our attitudes towards nonhuman ‘others’, which is the lyrical addition made by our new record. • How has the album come together? Do you have a little drawer of lyrics you write every now and then or do you start playing and jamming until you find that one seed of inspiration? Which one do you pay more attention to? We took a very inward turn

and relied more heavily than ever on the efforts of the Delain writing team (Martijn, myself and our long time musical partner Guus Eikens), with Martijn back in the producer seat, and basically not involving any third parties until we really had to. It allowed for a creatively free process, which was enjoyable, even considering the crazy time pressure. I do always carry a notebook with me just in case a stroke of inspiration hits by surprise. Sometimes we complete the instrumental part of a song first, and I can match it with something from my notebook, sometimes I already have the idea for a song

Interview behind the lyrics and we work this out starting from the words, and sometimes something entirely new just emerges during the writing process. It differs from time to time and this keeps it interesting. • The first song you have released, “Your Body is a Battleground”, has started quite the controversy online. Did you expect the lyrics to be misunderstood and create an ardent debate? Your Body Is A Battleground is - granted, a rather cynical song - that represents some ethical issues surrounding an industry that basically makes money from telling people that their bodies are

not good enough. Although this is not at all limited to the medical industry (consider also food, cosmetics, ect.), online, people have widely interpreted it as such. A minefield, of course: we owe so much to drugs, that criticizing even a certain aspect of an industry does not necessarily make one popular. My worry is the following; the fact that the industry profits from a thing that people value the most; their health, makes it a very powerful one, but also potentially very intrusive. People might not like that being pointed out, but I don’t think the fact that an industry is powerful, should make it immune to criticism. No one should

Photos by Sandra Ludewig

Interview be immune to criticism. Hence, I can’t judge anyone for being critical towards the lyrics. What I do regret is that people have felt singled out or ‘othered‘ by the words. Anyone who has ever picked up and read Delain lyrics knows that this is never our intention. • Do you think that the success of the album will have anything to do with the fact that many related acts to Delain also have releases about this time. The genre has always been known to be comparing singers and bands and have endless fights, but somehow Delain and you have always been above that. The fact that many related acts release about this time makes it rather harder than easier, not because of competition within the bands personally but simply because of the limited space per genre in magazines etc. But I never experience this scene as one where bands fight, Actually, in a field where so many bands within a similar genre are fishing for the same spots in magazines, on festivals etc., it always surprises me how the sense of camaraderie is much stronger than the sense of competition, which one could also expect… It is one of the things that makes this such a cool scene, if you ask me. 14

• How do you feel about the upcoming tour? Are you eager to pack everything and go on the road again? You’ll even be playing on the famous Wembley Arena. It’s very exciting! It’s very exciting! I’ll be crossing some things off my bucket list this tour. • Do the boys ever pull pranks on you or try to scare you while on tour? Or are you more like the baby-sister that must be protected? Protected from what? We do pull pranks on each other, I remember receiving some birthday gifts on tour that are probably too gross to mention here. • How do you feel after graduating and finishing your studies? What did you like most to be learning about and who is your favourite visual artist? Really proud, but also sad that I won’t be studying anymore; it gave me so much during both my bachelor Art History and my Masters in Gender Studies. Fortunately I still have a mile long reading list of books that I was recommended during my studies. As for my favorite artist, there are too many! Of course Glenn Arthur has a special place in my heart. Also

Interview check out Chris Berens, his work is fantastic; I have one of his limited glicees on my wall called “Heaven on their minds”; I can look at it for hours and hours! • Your art degree is just one of the many creative forms through which you express yourself, from obviously the music, to your hair colour or the new tattoo. Has it always been so easy for you to put your feelings out there or do you think you have had some moments in life that have liberated you? First of all, coloring my hair and getting a tattoo are more signs of my vanity than my creativity ;) As for your question; I once witnessed a lecture by Estelle Barrett who stated that “artistic production is an effort to overcome the condition of melancholia by symbolic expansion”. I can strongly relate to this as I find myself craving for creative outlet the most when my mind is troubled. This has always been the case. • You seem to be full of energy, most of the time, and you come off as a very strong and positive person. How do you not let bad happenings dim your light? How do you stay relaxed? Do you think this ability to inspire and help others (especially “outsiders”), as well as your way

of thinking, has any link with your personal experience? Well, first of all, this idea of me might also be mainly ‘image’, referring back to your earlier question. I am not one to air my dirty laundry in public but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my days of feeling low. That being said, I do have a positive outlook on life, and also choose to express this, rather then whatever keeps me down every now and then. This might contradict my previous statement about being creative when troubled, but it does make sense: if you look at Delain’s lyrics, they often start from a very dark place, but there is usually a light at the end of the tunnel :) (Our new song Scarlet is an exception to the rule.. This one stays pitch-black until the end) Things that help me stay relaxed are inhaling some fresh air and getting some sunlight, working out, and especially the combination of the two when I go running! Good company and good food also works wonders. • Thank you! Much love from the Romanian fans!

Simona Mihalca & Michela Sereni 15

Interview

Photo: Andrei Dragomirescu

Royals

Dope Show

by Julia Hamermesz

Photo: Andrei Apostol

t is hard not to associate the life and party of the rich and famous with drinks, diamonds and drugs. However, this assumption can be dangerous not only for those who dream about said life, but for the stars we adore and so often think to be more than us. By idolizing some, thinking beauty to be of a specific kind and, in some situations, by glamourizing drugs, we end up pushing those who have a chance to get famous into certain paths, and a cycle is created. An idea that to be great you must fit into some categories is born, and everyone has to carry this burden 18

– watchers and performers suffer in a constant seek of what is seem to be ideal. The famous influence the fans, the fans are influenced by the famous. It’s easy to forget that drugs are not always the “party” drugs. Out of the main reasons to follow the narcotics path, one is that there is a pill for nearly every problem – including cosmetic ones. And whether celebrities end up doing drugs (not talking about needed medicine here) because of a wish to change their bodies or simply to fit in some stereotypes, there will

Royals always be an impact on younger generations. Besides, chemicals are not always the route chosen to achieve the so called perfection – dieting and starvation, severe plastic surgery, tons and tons of Photoshop are also in the danger list. Also, Human beings don’t tend to deal well with reality, and when your reality is being constantly followed by cameras and dealing with the pressure that at any moment you may be forgotten, drugs can look like an obvious way out – in a way, this motive is a consequence of the first. The third main reason, of course, is the example – and the cycle closes yet again. In short, we reached a point in your society where material (and often superfluous) concepts are so important we are able to forget that the person behind a camera is also – what else? – Human. The veneration, the perfection concepts, the distancing between

famous people and “common” people is much more dangerous than it seems. It is important, even to political matters, to remember that power and fame should never dehumanize. Repeat the “we don’t care” with Lorde, because no: nobody should be a royal with this definition. Nor the actors, writers, singers, and so on, nor you that works doing something else should be so immersed in these standards of fame and beauty. We shouldn’t be stars in the Dope Show.

Julia Hamermesz 19

Royals

Imagining royalty by Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone

Photo: Andrei Apostol

efore I start unveiling my thoughts, I would like to clarify that the term royals will stand as a metaphor for people who still have higher aspirations, who like to rather digest a good book than fast food and who remain dignified in difficult situations. The story goes like this. I have always dreamt, ever since I was a little girl, to marry a man of great wealth and with an extensive experience of all cultures of the world. I called this generic figure Alice. He had to be French and I never questioned this decision. I believe that this exotic 20

portrait has been heavily inspired by the media coverage of Princess Dianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tragic accident and of her romance with Dodi Fayed. Looking back at this innocent childhood dream, I would overanalyze and claim that the thing that fascinated me the most was her utter necessity for love. This is probably because common sense constructs an idyllic portrait of the royals. We see them wandering through beautiful gardens, signing letters written by personal secretaries and collecting goods to fill empty spaces. We never think of the empty spaces

Royals from their hearts. I grew up, meeting new faces and, consequently, lowering my expectations. Maybe the prince did not have to come with a horse. Perhaps he could look equally impressive riding a donkey. Maybe some sort of primitivism was equally attractive. I became accustomed with the masquerade of make-up, with the art of flattering my silhouette. The interesting aspect of these practices is that sociologists argue that women are entirely aware of the external purpose of their actions, even though they seem to act towards a reinvention of themselves. The great contradiction of our society consists of the great value we claim to put on beggars with beautiful souls, while we condemn royals and, in general, anyone who proves superior. Why are we driven to love ourselves, but also to live for the moment and to settle for anything which will do?

I like to think that growing old also made me younger. I now feel more balanced. Nevertheless, foolish expectations are once again included in the package. After all, what are we, humans, without impossible dreams? Recent marriages in the European royal families have reignited my idea that love is not something dull and mundane, but also a thing full of sparkles and glory. Perhaps the aspiration towards the past, to a Golden Era of nobles and royals is not a bad thing. I like to think that dressing up once a week and doing something posh is more than necessary. After all, as someone dear once told me, one should get ready for the life one desires. I do not think that people who have regular red blood will never be, figuratively speaking, royals. And as far as I myself am concerned, I will not prepare for anything but the very best.

Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone 21

Royals

Being a Lady Photo: Andrei Apostol

andering around the streets, I couldn.t help but think of how girls behave nowadays. It may be because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve recently overheard a conversation between two young women while i was waiting for the bus. They were both very good looking, wearing makeup and expensive clothes. Unfortunately, the way they spoke was not that impressive. One of them could surely win a swearing contest and the other was laughing really loud, while shamelessly blowing the smoke right into my eyes. I took some steps back, and since then I could only think of how 22

by Andra Albulescu being a lady has become a thing of the past. Usually, girls and women like to think of themselves as well raised ladies, who are able to make a good impression and draw attention without even trying, but lately it seems that young women no longer wish to act like ladies. They are trying to get in the spotlight in a loud and unpleasant manner, or behave more like boys so they can be accepted in mixed groups. They curse much, smoke much, drink much, sometimes show too much and many of them believe that

Royals acting like a lady is old fashioned. So why bother acting nice and being cute when they can show their strength and prove anyone that they are the best? Well... it really doesn’t work that way. Being a lady really means to be polite. A discreet presence, yet noticed and remembered by all, that can be both innocent and powerful at the same time. A true lady is that kind of woman who has a clue about how she should dress, look and behave, without being vulgar or provocative. She doesn’t start fights, but can finish them with only a word, she can, with a single glance, steal a heart and she is always covered in mystery. One can never guess what’s on her mind because she knows her feelings should be kept well hidden until she is alone again. While many choose to act like they are just ready to start a fight,

those few true ladies left have the power of attracting people like a magnet. They are the girls who will always be a pleasant company, but without trying to please and who know where their limit is. So at the end of the day, we shall see that being a lady, as well as being a gentleman, is a way of living in which that person has more to win than lose. Being well raised and mannered can never become a thing of the past!

Andra Albulescu 23

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....and we WILL be royals... by Daria Radu Photo: Andrei Apostol

’ve recently started reading “Paper Towns” by John Green (the now extremely famous author of The Fault in Our Stars), and the opening paragraph of the book has instantly become one of my favourite quotes: “The way I figure it out, everyone gets a miracle. Like, I will probably never be struck by lightning,or win a Nobel prize, or become the dictator of a small nation in the Pacific Islands, or contract terminal ear 24

cancer, or spontaneously combust. But if you consider all the unlikely things together, at least one of them will probably happen to each of us.” What I like most about this quote is the mere fact that the author does not treat the idea of ‘miracle’

Royals

as something predominantly positive; miracles can come in all forms, positive, negative, suddenly, slowly, impressively or not even noticeably. But why do we treat fame as a miracle, when there is so much more to our wonderfully crafted little world?

Our society has become utterly obsessed with the idea of popularity and of selfaccomplished that not only do we miss out on what truly matters, but we also tend to become someone else than our true selves. We all want to be “Royals”, as if “Royals” means “happily ever after” and accomplished. We fight to become better than others, instead of trying to bring the best in ourselves. This leads me back to another 25

Royals beautiful quote in this stunningly written book: “And now life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future--you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college.” I hated how much I found myself and most of the people I knew in that trivial quote. Sometimes we get the impression that we do so many incredible things in our life, but all we do is get into an endless boomerang of life which may have some altered steps, but it always comes back. We want to be “Royals” because others are, we want to become “Royals” become it seems like that would make us believe we have lived, not only survived. Coming back to one of the most famous songs of nowadays “Royals” of Lorde, the chorus goes like this: “And we’ll never be royals~” And you know what is entirely wrong about this simple sentence? Everything. 26

We have defined being ‘royal’ as being rich, famous, the “Queen Bee”, the Prom King and other petty titles which are only misconceptions we have of our own world. My definition? It would go something like this: royal - roy·al - [roi-uhl] adjective/noun 1. unique, original, different in a good way 2. happy and pleased with their life Has it ever occurred to you than you can be the Queen/King of your own mind? Simple as that, you rule your own self, you shape who you are and you decide what you do. Undoubtedly, this is an incredibly huge power we are not even aware of having. To conclude, everybody is a “royal” in their own way; you just have to find that path that makes you feel like the ruler or your own world. Smile, be who you are, be “royal”! PS: And as an advice, do read “Paper Towns” by John Green. The multitude of wise words is fantastic and will really change your vision of yourself and of life.

Daria Radu

Royals

Royalty, Lively Death by Mihnea Săvulescu

h, royalty, the perfect example of power, of grace, of both life and death, the perfect example of freedom in a cage. Sure, you are free to do what you want, as long as it doesn’t affect the family’s name. Sure, you are free to love whom you want, as long as him or her isn’t below your rank. You are free to live as you wish, as long as it isn’t beneath you. An antithesis, that is your life in royalty, you can do everything, be everything, all while being controlled. The options are limitless, the possibilities are few. You go on a balcony, look at all the

people that want to be like you and think: “Do they even know what this would entail? Would they know how much of your free will, of your humanity, do you sacrifice for this life?” For this is the life of someone of royal blood, someone who doesn’t know what liberty is, but has the biggest potential for it. For it isn’t just money in the game. Power, influence, charisma, education, this come with being blue-blooded, this make freedom seem like an easy goal to reach, but they all come at a cost. Influence, 27

Royals powerâ&#x20AC;Ś They bring charisma, education, money. And their cost is dire, the name of the family has to be protected at all costs, against any personal wishes of its members. Finally, they are alive, but dead. They try to live at their fullest, but they live for their family. To keep that power, that influence, the price is something horrible. You are given no choice, once you are born you are in servitude of the family, you live to die, you live to serve, and, when you die, people will cry for you. Not your family, but people who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know you, people who wanted to live your life not knowing what it means to serve, to give your freedom for them to dream of something. Royalty is a trap, it brings its promises, it serves most of them, but, in the end, is it worth it? Is it

worth sacrificing the most human wish so that you can have power and influence, at the price of liberty and freedom? At the price of free will? Some people will say yes. Some people do not know what it means to serve day after day, night after night, thinking that the next word or action that you make might bring bad publicity to the family, that it might wane that power and influence, that you are not free to do as you wish with your life. This might seem like a dream life, live in a palace, have enough money to do anything youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d want to, living and elegant lifestyle and all. But appearances can be very deceiving. Sure, you get all of those things, at the price of your humanity. You fell for the trap of the royals as soon as you were born, and you ended up living in a masquerade, a lively death.

Mihnea Savulescu 28

Royals

The job of being royalty by Bárbara Ornella

think one of the most used words at the wedding of Prince William and (at the moment) Catherine Middleton was “commoner”. Everyone was so happy that “finally” a peasant would ascend to royalty. Now, how good is the deal? Yes, we have all heard about the stories where the damsel in distress gets rescued by a prince and they live happily forever after. But they don’t show you what is exactly “forever after”. Let’s suppose you are marrying into a royal family of your choice (all of them have their pressure although the British royal family has it worst because, well, UK papz are the worst), from the moment you said “yes” to the proposal, your life is not entirely yours, you are agreeing to a lifetime job 24/7. Everything you do will affect your new in-laws and their country. Doesn’t matters if you don’t use the taxpayer’s money. Either if it is with money that you

earn or with your parents’, it will be judged. The public scrutiny will go from what you wear to what you say, how you react and what did your great great great grandfather did. Although The Duchess of Cambridge wasn’t the first commoner marrying into a royal family, not even the first one marrying into the British royal family, the commoners doesn’t abound and the reasons previously mentions are one of the biggest reasons. Aristocrats don’t have easier with the public either but they are used to the same circle the royals wander. And having a personal fortune and friends with your same characteristics (socialites, rich, children of nobility) helps through the scrutiny, at least you are not alone. Past and Future The couples of the different royal families had to deal with 29

Royals

common life situations on the limelight. Divorce is not an easy thing for nobody and The Prince of Wales, Charles, knows that from first hand. His divorce with Lady Diana Spencer, at the moment The Princess of Wales, was called 30

“The battle of the Wales” and the press, whose approach should be informative if they had ethic and professionalism but that doesn’t sell doesn’t it? obviously took a side (Diana’s side) leaving The British Royal Family with a fake “uncaring” taint.

Royals Photo: Cristina Nicolae

Crown Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit, married into The Norwegian Royal Family in 2001 and had to make a public apologise to her country for her past in which she admitted have consumed drugs and had a son from a former relationship with a

man convicted of drug possession. A brother convicted for domestic violence. Of course, the public was intrigued of who was this girl and if she could occupy in a worthy way the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Future Queen of Norwayâ&#x20AC;? title and is a justify doubt but instead of giving her a chance to blossom 31

Royals little by little they went straight to judge her for her past. Now she is a beloved princess and does her work wonderfully, maybe that scrutiny wasn’t so needed it after all. What your parents do should affect you right?, well Queen Maxima of The Netherlands couldn’t invite her father to her wedding, and actually to The Netherlands, since his is involved in a terrible period of time of Argentina, where people just disappear, were tortured and killed, and pregnant women’s children were kidnaped and never given back. Japan’s Crown Princess by marriage, Masako, suffers a nervous disorder and depression; since she got married in 1993 she had trouble coping with the demands and restrictions from the Imperial Household Agency. She was so pressure to produce a male heir to the throne (in Japan only men ascend to the throne), she first suffered a miscarriage in 1999 and then when she finally conceived, it was wrong, because

she had a girl. In 2004 pressure was too much and her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, defended Masako publicly “she seems to have become exhausted because of it”. Japan criticized the princess a lot because her public engagement became close to zero in the past 10 years. It seems like Japan doesn’t take mental illness too seriously. Sweden’s heir to the throne, Princess Victoria, fell in love with her personal trainer, Daniel Westling, after 8 years of relationship and a lot of patience from Daniel, his inlaw accepted him. To some people it doesn’t matter that you partly own three successful gyms if you came from the bottom. None of the above would be a big deal if you are just one more fish in the sea among others without everyone’s opinion, and a role to fulfil for life. So you know now, if you want to be part of a royal family, you’d better be perfect... or a bad ass motherfucker, cause you are going to need that strength.

Bárbara Ornella

Royals Photo: Cristina Nicolae

Villains have more fun(ds) A brief manual of Disney’s brutes’ main characteristics by Michela Sereni

ho’s on the bad guys’ side? Hands up. I am, most of the time. It may be that I have some sort of “type” (I actually think those are commonly known as “sort of twisted complex that makes you like anything that has been bent, broken, ruined. Or anyone who’s equally sassy, powerful and gorgeous”), but in more cases than not, my thesis is supported by the fact that, no matter if drawn or real life people, villains are the hottest ones in the play. As a 21st century rapper would elegantly put it,

“Can’t nobody stop me from liking that damn fine booty”. First things first: purple is the colour. If you look through representations of evil doers, especially when it comes of Disney’s production, the plum-tint game is so strong it’s almost an art. That happens because they’re usual part of the royalty, or are part of privileged elites, which, in old times, were linked to this particular colour. Studies find the lack of financially struggling villains a subtle social and political excuse “Because the 33

Royals villains are from the upper class and are not criminals because of systems of injustice, discrimination, and poverty, American ideas about the legitimacy of their dominant institutions and structures are upheld and do not require society to rethink how to better distribute wealth as a means of potentially reducing crime” (Fine & Carney, 2001; Carney, 2004). Malefactors also tend to have androgynous looks, and to confuse and cross well-estabilished cis-gender lines. Rumor has it, for example, that Ursula took inspiraiton from the real-life fabulous beauty that’s Divine (Crossing Gender Lines). “However, these strangely masculine females are more than just based on drag queen images. Several aspects of many of the Disney villains are representative of both genders. For example, as discussed earlier in this blog, many of the female villainesses tend to have many masculine aspects to their appearances. These include both masculine body shapes, lack of feminine flowing hair, and angular faces with more square chins. An example of this is Cruella DeVille. She exhibits both the ‘drag queen’

elements such as arched eyebrows, heavy colored eyeshadow, and red lips, but also has masculine aspects including a curveless body, jagged short hair, and a square skin” (Anatomy Of Evil). This exposure of non-binary characters could be considered a step forward, wasn’t for the fact that they’re always represented as “The Other”. Slut shaming and the misrepresentation of a free sexuality are a key motif, aswell. “The majority of female Disney villains are highly sexualized in their representations in terms of dress, body language, speech, manners, and motives[…] All of these women wear low cut, revealing dresses,a lot of makeup, have seductive, strong voices, and flaunt their sexuality in ways that are menacing and to the virtuous younger and older females in their respective films, who are portrayed as much more conservative” (WesScholar). On the other hand, males are more funny than scary, “Whereas sexuality is featured as a characteristic of female criminals, a theme that is repeated throughout the representations of male villains in Disney films is a display of infantile, childlike behavior. This serves to diminish their terror and

Royals reduces to the criminal to that of a harmless child, rather than an evil, frightening villain”. Brutes can usually be divided in wealth, status, throne, revenge, evil seekers. These motivations are purely personal and create a sort of wall between the villain and the rest of society, completely cutting them off and isolating them, dehumanizing them (no matter if they are, in fact, wo/men or not). “Through the exploration of these villains’ identities, it is evident that crime exists in this world of Disney as a cause of some inherent character flaw in the criminal and is unrelated to social conditions. Each of these villains is naturally a bad person or animal, and is portrayed as the foil to the heroic characters that embody innocence, charity, and purity. Though their motives differ, the villains are actually quite similar. They are largely greedy, self-absorbed, manipulative, cruel, and lacking empathy. They are all seeking some sort of power, be it status, wealth, or political rule. Their crimes are committed for selfish reasons, driven by their internal desire to transgress. Most of the villains are also characterized by insanity and madness. This

further locates criminality within the individual, as portraying the villains as crazy or insane makes them seem like they are personally afflicted with some psychological illness that is unique to them” (Representation Of Crime). It’s clear that physical characteristics are crucial. Amazing dresses and different skin tones are also a big go-to aspects when it comes to creating a witch or a queen: green, yellow, albino (not black, never black, except for rare cases, since Disney storylines hardly ever portray people of colour)…as long as it’s possible to clearly distinguish the rouge from the protagonist, it’s fine. However, these are traits that are more common in kids’ literature, typical of Disney movies, as it’s useful and helps them to set “good versus bad” standards, which is one of Disney’s final goals, along with giving them a sense of hope for the future (do not worry, that idea will most likely get crushed by the Real World’s actions by the time of their 11th birthday). “The Disney formula consistently pits good against evil, and the struggle between the two serves as the foundation for the stories”(Deviance in Disney).

Michela Sereni 35

Royals

The Royal Portrait of a Lady by Ruxandra Macarescu

adies, (and why not gentlemen) one of our gender representers resolutely says that we will never be royals (she even sings about it) Let us get down to earth! Queen Elizabeth I, Princess Henrietta Maria and even Lady Diana deserved their places, not only on the throne, but particularly in the mundane female hearts, by allowing feminine beauty to be revealed, eversince the concept of fashion was still in infancy. In order for us to track the whole revolutionary process, I suggest that we take a step back...

The Ancient World (0-600 CE) Queen Nefertiti. Early fashion turns into art. The Egyptian queen’s name is loosely translated as “the beautiful woman has come” proves to have been truely significant for her clothing inovations. First of all, the very transparent linen-as those times would brand it-with bright tones of blue and green, pyramid and lotus flower motifs was a registered trademark of hers. Moreover, the haik, a tunic

Queen Nefertiti. Sculpture and painting. Set of Art Deco jewelery

Royals caught between the waste and bust, quientessential of New Kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s times meant the ultimate proof of her rank. Also worn exclusively by Her Royal Highness, was the tall straight-sided flat-topped crown. Fortunately,it was unburied in 1912 and subsequently exposed at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin,where it can still be admired. But it was not her crown which made Nefertiti so precious: her dresses, scarab jewellry and deep headbands are currently known as the fashion basics of Art Deco. Medieval Romance (6001449) Eleanor of Aquitanie (1124-1204). Elegance finally matters. Born in the rulling family of the Duchy of Aquitaine, Eleanor

made Middle Ages Paris a center of art and beauty. But that was no mean feat. She first had to shock the courtiers of her husband ,King Louis VII with her jewl, kohl and rouge. The hit was even harder for womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing, as Eleanor introduced the bilaut -an overgown with a snugly-fitting bodice down the hips, tightened with ribbons around the waist, followed by a folded and pleated skirt touching the ground. Of her fabric preference and colour orientation, she splashed a palette of blue, grey, earthy tones on silk, embroidering it with methalic threads- thereby a must- have at the Royal Court. Once broadening the minds of fashion-conscious French provincials to a new sophisticated etiquette, Eleanor became the The Bilaut Gown

Royals target of the Church, as Father Bernard Clairvaux indignantly criticised the Court ladies who “drag after them trains of precious material that makes a cloud of dust” .To make matters worse, bilaut sleeves were regarded by Church representers as being harmful for the human soul, because of their extravagant flared cuffs.

scarfs. Impelled by the thought of her unique bond to divinity, she continued to portray a lavish image, with more dramatic accents of black and white as personal tones in her elderly years. Elisabeth’s leading personality reflected in silver haloes and her famous pendant: a pheonix bird rising from the ashes, as a symbol of unicity.

As her religion was to change and not to obey but to change, Henry of Anjou, occupant of the English throne in 1154, gave his new lovematch, Eleanor of Aquitanie the privillige to make England ilustrious by art, make-up and romantic poetry.

Appart from setting the lavish trend in her native country, The Virgin Queen was an absolute source of inspiration for designer items as the hoods of Vivienne Westwood and the ruffs of JeanPaul Gauthier.

Renaissance Splendour (1450-1624) Queen Elizabeth I . Flaming flamboyance. Daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henri VIII, she ruled England between 1558 and 1603. Her witful use of image winning people’s adoration was a father-side inheritance. Since the tender age of 25, the novice queen made her almighty appearance in sumptous silk dresses and red damasks. Likewise, her twisted red curls forming puffs on each side was iconic for getting bundles of gentlemen twisted. This is why her particulary favoured man gifts were fine gloves and 38

Royals Baroque and Rococo (16251789) Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669). Women meet the sensual. After the daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici married Charles I of England in 1623, the Court culture of both England and France dared to take unexpected directions of style. Due to her vicious temper,sophisticated upbringing and artful spirit; ruffs were discarded for high or low collars, highwaisted gowns were reduced to the normal level, the waistline went beneath-breast. One scandalous breakthrough of Henrietta was the low decolletage barely hiding nipples. For a more provocative atitude, hairstyling also softened in flat hair on top and gentle curls

at the sides. Her silks were equally smooth, with a languid range of colours like orange, blue, peach and olive-green, inspired by her dance, theatrical and musical inclinations. Neoclassical Frivolity (1790-1900) Empress Eugenie of France. Coutoure gets Haute Having a noble Spanish father fighting on Napoleon I side during his Peninsular War, she consequently became the wife of Napoleon I in 1848. Helped by the Haute Coutoure novice designer Paul Poiret, she abolished crinolines.

Royals The new type of dress being straight and narrow in the front part, though covering the backside to form a bustle. Instead of convoluted crinolines, silk and tulle dresses were interwoven with lace.

de Merode. Famous for her elegant sense rather than her dancing skills, the ballerina was the first to globalize the Parisian woman hairdo called bob.

La Belle Epoque (19001920) .Beauty. A natural muse.

At that time, Greek style was in again, and she really took advantage of it, by wearing long draped collar dresses, straightly fitting her delicate figure, trimmed with ruffles and having puffed sleeves; accesorized with feather hats and antique headbands.

Cleopatra Diane de Merode, best known as Cleo de Merode was born on 27th of September 1875, in the Belgian family of the noble landscape painter Karl von

Presumably, the fact that she used no make-up on stage brought her the admiration of painters like Gustave Klimt and Henry de Toulouse Lautrec and made her

Nevertheless her asounding fashion call stired consternated reactions, as she encouraged women to show off their ankles.

Royals the mistress of King Leopold of Belgium. However, living the fantasy of a royal, did not prevent Cleo from making the smashing choice to dance at the Foiles Berger- what other elite dancers wouldn’t have ever done, and then spread her charm all over Europe and USA. Post - War Perfection (19471955). Still a woman in the shoes of a man. By the time the Haute Couture designer Christian Dior launched The New Look, Princess Margaret (Aug. 21st1930 - Feb.9th 2002) the only sibling of Queen Princess Margaret for a Dior Shooting in Paris

Elisabeth II had already persuaded women replacing man in army affairs and household chorses to get back into the silk short-waisted dress, with paded hips and pleated lining, sharply-tailored shouldersmatching some formal sandals. However, the long velvet gloves, the silver tiara highlighted her royal coquetry. Brand-new 90’s. Woman in a shining armour Although Princess Diana of Wales respected her royal status in fashion, adopting the burgundy movement in tailcoats, iverycoloured creped bustier dresses, as Princess Diana in a Versace outfit, at the ”APOLLO 13” movie premiere, 1995

Royals she believed all burgundy would be more fluid and easier to wear, trusting the hand of designers like Catherine Walker or Gianni Versace, she was the first person willing to be photographed beside an HIV sufferer, she enjoyed working with disabled, homeless and people in all sorts of needs. To her mind, as Marie Claire Magazine states, “ royals didn’t have to be dowdy. You

didn’t have to wear pastel colours, a massive handbag and hat. You could love fashion and look good.” Now, I really hope that you see we will never be blue-blooded royals, but we all need to be rullers on the right path.

Ruxandra Macarescu

Research : Content: Fashion.The Ultimate Book of costume and style. By,Judith Watts,DK Publishing,2012 www.history.com www.napoleon.com www.artiststandard.org http://marieclaire.co.uk/bolg /suzannah-ramesdale Pictures: www.history.com www.en.wikipedia.org www.motilo.org www.womenwhochangedtheworld.wordpress.com www.hattonsantiques.co.uk www.printest.com www.freepages.history.rootweb.ancestry.com www.oceansbridge.com http://marieclaire.co.uk/bolg /suzannah-ramesdale www.bombshellsandbeatniks.wordpress.com 42

social watch

Letter from Social watchthe editor

The human complexity and “I don’t care” by Claudia P.

Photo: Cristina Nicolae

individual ɪndɪˈvɪdjʊ(ə)l/ noun noun: individual; plural noun: individuals • a single human being as distinct from a group. • a single member of a class. • a person of a specified kind. • a distinctive or original person.

Social watch

espite living a sheltered life, one tends to encounter many different kinds of people on the way. Some of them are part of your family while other strangers. Older, elder, and younger. Each of them with their own preferences cultivated over time. As a child, we all do as we are told. Mostly because you do not have as much knowledge as your elders and you must learn. Years pass, you’ve learned the essentials, you experiment, you experience, you become your own person. You also build a façade: “This is what I want people to see, more or less.” We all build such a thing, due to reasons which can be understandable (unless you are a cannibal. That’s not ok, not even in the slightest). What bothers me is that people take your façade for granted. When they chose to believe that the certain traits you display are the only ones you have. When they label you based on these traits. When they have no

consideration whatsoever of the fact that there is more than what appearances suggest. This can make one’s head ache for quite some time. But you will arrive at the conclusion that you are you are an individual and there is no way of pleasing everybody (however, pissing everyone off can be fun). Speaking from experience, trying to please everyone leaves you wounded on many levels. And some of these wounds take an awfully long time to heal. It doesn’t matter if it is your parent, your other half, your best friend or your grandparent who asks you to do ANYTHING that is out of your comfort zone, don’t do it. You will be ending up with at least the feeling of being uncomfortable. Set your boundaries, stand your ground. Don’t let anyone tell you such things are not important. Also, in the process, don’t forget to be kind to others. Care for others, and don’t forget care for yourself in the same time.

Claudia P. 45

petite histoire

Petite Histoire

The c ommo n misco ncept ions of the europ ean witchhunt by Ashley Catt Photo: Cristina Nicolae

nsurprisingly, this article will be concerned with the witch-hunt that occurred in Europe and the common mistakes around the subject that are thought to be true. Many people see it to be a primarily medieval occurrence, solely focused on females, that was absolutely cataclysmic to the demography of Europe. However, there is far more to the truths of the hunt that are given credit for, and in this posting, each misconception will be dealt with systematically.

The notion of a ‘medieval witch hunt’ If you mention the phrase ‘witch hunt’ to someone who has not studied or read about it, and what they know of it is drawn from the public ideas of it, they will instantly think that it was a medieval phenomenon. This is an understandable view, as on face value, it does seem like the kind of social environment which would give rise to the persecution of witches. However, this is almost 47

Petite Histoire

completely false. Between the years of 1000 and 1300, there were 20 recorded trials which involved witchcraft for the whole of Europe. What’s more is that the trial would place the emphasis on the intent of the use of witchcraft, rather than the act of using it itself. What is noteworthy is that the word ‘regicide’ (the act of murdering a monarch) crops up rather frequently.

something that society seems to miss. Although, they do overlap into the 15th-century, they are mainly concentrated in later times. There are two dated estimates put forward for the persecutions. The dates for the whole of the witch-hunt range from 1428-1782, suggesting that it lasted a massive 354 years. However, the majority of the trials were concentrated in the years1560-1630.

It’s rather surprising to note that the medieval times were more of a break in witch-craft persecutions. Classical antiquity saw much suspicion in the use of magic, with both the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans (who killed far more ‘witches’ than the trials of the Early Modern period) incorporating punishments for magic usage into their law. The Celtics and the Germans, whilst having divergent views of the supernatural, also viewed it with a similar hostility. The suspicion placed on witches was ultimately not a new development.

Now, the critical question here is; why the Early Modern Period? There are a few reasons that determined the rise of witchcraft persecutions to be in the Early Modern Period, rather than the Medieval Period.

The witch hunts were mainly based in the Early Modern Period, and this is why they are termed as the ‘Early Modern witch-hunts’, 48

The Early Modern Period gave rise to a heightened belief and consciousness in the powers of Satan and daemons. Satan’s involvements were crucial, as the belief in witchcraft stemmed from the idea of a pact with the Devil. Daemons, such as familiars (think for a second - popular stereotypes of witches never fail to have a pet, most commonly the ominous black cat), were also seen to do the Devil’s work, tempting people into committing acts of magic.

Petite Histoire

There was also a new obsession with what is labelled as ‘hidden enemies’. In the medieval period, the enemies of Christianity were very obvious - hence the crusades that were being launched against them. Jews and heretics such as the Cathars were persecuted against with ease and driven from their homes, and many would ‘take the cross’ in aid of stopping the Muslim threat. However, after 1300 these groups had largely been side-lined so people started looking or new enemies, and when they couldn’t find one, they would look to the shadows and into the unknown. In Spain, the enemy was the Converso (Jews who had converted to Christianity - they were suspected of secretly plotting against Christianity and continuing to practice Judaism). Unsurprisingly, other countries turned their attention on to witchcraft. Also, Christianity in the Middle Ages placed too much of an emphasis on God him/herself (although the medieval image of God would have most certainly been male) controlling events. The influence on Scholastic thought

in academic circles placed God at the centre of all events in the universe. Within a world where God had influence over all things, there was no room for witchcraft. However, with the Renaissance came a new brand of thinking; Humanism. Although Humanism still involved the same devotion to religion as Scholasticism, it places emphasis on events on the actions of Humanism. Scholasticism lasted through to the 18th-century enlightenment, however, Humanist thought was popular throughout the early-modern period, and it allowed room for the existence of witchcraft. There are also things that contributed to persecutions that wouldn’t commonly have been thought of. Weather changes such as the ‘Little Ice Age’ of 1300-1660 lead to famine and widespread death in Europe. It would also be unforgivable to leave out the Black Death that arrived in Italy in 1346 and killed at least a third of Europe’s population in the 14thcentury. Plague was re-occurring during the Early Modern Period, some countries suffering it until the 18th-century - In England the

Petite Histoire

plague is thought to have ceased after about 1667. This created an extremely delicate social environment, and people looked for someone to blame. Given the context of this article, I doubt that you’d be surprised that it was indeed witchcraft that they turned to. Women were the only victims If we return to the stereotypical image of a witch (all thoughts of Harry Potter should be moved to the side here), we always conjure up images of a witch being female. The gender of the witch is just as important to the modern stereotype as the pointy black hat or the broomstick in which she flies. To further back this up, try typing ‘witch’ into Google Images; you’ll be hard pressed to find an image of a man. Statistically speaking, the data we have for witch trials, does indicate a very misogynistic approach to them. For the majority of Europe, around 80% of those executed in the persecution of witches were female. However, it also does allow for the small, but significant, 20% of victims that

were male. This puts a hefty dent through the idea that with hunts were an overall attack on women for their gender. The unfortunate fact is; women were much more vulnerable in society than men were. Many of the victims of the trial were implicated in it because of the fact that they had a very weak social standing in society. Being female did greatly increase your chances of going on trial, however it was certainly not the sole factor and it would not have been enough to implicate someone on its own. If someone was a widow then they could be much more easily targeted, as they would have no defence. Often widows were penniless and therefore had to beg for money and food and were a nuisance to the community in which they inhabited. This meant that they wouldn’t be missed if they were executed through implications of witchcraft. Married women were much harder to accuse due to protection from their husband. Also, the profession of a woman could also put her in danger of an accusation - married

Petite Histoire

or not. The hazardous nature of midwifery in the Early Modern Period meant that many babies and mothers were killed in the process and grieving fathers would often look for someone to blame. To them, the logical conclusion would have been that the midwife who delivered the baby brought about any death that occurred through witchcraft. The same is true for healers of a community, often known as ‘white witches’ and accepted for their positive parts they played. They would often distribute herbal tinctures in order for people to be cure of their ills. Now, it doesn’t need to be said that Early Modern Medicine, whilst not being completely inept, was largely ineffectual and people would sometimes die even after taking the remedies proscribed to them. Largely in the same manner as the midwife, the healer would be blamed for the death, suspected of bringing it about through witchcraft. The professions of the midwife and the healer were overwhelmingly female. Also, those that claim that the witch trials were a direct attack on women tend to (conveniently) ignore the regions where a greater

proportion of men were executed in witch-hunts than women. In northern regions of Europe such as Finland, Russia and Iceland (where 90% of those executed for witchcraft were men) there was a belief in a more shamanistic form of witchcraft which was most commonly performed by men, which led to the majority of victims of the persecutions being male. Also in Normandy, a similar belief in male shepherds led to a large proportion of those executed being male. With this evidence, it can be said that whilst the gender of women DID play a role in the accusations, it would be extremely exaggerative to say that they were executed simply because they were women. The Spanish Inquisition Whilst popular misconceptions of the Spanish Inquisition is enough to warrant its own blog post, I am only going to briefly touch on its involvement in witchcraft persecutions - that involvement was extremely minimal indeed. When one thinks of the 51

Petite Histoire

Spanish Inquisition, one of the most common things that will come to mind is burning witches at the stake, and once more, this is a stereotype and a very untrue one at that. Quite frankly, during the Early Modern Period, The Spanish Inquisition practically put a ban on witch-hunting. What people don’t know about the Inquisition is that they actually promoted fairer justice. They attempted to enforce a more rational scheme of convicting people by looking at the actual evidence and whether there was enough of it to implicate someone in a crime. Now, how does this relate to witch persecutions? Well, the way that witch trials were carried out didn’t make a huge amount of logical sense. They would force torture on to someone who was suspected of being a witch in the hopes that they would confess and also (as an extra little bonus) implicate others. Now, this was seen as an irrational way of going about a prosecution by the Inquisition, and therefore they discouraged the prosecution of witches. Europe’s population was decimated by the witch hunts

This is very simple to disprove. Up until about the 1970’s, the scholarly consensus was that around nine million people were killed in the Early Modern witchtrials. However, this was only the scholarly consensus, because until then, no one had really bothered to look into it that much. The number of nine million came from an 18th-century historian who more a less took an estimate of the numbers with little or no evidence - somehow he managed to inflate the figures to around 200 times their most likely size. After the 1970’s, more historians started looking into how many people were actually killed in the witch trials. This was also followed by more regional trials that looked at legal records and unearthed trials that had happened in the regional area. The consensus today is that around 50,000 people died as a result of the witch persecutions. This is still an absolutely massive amount of people to die - but put into perspective, that’s less than the losses of the Battle of Towton twice over - so it’s a loss that is believable.

Petite Histoire

However, people still love to cling to the romantic image that millions of people were consigned to the flames of the witch hunts. Also, it wasn’t spread evenly across Europe. The epicentre of the witch trials was almost certainly Germany and Switzerland, other places in Europe fared much better. Take England, for example. Over 200 years, England only saw 400 people executed - that’s around two people a year on average. However, Scotland saw around five times as many people executed than that of England, so that effectively shows inconsistencies from country to country. Places such as Spain also saw very little in the way of witchhunting. Witch hunts are a thing of the past As a conclusion, I’m going to point out that we see the inhabitants of the past as people who think completely differently to us. It’s almost as we see them as not even being human to an extent. However, we do have to face up to the fact that we still think the same way as people did in the Early Modern Periods - the witch hunts just arose because of a different set

of circumstances. We are actually quite peculiar as a modern society, because the majority of societies before us generally believed in some form of supernatural phenomena So would it be wrong to claim that witch-hunts are a thing of the past? In a way, yes it would be, for we have no idea what could happen in the future. The persecution of witches isn’t as distant as we may think. There was a case in Normandy in 1970 that concerned the practise of magic. Also, if we take our focus from Europe and look at the rest of the world, we will see that anti-witchcraft fervour is not dead. In the 1990’s, 5,500 people were murdered in Tanzania for the practice of magic. Also, there are reforming groups in the United States that seek to bring back witch-hunts which would involve legal punishments for those who practice magic. It would be racially arrogant to suggest that as Europeans, we definitely will not see any resurgence of witchhunting - the question is, will it find a place back into Western society again?

Ashley Catt 53

Petite Histoire

Photo: Andrei Apostol

Petite Histoire

globetrotter 55

letter from the editor Globetrotter

Adventures in Finland by Anne Popp

y friend and I spent 5 magical days in this amazing country. It has been my dream since i was 16 to come here. The main reasons were the mystery of the Finnish people, which a lot of 56

people talk about, and also the fact that Finnish people are incredibly talented when it comes to music (it`s enough if i mention Sibelius or some rock bands such as Children of Bodom who recently won an

Globetrotter

EMMA award). When we got off the plane and felt that fresh air, we both said... it`s definitely starting good. The road to the town centre was long,

and we just couldn`t wait to get to the hotel and to explore Hel(l)sinki. After a bit of circling, we found the hotel which was lovely and welcoming. 57

letter from the editor Globetrotter And let day 1 begin :-) Day 1: Introduction to Helsinki`s nightlife (yes it was Friday and the parties were floating) I personally heard a lot about the Tavastia Klubi.We got out our GPS-s (my friend`s iPhone froze) and in the end she was better than that machine. We paid the entry fee and sat down to the table. The atmosphere was really welcoming a Finnish band was playing but to be honest i was keener to try the Finnish beer. I tried the Karhu III it tasted brilliant. On the very first night we learnt that Finns only dare to talk to u if they drink a little .We immediately had a guest at our table who treated us with the traditional long drink. (it`s made of grapefruit juice and vodka).We also discussed about another typical Finnish thing: the sauna :-). Day 2: Turku...and i put a bit of spell on the Finnish public ;) We decided to travel to the city of Turku to see some lakes. Both of us were moaning that there isn`t any snow. As soon as we were heading towards Turku it started snowing ...To be honest i was nearly crying of the beauty of the landscape...it reminded me a lot of my home and for the first time i felt...home. 58

After we arrived to Turku we had a short shopping session then we head towards the bus station to catch a bus towards Ruissalo. It was breathtaking, and after admiring the view we even had a little snowball fight. Also, we entered a private venue from where the Finns were coming out from the sauna and going for a swim in the lake...I’ve only seen that in the news till now. We head back to Helsinki around 6 PM and we decided to go out again. Surprisingly nearly all the bars had karaoke. After 2 long drinks i had courage to choose a song...yes you had to sing and from the two of us i was nominated. Suddenly we had 2 guests...i nearly got taken away and one of our guests saved me... I was in complete shock... I was a stranger and he saved me. We started talking and he asked me about my songchoice. When i told him what i chose he asked me if I’m sure cause it`s a very difficult song. My answer was: I’m ready to test the Finnish public`s reaction ;) Then my name was announced. And the song played. It was Nemo from Nightwish. I was thrilled to see them cheer and some of them even came to congratulate me. I felt great and it gave me that ambition that i must continue to sing...THANKS EROTTAJA BAARI <3

Globetrotter Day 3: Tampere and again karaoke...this time a bit different Tampere was again a nice experience with beautiful landscapes .The snow was heavier than in Turku the previous day. We also got a bit lost but luckily my personal GPS worked brilliant as usual. We tried to find a spot to chill out, the place we went to was Anna`s Karaoke bar. It was the only place where they asked me for an ID ;) The songs i chose were Over the hills and far away (Gary Moore), Good Enough from Evanescence and with my new friend from the

Bahamas we tried a Wish i had an angel-Nightwish.It was quite a funny interpretation since he didn`t know the lyrics. Day sightseeing...

Helsinki

We needed a whole day for the capital so we immediately took the map (you can get one for free from any train station).We started with the National Opera which is literally two stops away from the central railway station. We even found a lakeside where i did a bit of sunbathing: D Photos provided by the author

Interview Then we went to the Helsinki Cathedral. Which is HUGE next to me haha. It was a sunny but chilly day. And we didn`t miss the harbor either. I felt nostalgic, literally i didn`t wanna come back to England. In the afternoon we organized our free time activity, after visiting the Hartwall Arena which i promised to one of my dear friends. My heart fell with joy but also sadness knowing what happened there in 2005. Day 5: Packing and Chilling...NO... I WANNA STAY.... :( I very sadly packed my luggage...again nearly crying. Still i didn`t want to leave without trying out the...Sauna. I spent the afternoon chilling at the public sauna of Helsinki. Its two metro

stops away from the Kamppi metro station. I found it very relaxing to just sweat naked. We went out for the last time... for a goodbye night. This time it was the Loose Bar. We made some friends there and one of them even gave us a souvenir: a condom. I was shocked how responsible can a person be .So that was the goodbye from this amazing country. Even now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m holding my tears back writing all these lines. I can sure say that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be back to Hell. It all went by too fast and it was way too amazing.

Anne Popp 60

ideas on celluloid

Ideas on celluloid

Glamorous cinematography by Kasey Rae

Photo: Andrei Apostol

Out in the country, there will be an old southern romance. In the ghetto, there is always a young person trying to break free. In the city, a man or woman of questionable morals. And in the super-rural sections reside nothing but cannibals and hill-billy serial killers, of course.

hen it comes to film making absolutely every element is important, for coincidence does not exist. Color, background noise, weather, and setting are all used in co-existence of one idea. Certain directors are more subtle then others like 62

Woody Allen, Ethan and Joel Coen, and Clint Eastwood while directors like Bas Luhrmann, David Fincher, Tim Burton, and Alfonso Cuar贸n use these tools and elements very strongly as if color, music, and set design is a character in itself. Audience preference varies of

Ideas on celluloid

course, while some say that these “stylistic” directors are visionary geniuses their films are often labeled as either moody and dark or in-your-face and out there with absolutely no middle ground, like a yin yang sign refusing to blend. Burton’s Dark Suburbia, Flinchers un-glamorous cities, Luhrmann’s theatrical stages and mansions, and Cuarón’s far out and science fiction settings are a key element in every movie. Without pretty pastel houses and neatly trimmed lawns Edward Scissorhands wouldn’t seem so out of place and isolated. Without the grungy city in which the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo resided, her character would seem out of place and while using lighting in the typical David Flincher way (shadows casted everywhere leaving some scenes nearly pitch black) the film is made rougher with every small detail it needs to carry his idea. The huge and sparkly set’s in Luhrmann’s ‘the Great Gatsby’ help us understand the story of this huge and glamorous character, Along

with the vast pond separating Gatsby and Daisy’s mansions displaying the vast distance and separation between them as characters although Gatsby longs for her through all of the night fog. The message in Cuarón’s film ‘Gravity’ could have been made simply without using any dialog at all and still be a strong and moving film about a woman who is so lonely she feels as if she is slowly and uncontrollably drifting away form everyone and everything. In the film she literally is doing this, of course, but absolutely everything (the earth, outer space, the fires and crashes and the drifting away) is only used to tell the story of a human of which we can relate. This happens to be the goal of every single filmmaker. Weather they be simple or stylistic, they mean to tell us a human story of which we can relate. Beyond the goal the absolute biggest hope is to make us see something in ourselves we never knew was there, by any means necessary.

Kasey Rae 63

teen events

Teen Events

Richard II by Rahimian Ramona

his January I went to the most wonderful theatre play I have ever seen, Richard II, written by William Shakespeare. What made this play so different from other Richard II re-enactments was the amazing cast: David Tennant (King Richard II), Emma Hamilton (The Queen), Michael Pennington (John of Gaunt), Nigel Lindsay (Henry Bolingbroke), Oliver Ford Davies (Duke of York) and many other amazing actors. What I found interesting was that most of the cast was young and with not as much experience as other available but still they made this play an amazing success. The first thing that impressed me, even before the play began, was the dĂŠcor. Thin silvery metal strands fell from the ceiling onto the stage and the eerie light going through them made them look like an imposing castle. The coffin covered by a thin layer of fabric in the middle of the stage was adding to the emotional charge but when

the live choir music began it made your blood run cold and your skin to form goose bumps. The theatre room was full of people from every corner of the world but it was as silent as a tomb. When David Tennant came onto the stage upon a suspended platform, dressed in a turquoise gown with a royal like golden pattern, he looked like a God, covered in bright light, the hall went silent. The way the actors spoke and the emotions that flowed between them seemed so real that it made you feel that you were there, on stage, assisting to all the turmoilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and pains of the king. The most heart breaking scene was the assassination, David Tennant showed all his talent when King Richard II was betrayed and assassinated by the one he trusted and actually loved. The pain and suffering of the King showed through Tennantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features so purely that it made me cry at the terrible fate this king had. 65

PetiteEvents Teen Histoire At the end of the play, after all the emotional twists from the amazing plot, David Tennant was kind enough to offer autographs and take pictures with close to 100 fans. The whole event took place at the Barbican Centre in London, England on the 3rd of January and it will not leave my mind for a long time. It was so beautifully acted and directed that even if you did

not speak English natively or at a high level, you were still able to understand everything. The wonderful costumes and dĂŠcor only added to the wonderful experience that was Richard II. Love, lust, pain, jealousy and betrayal are all emotions found in every single scene of this play, making a superb emotional rollercoaster that entranced the public and made the 3 hours tick by without you even noticing.

Rahimian Ramona Photo provided by the author

book review

Book Review

Book review Brought to you by Editura Litera

have recently gone through a few books by Editura Litera. Young adult mostly. I knew what to expect: teenage dramas looking for boyfriend while usually involving some kind of supernatural being. However the one book that actually stuck to me is “How Many Friends Does One Person Need?” (De cati prieteni ai nevoie?). That’s a good title actually. It got me interested so I started to look through it and what do you know, could not stop. It holds a number on essay on different themes like :Why do men talk and women gossip, and which is better for you? Why is monogamy a drain on the brain? And why should you be suspicious of someone who has more than 150 friends on Facebook? I was actually in the subway and I could not stop reading. It’s like

reading a blog, only it has a lot of data and studies in it. For instance, what stuck to me was the fact that some scientists have developed a theory according to which people vote for the person with the most symmetrical facial traits and that elections can actually be predicted. If you want to read the proof behind that, be sure to grab a copy of the book. And now I leave you with my lecture suggestions for this month (because surely one book is not enough) Legaminte, by Ally Condie “Matched” or Legaminte, as it was translated in Romanian, is a story about a seventeen year old girl named Cassia Maria Reyes. In Cassia’s society, you are matched at age 17. Cassia is matched with

Book Review

her best friend, Xander Thomas Carrow. This is a surprise to both of them. When viewing the microcard with Xander’s information on it, the screen displays an acquaintance of Cassia’s, Ky Markham. Though Ky and Cassia were not as close as Xander and Cassia, she still finds herself conflicted about who she loves and whether the Society is all that it seems to be. Night School by C.J. Daugherty Here comes the supernatural. Though this one looks promising. We have the elite school and a mysterious organization named “Night school”. The protagonist has to go through a web of lies as life gets more and more dangerous. You will like to see just what happens to her because it’s good.

O zi din sapte by Lauren Oliver What would you do if you only had one day to live? Whom would you kiss? How far would you go to save your life. Samantha Kingston’s perfect life suddenly… stops. When she dies she gets another change. 7 days in a row. Can she do what it takes? Groundhog Day teenage edition. Memoria inteligenta by Joshua Foer Your regular human uses up to 40 days to compensate for what he has forgotten. This book revolves around a journalist who caught a glimpse of the Memorization Championship on the US and his journey towards training his mind. Find out how memory works and how to use it.

Petite Histoire

inter view 70

Interview

Interview:

Adina Renţea by Simona Mihalca Translation by: Andreea Ferigeanu • Good afternoon. I am going to start asking you to make a short presentation of the Cotroceni Palace and Museum, for our readers who are not familiarized with them. Cotroceni National Museum is a cultural institution based on the reflection of the history of the whole Cotroceni, on its evolution and changes occured over time. The medieval part of the Cotroceni Museum is represented by the spaces built in the time of the voivode Serban Cantacuzino (1678-1688). The history of the royalty in Romania is also connected to Cotroceni, the prince Carol I of Hohenzollern – Sigmaringen using the royal houses since june 1866. At his initiative, in 1893 (where the ex royal palace – mostly disposed – began the construction of a new palace for the heirs of the crown – the prince Ferdinand and his wife, princess Maria. The french architect Paul Gottereau has chosen for the new palace an original pattern

which individualised him, every room trying to recompose itself from the point of view of the decorations, an architectural style specific in that time. This is how, for example, it has been kept in an unaltered form by further interventios, the hall of fame, a decorative composition which reminds us of the Opera from Paris, realized by Charles Garnier in the french neoclassical style. On the first floor there is the German Living Room decorated in the german neorenaissance style and restored after the decorative design from the Gottereau period. Further there is the Hunting Salon, decorated in the italian neorenaissance style, The Flowers Salon, whose mural decoration represents the option of the restorer architect and the Library of the king Ferdinand, space which had not required too much restoration. The great reception salon rehabilitated between 1925-1926 by the romanian architect Grigore 71

Interview Cerchez in neoromanian style borders and it continues stylistically with The Cotroceni Royal Living Room. On the second floor of the museum one can visit the royal family’s apartments: The Oriental Salon initially used by Queen Maria as a workshop for painting and graving, The Royal Apartment, The Henrich Second Salon, The French Apartment, The Queen Maria’s Bedroom, restored according to the 1929 version, The Norwegian Salon and the children’s room decorated in French style. • We can’t talk about the museum without specifying the strong royal component of its patrimony. How much was preserved from the Royal Palace? Transferred in mai 1949 to the Uniunea Tineretului Muncitoresc, during 1950-1976, Cotroceni Palace worked as a Pioneers Palace. In 1976 the ensemble from Cotroceni will have a residential function. Unfortunately, the earthquake in 4 March 1977 has seriously damaged the palace and the church, a new process of restauration being required. As a result of the earthquake, the damage of the palace was so big, that its restoration took ten years; they wanted to realize a restoration 72

very much like the one that was a royal residence in Cotroceni. Teams oh architects, constructors and restorers used the plans of the french architect Paul Gottereau, archive photos, the diary of Queen Maria from the State Archives, and a series of documents discovered in the archive of the National Peles Museum. So, it can be said that the Cotroceni Palace has reborn from its own ash, thanks to a team of architects who understood what this building represents to the romanian culture and civilization. • There are more exhibits in the museum which belong to the monarchy than the ones coming from another sources? Unfortunately, today in the museum there are few exhibits which belong to the royalty, because, after the museum started to be used by the pioneers, the palace has started to be depleted from its goods, sufferring, togheter with the other royal residences, a destruction without precedent. The palace was simply ”emptied” from what he had most valuable, most of the rooms only keeping fixed objects (draws in the wall, ceiling, galleries). The 1948-1949 years have accentuated the process of decay of the Cotroceni Palace, neglected

Interview after the death of queen Maria in july 1938, and it was almost left completely by the ones who were living in it, after the earthquake in 1940 and the bombings in 1944. •

Which exhibit do you think it is one of the most valuable in the Museum? Actually, in the National Cotroceni Museum, there are from the first time of its foundation, more than 80 works from its own collection, Pictura românescă din secolul XX, din colecţia Muzeului Naţional Cotroceni (Romanian painting from the XXth century, from the collection National Cotroceni Museum), exhibit opened until 15 april. The collection of universal painting contains works of the XVIII-XIX century. Most of the works from the royal collection of the Cotroceni Palace is now in the patrimony of another museums in the country. Most of the works represent the German school, the Austrian school, the French school, the Belgian school. The Italian school is represented by the work ”Alegoria aerului”, end of the XVI century (Workshop Jacopo Bassano). The furniture collection offers a complete image over the variaty of the european styles and of the

tehnique evolutions. Regarding the decor, there can be seen wood little tables and chairs (neoromanian), seals lounge (Empire, Napoleon III, Ludovic XV-XVI and oriental extreme furniture). In the history collection there are objects of a priceless value, as the parade sward decorated with emeralds and diamonds, which the prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza has received as a gift from the prince Serbiei Mihail Obrenovici, the Bohemian crystal service decorated with gemstones which belonged to princess Maria, 1906, glass objects in Art Nouveau style, created in workshops as Gallé, Daum and Lalique. • How would you describe the personality of the Queen Maria and her relationships with her family and with those around her ( for example, Barbu Stirbey) in terms of everything that is Cotroceni as museum and necessary research? Queen Maria was a queen full of life, romantic, sensitive but also strong, inovative who has created her own vision of royalty. Her personality has recorded lights, but shadows too, but she has always known how to overcome her own passions and interests and to put on the first place her depth to the 73

Interview people who she was a queen to. The Cotroceni Palace has been decorated after her tastes, she was the one who brought into the palace the Art Nouveau style, which was the expression of the people who were in search of liberty, beauty, actually a physical representation of the lifestyle of the people in ”la belle epoque”. During the First World War, queen Maria was an important figure by organizing the Crucea Rosie (Red Cross) service, fighting typhus epidemy, organizing more and more hospitals to take care of the ill and the wounded. She dedicated her free time to her countless passions and hobbies, as painting and writing. Another great passion of her was building a dream house, as she called her residences and their interior decoration. In her residences, queen Maria has created rooms decorated under the influences of celtic, scndinavian and scotish, but also rooms decorated in the neoromanian style. In her relationships with the family, the queen was the one who has always kept the balance which every family needs, either noble or not; she loved to be surrounded by relatives and friends, she organized ballrooms and soirees, brunches and gala dinners where people 74

from politic and cultural spheer took part. Prince Barbu Stirbey was a close friend, not only for her but for the whole royal family, a good adviser and the one who was there for the queen when she needed someone. The queen felt cozy at the Buftea residence of the Stirbei family, where she could walk, rest and find herself. • Which is your favorite story you have found out about the Palace and the personalities who have lived there? It is difficult to say...actually not difficult, but there are so many stories. There were great personalities of the romanian history - - Şerban Cantacuzino, Constantin Brâncoveanu, Barbu Ştirbei, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, lady Elena Cuza, king Carol I and queen Elisabeta, king Ferdinand I and quenn Maria...the artisans and the creators of the modern Romania who have linked their name with Cotroceni, everyone with his story. We, who are deeply connected to this place, we are connected to the ones who lived it and the story of every one of them deserves to be known, so we invite the ones who love history and art, to come into the palace and find out its story. They will be surely pleasantly

Interview surprised. • What is it like for the staff to organize an exhibition or an event? As you may know, the National Cotroceni Museum has a varied cultural program. Each cultural activity which is organized involves a carefull planification, a work sustained by the staff of the museum, teamwork, appreciation of the public and the mass-media. No exhibition nor a cultural event is easy to organize, it involves considerable financial resources, logistic elements, inspiration, fantasy and love. If the final result is the one that we expect, all the effort turn into a professional fullfilment. • Which is the relationship between the Museum and the Prezidential Administration? How do the two institution sitted in the same complex work? The Prezidential Administration of Romania is one of the few in Europe which has in its subordination a museum, especially one with a memorialistic character. The no. 1 law of organizing of the Romanian Prezidency from 30 june 1990 claims the museum to work in Cotroceni, in the old spaces of the palace, whose restoration had recently been finished. Cotroceni National Museum is a

historical space with a high grade of reprezentation, heads of state and important foreign delegations have been in it and had contact with priceless values of history and culture. • Why do you think that in our country, there is such a low culture regarding monarchy? After king’s Mihai forced abdication and the proclamation of the republic on 30 december 1947, the politic regim in Romania had as main purpose the sistematic removal on a colective level of what the monarchic institution represented. As it happened before in the romanian history, monarchy had its role and its importance, without exacerbate its merits or shortcomings. • Last but not least, which is the next event you are inviting us to? Because the Easter holiday is coming, we are going to organize the traditional Easter Concert ( Concertul de Paste), and in the second part of the month, we will host the exhibition Portretul in pictura romaneasca (The portrait in the romanian painting), exhibition realized in collaboration with Societatea Colectionarilor de Arta din Romania (Society of Art Collector in Romania). 75

Photo: Andrei Apostol